|
 About
About
Elke Sommer
To
millions of fans,
Elke
starred in more than sixty feature films
and many of television's most successful
mini-series. Elke is also a prize winning
race car driver, an award winning
dramatic, a well a comedic actress; a
splendid stage director; top-ranked
celebrity tennis player, tournament
winning golf player rand best selling
recording
artist.
• •Elke
is also an accomplished artist. Her
critically acclaimed work has been
featured in 33 one-woman shows in major
galleries throughout the world. Recently,
she hosted a series, "Painting With Elke,"
on national television and has authored a
book on painting. Her art consists of a
wide array of art forms that include oil,
acrylic, water color, charcoal, and
sanguine.
• •After
making several films in Italy, Elke was
offered a starring role in the British
film "Don't Bother To Knock," with Richard
Todd. On her way, she was soon hailed as
the new European sex bomb. It was then she
joined the list of stars whose first name
suffice - like Gina, Sophia, Brigitte, and
Liz.
• •Just
about this time Carl Foreman cast her in
her first American film, "The Victors."
Immediately following she went on to star
in "The Prize", opposite Paul Newman and
for Columbia Pictures, "A Shot In The
Dark" with Peter Sellers.
 Famous
Quotes:
I wish there could be more
hours in the day. There is never enough
time to do everything I want to
do."
• •"It's because my
husband once said to me, 'Did you know
that you have done 91 movies, 38 plays, et
cetera? But were you ever home?' I said,
'No, not really.' I was always on the
road, always traveling, always in hotels.
And I thought, Why do I live that
way?"
• •"It has to be
something really attractive to me because,
let's face it, I've played everything from
a streetwalker to a nun in my movies and
now I only want things I can sink my teeth
into."
• •"And also I'm still
kind of a newlywed," she says. "I adore my
husband. We've known each other going on
13 years. But we've only been married for
five. He is a manager of hotels, with
something like 680 employees. He moved
from New York to Los Angeles to be with
me. That was a sacrifice for him, so I
can't very well take off four months at a
time to do a film or a
play."
• •"I've worked so much
that I want to enjoy the time I've got
left. And as long as things are good
between my husband and me, I could lose
everything else and it would be all
right." Elke
now resides in Beverly Hill where she
maintains her artistry
business.
ELKE SOMMER - Born Elke Schletz on
November 5, 1940 in Berlin, Germany.
Winner of Italy's 1959 Miss Viarregio
beauty pageant, the 19 year old blonde was
given a movie contract and the opportunity
to expose her 36-22-36 body in a series of
softcore exploitation films in the early
sixties. A move to Hollywood resulted in
her appearance in mainstream motion
pictures like "A SHOT IN THE DARK", "THE
PRIZE". "THE WICKED DREAMS OF PAULA
SCHULTZ", and acclaimed vehicles like "THE
VICTORS" along with subsequent nude
pictorials for PLAYBOY MAGAZINE. Relegated
to B-movies in the seventies, she changed
careers by switching to painting, and is
now an acclaimed artist whose paintings
sell for $3,000 to $9,000.
ELKE
SOMMER
(Biography
by Leonard Grant)
ELKE --- In Europe, as well as America,
a name that conjures a single image: A
sensuous and classically beautiful film
star.
• •To millions of fans,
Elke is more than the star of seventy
feature films and many of television's
most successful mini-series.
Elke is also ...
- An accomplished artist. Her
critically acclaimed work has been
featured in 39 one-woman shows in major
galleries throughout the world.
Recently, she hosted a series,
"Painting With Elke", on national
television and has authored a book on
painting.
- A prize winning race car driver and
hostess of the nationally syndicated
television show, "The World Of Speed
And Beauty."
- An award winning dramatic, as well
as comedic, actress who continues to
set house records in America and Europe
for her roles in the theater. Elke is
the recipient of some of America and
Germany's most coveted acting
awards.
- A splendid stage director, she is
highly regarded in the theater on both
continents.
