The German-born star passed away from heart failure in Los Angeles after an expansive screen career that spanned comedies, European horror, and mainstream Hollywood dramas. Discovered following a 1958 beauty contest, she captured major studio attention and won a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer after appearing with Paul Newman in the 1963 film The Prize. Alongside her later transition into painting, she made headlines by securing a $3.3 million defamation award stemming from a televised feud with Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Key points
She established herself as one of the few German performers of her generation to command…: She established herself as one of the few German performers of her generation to command a major presence in Hollywood.
Her diverse filmography spanned high-profile studio comedies, Mario Bava horror movies, a…: Her diverse filmography spanned high-profile studio comedies, Mario Bava horror movies, and classic ensemble adaptations.
In her later life, she stepped back from regular screen appearances to concentrate heavil…: In her later life, she stepped back from regular screen appearances to concentrate heavily on her career as a painter.
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Elke Sommer, the prolific German star of the Pink Panther film A Shot in the Dark, early 70s Agatha Christie adaptation And Then there Were None, and British sex comedy Carry On Behind, has died aged 85. Bild magazine reported that Sommer had died in Los Angeles of heart failure.
German-born Sommer, whose best-known film roles were in the 1960s and 70s, was one of the wave of European performers who crossed over to Hollywood and English-language cinema with considerable success, following the post-war emergence of European New Wave cinema. Sommer was one of the few German actors to make waves at the time, as Hollywood made much of her bombshell image.
Born Elke Schletz in 1940 in Berlin, the daughter of a Protestant pastor, she was evacuated with her family to Bavaria during the war. Intending to work as an interpreter, she was spotted by celebrated Italian director Vittorio de Sica after winning a beauty contest on a trip to Italy in 1958, and subsequently offered roles in a string of Italian comedy films. She crossed back into more…
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