Quick Facts
- NAME: Elke Sommer
- OCCUPATION: Film Actress
- BIRTH DATE: November 05, 1940 (Age: 71)
- EDUCATION: University of Erlangen
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Berlin, Germany
- Originally: Elke Schletz
- ZODIAC SIGN: Scorpio
Best Known For
German blonde bombshell Elke Sommer starred opposite film legends Peter Sellers, Paul Newman and Bob Hope.
Elke Sommer. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 10:36, May 24, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/elke-sommer-262755
Elke Sommer [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/elke-sommer-262755, May 24
" Elke Sommer." 2012. Biography.com 24 May 2012, 10:36 http://www.biography.com/people/elke-sommer-262755
' Elke Sommer', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/elke-sommer-262755 [accessed May 24, 2012]
" Elke Sommer," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/elke-sommer-262755 (accessed May 24, 2012).
Elke Sommer [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 May 24]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/elke-sommer-262755.
Elke Sommer, http://www.biography.com/people/elke-sommer-262755 (last visited May 24, 2012).
Elke Sommer, http://www.biography.com/people/elke-sommer-262755 (last visited May 24, 2012).
Synopsis
Quotes
1966). She also became a familiar face on the 1970s talk show circuit and presented her own painting instruction show on PBS.
Early Career
Actress, artist. Born Elke Schletz on November 5, 1940, in Berlin, Germany. Known for being a blonde bombshell, Elke Sommer appeared on screen with the likes of Peter Sellars, Paul Newman, and Bob Hope. The daughter of a Lutheran minister, she lost her father when she was fourteen. A few years later, Sommer went to London to work as a nanny. This job helped her learn English, which she hoped would help her achieve her goal of becoming a translator.While at the University of Erlangen, Sommer abandoned her studies to pursue a modeling career and then moved into acting. She made her film debut in the German film, Das Totenschiff (1959). In the early 1960s, she won over American audiences with her roles in the drama The Prize (1963) with Paul Newman and the comedy A Shot in the Dark (1964) with Peter Sellars. Sommer won a Golden Globe for her work on The Prize. In addition to being an actress, she was a popular sex symbol of the era. Sommer was compared to such other screen sirens as Sophia Loren and Brigitte Bardot.
Career Highlights
Other notable film roles from this time include The Art of Love (1965) with James Garner, The Oscar (1966) with Milton Berle, and Boy, Did I Get the Wrong Number (1966) with Bob Hope. This last film was the start of a long working relationship with Hope. She went on to appear on many of his television specials over the next decade.In the 1970s, Sommer was a popular talk show guest, appearing on The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show, Dinah!, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. She had roles in a number of feature films, including Zeppelin (1971), The Swiss Conspiracy (1979), and The Prisoner of Zelda (1979), which reunited her with Sellars. The next decade brought more work, largely in television. She made guest appearances on such shows as The Love Boat and St. Elsewhere and had roles in several miniseries, including Inside the Third Reich (1982),
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