- Dubbed "The Brute" by Sports
Illustrated because of her play on the
court, she is a top-ranked celebrity
tennis player and golfer : voracious
and competitive.
- As a much sought-after
international celebrity, she recently
hosted "The Berlin Film Festival," to
great acclaim.
- The Singer. She has recorded
best-selling albums in four of her five
fluent languages.
--- Then,
there is the private Elke, the person only
a few of her fans know. The Elke who
raises cymbidiums and roses in the lush
gardens of her two acre estate in
exclusive Bel Air. The Elke who spent a
recent New year's Eve mid-wifing the birth
of a litter of seven puppies when their
mother was in distress. And Elke, the much
regarded Beverly Hills hostess - an
invitation to her home is much
sought-after in
Hollywood.
• •Elke Schletz was born
in Berlin to a Lutheran Minister and his
wife. Her father was the last member of a
family famous during the Middle ages as
robber barons. While Elke, through her
lineage, is a "Baroness," she elects not
to use this
title.
• •After the war, the
Schletz family was evacuated to Erlangen,
a small university town in the south of
Germany. Circumstances, far from good or
even decent, forced them to make their
home in a one-room basement apartment.
Frau Schletz took in washing to help the
family survive. Meals often consisted of
potatoes regarded as too small to harvest.
• • At that time, Elke's
most memorable Christmas present was a
shiny red apple her father had traded for
his watch. Pfarrer Schletz determined that
his only child would have the best
possible education, enrolled her in the
prestigious Gymnasium School in Erlangen.
Within a student body of 500, Elke was one
of the only two girls enrolled. She
studied classical Greek and Latin for nine
years. It was this formal training that
formed her extraordinary facility for
languages.
• •Elke's first ambition
was to become an interpreter for the
United Nations. Her father's death at 14
precluded further formal education. So off
she set to England to be an au pair, to
perfect her English and earn a living. Her
salary was the equivalent of $4.00 per
week. During the day she cared for her
privileged young charges. Three nights a
week she studied for her High Cambridge
Exams in
English.
• •Soon after receiving
her diploma, Elke and her mother traveled
to Italy for a holiday. While dining at a
small cafe in the town of Viareggio,
someone pinned a ribbon on her and asked
her to stand. The entire cafe began to
applaud. Unaware of her instant celebrity
status, she learned that she had been
chosen "Miss Viareggio." Surely this
statuesque blond stood out in this small
Mediterranean village. Elke laughed it
off, taking it all in stride.
• • Two days later, a man
came to the door of their pensione,
stating that he was a representative of
renowned Italian film director, Vittoria
de Sica. Seeing Elke's photograph in a
local newspaper, de Sica was so taken with
the young woman's beauty that he wanted
her for a film he was shooting in Rome.
Elke's mother sent the man away, but he
returned later in the day with his wife to
prove that he was legitimate. The money de
Sica offered for the small role was enough
to pay for another full year of tuition.
Elke accepted.
• • At that time, she had
no intentions of becoming an actress and
was certain that this bubble would soon
burst. It did not. Offers for additional
roles continued. She subsequently changed
her name to Sommer because it was easier
for the Italians to pronounce and remained
in Rome to perfect her
Italian.
• •After making several
films in Italy, Elke was offered a
starring role in the British film " Don't
Bother To Knock," with Richard
Todd.
• •On her way, she was
soon hailed as the new European sex bomb.
It was then she joined the list of stars
whose first names suffice - like Gina,
Sophia, Brigitte and
Liz.
• •Just about this time
Carl Foreman cast her in her first
American film, "The Victors." Immediately
following she went on to starring a role
in "The Prize," opposite Paul Newman and
"A Shot In The Dark", with Peter
Sellers.
• •Elke moved to Los
Angeles, made her home in Bel Air and
achieved international
stardom.
• •Through the years she
has starred in numerous feature films,
movies for television, mini-series and
guest starred on many television series.
She has performed on stage here and abroad
as well as directed many stage
productions.
• •This brings us to the
present - Elke continues to maintain an
extraordinary professional schedule. One
may wonder, with the rigorous demands of
her career, how can she balance the need
for her treasured private life? In August
of 1993, she married hotelier Wolf
Walther. In the role of husband and sole
mate, Wolf has become both an anchor and a
sail to his wife providing a solid home
base for the private Elke and a passionate
supporter of the public
Elke.
• •Never entirely
comfortable with her image as a sexy
blonde, Elke has moved into a far more
natural milieu with the range of
challenging roles and characters she now
undertakes. Each broadens her and deepens
her awareness of her own
self.
• •In a career rich with
achievements and accolades, Elke continues
to see new challenges. In spite of all
that she has accomplished to date, Elke is
confident: The best is yet to come.
TIMELINE
Films
Featuring Ms. Elke Sommer --
- L'Amico Del
Giaguaro
YEAR: 1958
DIRECTOR: Giuseppe Bennati
ACTORS: Isabelle Corey, Gabriella
Pallota, Mario Carotenuto, Walter
Chiari, Tony Dallara, Carlo Romano
-
- Uomini E
Nobiluomini
YEAR: 1958
DIRECTOR: Giorgio Bianchi
ACTORS: Silvia Pinal, Mario Carotenuto,
Antonio Cifariello, Vittorio De
Sica
-
- Urlatori Alla
Sbarra
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Lucio Fulci
ACTORS: Mina, Chet Baker, Adriano
Celentano, Giacomo Furia, Joe
Sentieri
-
- Regazzi Del Juke
Biox
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Lucio Fulci
ACTORS: Fred Buscaglione, Mario
Carotenuto, Adriano Celentano, Tony
Dallara, Antonio De Teffe
-
- Das
Totenschiff
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Georg Tressler
ACTORS: Mario Adorf, Horst Buchholz,
Werner Buttler, Helmut Schmid
-
- La Pica Sul
Pacifico
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Roberto Montero
ACTORS: Tina Pica, Silvio Bagolini,
Memmo Carotenuto, Matteo Spinola, Ugo
Tognazzi
-
- Am Tag, als der
Regen kam
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Gerd Oswald
ACTORS: Corny Collins, Mario Adorf,
Gert Froebe, Claus Wilkke, Christian
Wolff
-
- Femmine Di
Lusso
YEAR: 1960
DIRECTOR: Giorgio Bianchi
ACTORS: Caprice Chantal, Belinda Lee,
Walther Chiari, Ivan Desny, Ufgo
Tognazzi
-
- Don't Bother to
Knock
- YEAR: 1960
- DIRECTOR: Cyril Francis
- ACTORS: Judith Anderson, Nicole
Maurey, Jane Thorburn, Richard
Todd
-
- Lampenfieber
- YEAR: 1960
- DIRECTOR: Kurt Hoffmann
- ACTORS: Dunja Movar, Antje
Weisgerber, Gustav Knuth, Bernhard
Wicki
-
- Saffo, Venere Di
Lesbos
- YEAR: 1960
- DIRECTOR: Pietro Francisci
- ACTORS: Susy Golgi, Tina Louise,
Riccardo Garrone, Kerwin Matthews,
Enrico Maria Salerno
-
- Himmel, Amor und
Zwirn
- YEAR: 1960
- DIRECTOR: Ulrich Erfurt
- ACTORS: Grit Boettcher, Hannelore
Schroth, Ann Smyrner, Hartmut Reck
-
- Und so was nennt
sich Leben
- YEAR: 1960
- DIRECTOR: Richard August
- ACTORS: Karin Baal, Hedi
Finkenzeller, Michael Hinz, Wolfgang
Lukschy
-
- Cafe
Oriental
- YEAR: 1961
- DIRECTOR: Rudolf Schundler
- ACTORS: Trude Herr, Jerome
Courtland, Walter Gross, Bill
Ramsey
-
- De Qoi Tu Te
Meles, Daniela
- YEAR: 1961
- DIRECTOR: Max Pecas
- ACTORS: Kathee Haack, Claire
Maurier, Ivan Desney, Danik
Patisson
-
- Douce
Violence
- YEAR: 1961
- DIRECTOR: Max Pecas
- ACTORS: Claire Mauier, Pierre
Brice, Christian Pezey, Vittorio
Prada
-
- Auf Wiedersehen
- YEAR: 1961
- DIRECTOR: Harald Philipp
- ACTORS: Gert Froebe, Joachim
Fuchsberger, Guenter Pfitzmann
-
- Geliebte Hochstaplerin
- YEAR: 1962
- DIRECTOR: Akos von Rathony
- ACTORS: Loni Heuser, Nadja Tiller,
Walter Giller, Dietmar Schoenherr
-
- Les Bricoleurs
- YEAR: 1962
- DIRECTOR: Jean Girault
- ACTORS: Francis Blanche, Darry
Cowl
-
- Nachts ging das Telefon
- YEAR: 1962
- DIRECTOR: Geza von Cziffra
- ACTORS: Ingrid Andree, Loni Heuser,
Guenther Pfitzmann, Guenter Philipp,
Leonard Steckel
-
- Un chien dans un jeu de
quilles
- YEAR: 1962
- DIRECTOR: Fabien Collins
- ACTORS: Sophie Daumier, Comacico,
Christian Marquand
-
- Das Maedchen und der
Staatsanwalt
- YEAR: 1962
- DIRECTOR: Juergen Goslar
- ACTORS: Paul Dahlke, Goetz George,
Wolfgang Preiss, Fritz Tillmann
-
- Verfuehrung am Meer
- YEAR: 1962
- DIRECTOR: Jovan Zivanovic
- ACTORS: Peter van Eyck
-
- Bahia Di Palma
- YEAR: 1962
- DIRECTOR: Juan Bosch
- ACTORS: Teresa del Rio, Arturo
Fernandez
-
- ... denn die Musik und die Liebe
in Tirol
- YEAR: 1963
- DIRECTOR: Werner Jacobs
- ACTORS: Hannelore Auer, Vivi Bach,
Corny Collins, Thomas Adler, Claus
Biederstaedt
-
- The Victors
- YEAR: 1963
- DIRECTOR: Carl Foreman
- ACTORS: Senta Berger, Jeanne
Moreau, Melina Mercouri, Romy
Schneider, Vincent Edwards, Albert
Finney, George Hamilton, George
Peppard
-
- The Prize
- YEAR: 1963
- DIRECTOR: Mark Robson
- ACTORS: Diana Baker, Micheline
Presle, Paul Newman, Edward G.
Robinson
-
- A Shot In The Dark
- YEAR: 1963
- DIRECTOR: Blake Edwards
- ACTORS: Tracy Reed, Herbert Lom,
George Sanders, Peter Sellers
-
- The Heroes of Telemark
- YEAR: 1964
- DIRECTOR: A. Mann, G. Woxhot
- ACTORS: Ulla Jacobson, Kirk
Douglas, Richard Harris, Michael
Redgrave
-
- Unter Geiern
- YEAR: 1964
- DIRECTOR: Alfred Vohrer
- ACTORS: Walter Barnes, Pierre
Brioce, Goetz George, Stewart
Granger
-
- The Art of Love
- YEAR: 1964
- DIRECTOR: Norman Jewison
- ACTORS: Angie Dickinson, Ethel
Merman, Dick van Dyke, James
Garner
-
- The Money Trap
- YEAR: 1964
- DIRECTOR: Burt Kennedy
- ACTORS: Rita Hayworth, Joseph
Cotten, Glenn Ford, Ricardo
Montalban
-
- Le Bambole
- YEAR: 1965
- DIRECTOR: Mauro Bolognini, Luigi
Com,encini, Franco Rossi, Dino
Risi
- ACTORS: Virna lisi, Gina
Lollobrigida, Monica Vitti, Piero
Focaccia
-
- Tausend Takte Uebermut
- YEAR: 1965
- DIRECTOR: Ernst Hofbauer
- ACTORS: Hannelore Auer, Vivi Bach,
Thomas Adler, Rex Gildo, Guenther
Philipp
-
- Hotel der toten Gaeste
- YEAR: 1965
- DIRECTOR: Eberhard Itzenplitz
- ACTORS: Karin Dor, Gisela Uhlen,
Claus Biederstaedt, Joachim
Fuchsberger, Frank Latimore
-
- The
Oscar
YEAR: 1965
DIRECTOR: Russelll Rouse
ACTORS: Eleanor Parker, Tony Bennett,
Milton Berle, Stephen Boyd
-
- Boy, Did I Get
the Wrong Number
YEAR: 1965
DIRECTOR: George Marshall
ACTORS: Bob Hope, Phylis Diller,
Marjorie Lord, Cesare Danova
-
- Deadlier than
the Male
YEAR: 1966
DIRECTOR: Ralph Thomas
ACTORS: Sylvia Koscina, Suzanne Leigh,
Nigel Green, Richard Johnson
-
- Les
Corrompos
YEAR: 1966
DIRECTOR: Frank Winterstein
ACTORS: Nancy Kwan, Maurizio Arena,
Christian Marquand, Robert Stack
-
- The Venetian
Affair
YEAR: 1966
DIRECTOR: Jerry Thorpe
ACTORS: Ed Asner, Karlheinz Boehm,
Boris Karloff, Robert Vaughn
-
- Las Vegas 500
Milliones
YEAR: 1967
DIRECTOR: Antonio Isasi
ACTORS: Lee J. Cobb, Cary Lockwood,
Jack Palance, Jean Servais
-
- The Wicked
Dreams of Paula
Schultz
YEAR: 1967
DIRECTOR: George Marshall
ACTORS: John Banner, Bob Crane, Joey
Forman, Werner Klemperer
-
- The Wrecking
Crew
YEAR: 1968
DIRECTOR: Phil Karlson
ACTORS: Nancy Kwan, Sharon Tate, Nigel
Green, Dean Martin
-
- The Invincible
Six
YEAR: 1969
DIRECTOR: Jean Negulesco
ACTORS: Curd Juergens, Stuart
Whitman
-
- Zeppelin
YEAR: 1970
DRIECTOR: Etienne Perier
ACTORS: Peter Carsten, Anton Diffring,
Marious Goring, Michael York
-
- Jamaican
Gold
YEAR: 1971
DIRECTOR: Henry Levin
ACTORS: Jeremy Kemp, Rod Taylor, Stuart
Whitman, Keenan Wynn
-
- Percy
YEAR: 1971
DIRECTOR: Ralph Thomas
ACTORS: Pauline Delany, Janet Key,
Hywell Bennett, Benholm Elliot
-
- Gli Orrori Del
Castello Di
Norimberga
YEAR: 1972
DIRECTOR: Mario Bava
ACTORS: Antonio Cantafora, Alan
Collins, Joseph Cotten, Massimo
Girotti
-
- Die Reise nach
Wien
YEAR: 1973
DIRECTOR: Edgar Reitz
ACTORS: Hannelore Elsner, Mario Adorf,
Nicolas Brieger, Heinz Reincke
-
- Einer von uns
beiden
YEAR: 1973
DIRECTOR: Wolfgang Petersen
ACTORS: Ortrud Beginnen, Ulla Jacobson,
Juergen Prochnow, Klaus
Schwarzkopf
-
- Percy's
Progress
YEAR: 1974
DIRECTOR: Ralph Thomas
ACTORS: Judy Geeson, Harry H. Corbett,
Denholm Elliot, Leigh Lawson, Vincent
Price
-
- Ein Unbekannter
rechnet ab
YEAR: 1974
DIRECTOR: Peter Collinson
ACTORS: Stephane Audran, Charles
Aznavour, Richard aTtenborough, Gert
Froebe, Oliver Reed
-
- Carry on
Behind
YEAR: 1975
DIRECTOR: Gerald Thomas
ACTORS: Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw,
Windsor Davies, Jack Douglas, Kenneth
Williams
-
- Das
Netz
YEAR: 1975
DIRECTOR: Manfred Purzer
ACTORS: Susanne Uhlen, Heinz Bennent,
Mel Ferrer, Klaus Kinski
-
- La Casa
Dell'Esorcsmo
YEAR: 1975
DIRECTOR: Mario Bava
ACTORS: Silva Koscina, Alessio Orano,
Telly Savalas
-
- The Swiss
Conspiracy
YEAR: 1975
DIRECTOR: Jack Asrnold
ACTORS: Senta Berger, David Janssen,
John Ireland, John Saxon
-
- Invisible
Strangers
YEAR: 1976
DIRECTOR: John Floria
ACTORS: Aariana Hill, Sue Lyon, Leslie
Parrish, Robert Foxworth
-
- Tote pflastern
seinen Weg
YEAR: 1976
DIRECTOR: Franco Prosperi
ACTORS: Martin Balsam, Heinz Domez, Ray
Lovelock
-
- The Double
McGuffin
YEAR: 1977
DIRECTOR: Joe Camp
ACTORS: Ernest Borgnine, George
Kennedy, Ed (Too Tall) Jones
-
- I Miss You -
Hugs & Kisses
YEAR: 1978
DIRECTOR: Murry Markowitz
ACTORS: Cindy Girling, Donald Pilon,
Chuck Shamta
-
- The Prisoner of
Zenda
YEAR: 1978
DIRECTOR: Richard Quine
ACTORS: Lynne Frederick, Peter
Sellers
-
- Exit Sunset
Boulevard
YEAR: 1980
DIRECTOR: Bastan Cleve
ACTORS: Azizi Hohari, Ruediger
Kuehlbrodt
-
- Der Mann im
Pyjama
YEAR: 1981
DIRECTOR: C. Rateuke, H. Schmige
ACTORS: Peter Fritz, Hermann Lause,
Otto Sander, Erich Schwartz
-
- Lily in
Love
YEAR: 1983
DIRECTOR: Karoly Makk
ACTORS: Maggie Smith, Adolph Green,
Janos Kende, Christopher Plummer,
Sandor Szabo
-
- Coconuts
YEAR: 1984
DIRECTOR: Franz Novotny
ACTORS: Olvia Pascal, Mario Adorf,
Rainhard Fendrich, Hanno Poschi,
Emanuel Schmid
-
- Niemand weint
fuer immer
YEAR: 1984
DIRECTOR: Jans Rautenbach
ACTORS: Howard Carpendale, Douglas
Fuchs, Zoli Marki, Siegried Rauch
-
- Deathstone
YEAR: 1986
DIRECTOR: Franz Josef Gottlieb
ACTORS: Birte Berg, Ravindra, Heather
Thomas, Albert Fortell, Brad Harris,
Siegfried Rauch
-
- Himmelsheim F
145
YEAR: 1988
DIRECTOR: Manfred Stelzer
ACTORS: Annette Favery, Sophie Kesser,
Tilly Lauenstein, Elisabeth Welz, Gustl
Augustin, Dietmar Mossmer,
Theo Messingschlaeger, Sigi
Zimmerschied, Hanns Zischler
-
- Severed
Ties
YEAR: 1991
DIRECTOR: Damion Santostefano
ACTORS: Olivier Reed, Garrett
Morris
-
Life is a
Bluff
YEAR: 1996
DIRECTOR: Peter Zingler
ACTORS: Mario Adorf, Heinz Hoenig, Muriel
Baumeister, Ben Becker
ByLines:
Disappointments
Are Great! Follow the Money . . . the
Internet and the Smart- Daaf
See
TELEVISION INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE -
1989
Boys.
///
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