Elke Sommer
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- November 5, 1940
- Died
- October 28, 2026 (aged 85)
- Birthplace
- Berlin, Germany
Biography
Elke Sommer (born Elke von Schletz; 5 November 1940 – 28 October 2026) was a German actress, entertainer and artist, who has starred in many Hollywood films. She was spotted by film director Vittorio De Sica while on holiday in Italy, and began appearing in films there in 1958. Also that year, she changed her surname from Schletz to Sommer, which was easier to pronounce for a non-German audience. Quickly becoming a noted sex symbol and moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s, Sommer also became one of the most popular pin-up girls of the time, and posed for several pictorials in Playboy magazine, including the September 1964 and December 1967 issues. Sommer became one of the top film actresses of the 1960s. She made just shy of 100 film and television appearances between 1959 and 2005, including A Shot in the Dark with Peter Sellers, The Art of Love with James Garner and Dick Van Dyke, The Oscar with Stephen Boyd, Boy Did I Get a Wrong Number! with Bob Hope, the Bulldog Drummond extravaganza Deadlier Than the Male, The Wrecking Crew with Dean Martin, and The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz. In 1964, she won a Golden Globe award as Most Promising Newcomer Actress for The Prize, a film in which she co-starred with Paul Newman and Edward G. Robinson. A frequent guest on television, Sommer sang and participated in comedy sketches on episodes of The Dean Martin Show and on Bob Hope specials, made 10 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and was a panelist on the Hollywood Squares game show many times between 1973 and 1980, when Peter Marshall was its "Square-Master", or host. Sommer's films during the 1970s included the thriller Zeppelin, in which she co-starred with Michael York, and a remake of Agatha Christie's frequently filmed murder mystery Ten Little Indians. In 1972, she starred in two Italian horror films directed by Mario Bava: Baron Blood and Lisa and the Devil. The latter was subsequently re-edited (with 1975 footage inserted) to make a different film called House of Exorcism. Sommer went back to Italy to act in additional scenes for Lisa and the Devil, which its producer inserted into the film to convert it to House of Exorcism, against the wishes of the director. In 1975, Peter Rogers cast her in the British comedy Carry On Behind as the Russian Professor Vrooshka.[2] She became the Carry On films' joint highest-paid performer, at £30,000; this was an honor that she shared with Phil Silvers (who starred in Follow That Camel). Most of her film work during the decade came in Europe. After the 1979 comedy The Prisoner of Zenda, which reunited her with Sellers, the actress did virtually no more acting in Hollywood films, concentrating more on her artwork. She provided the voice for Yzma in the German release of The Emperor's New Groove. Sommer also performed as a singer, recording and releasing several albums. Description above from the Wikipedia article Elke Sommer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Albert Speer und der Traum von Hollywood
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
In der Folterkammer des Barons
Movie · as Self
A Thousand Kisses
Movie · as Nette (voice)
Wer weiß denn sowas?
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Elke Sommer erzählt...
Movie · as Self
Life Is Too Long
Movie · as Alfis Mutter
Lafer! Lichter! Lecker!
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Filmlegenden. Deutsch
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Ewig rauschen die Gelder
Movie · as Mrs. von Korff
Reblaus
Movie · as Maria Rüppel
Mario Bava: Operazione paura
Movie · as Self
The Curious Case of Inspector Clouseau
Movie · as self
Die WIB-Schaukel
TV · as self · 1 ep
Flashback
Movie · as Frau Lust
Nicht mit uns
Movie · as Andrea Paretti
Menschen der Woche
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Last Days of Sharon Tate
Movie
Doppeltes Spiel mit Anne
Movie · as Frau Lorenz
Gisbert
TV · 1 ep
What's a Carry On?
Movie · as Professor Anna Vooshka (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sunset Boulevard - 27 Meilen Amerika
Movie · as Self - Actress
Tietjen und Bommes
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Alles nur Tarnung
Movie · as Jutta
Die Harald Schmidt Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Florian III
TV · as Sonja Carpenter · 10 eps
alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Twisted Sex Vol. 5
Movie · as (archive)
Happy Holiday
TV · as Isabella Scattini · 1 ep
Destiny Ridge
TV · as Anna Hansen · 1 ep
Severed Ties
Movie · as Helena Harrison
Schmidteinander
TV · 1 ep
Training Your Best Friend
Movie · as Self
Himmelsheim
Movie · as Helga Münzel
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: The World's Most Exotic Vacation Resorts
Movie · as Self
Adventures Beyond Belief
TV · as Headmistress Bruno von Kleff · 5 eps
Death Stone
Movie · as Kris Patterson
Na siehste!
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Nachtcafé
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Hollywood Ghost Stories
Movie · as Herself
Showgeschichten
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Peter the Great
TV · as Charlotte · 4 eps
ZDF-Fernsehgarten
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna
TV · as Isabel Von Hohenstauffen · 2 eps
Jenny's War
Movie · as Eva Gruenberg
Jenny's War
TV · as Eva Gruenberg · 4 eps
Niemand weint für immer
Movie · as Lou Parker
Lily in Love
Movie · as Alicia Braun
Nina
Movie · as Nina Breuer / Trude Mielitz
St. Elsewhere
TV · as Natasha · 1 ep
Krimistunde
TV · 1 ep
Inside the Third Reich
TV · as Magda Goebbels · 2 eps
Der Mann im Pyjama
Movie · as Frau Lachmann
Wetten, dass..?
TV · as Self · 2 eps
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
Movie · as Miss Pelham
Heut' abend
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Verstehen Sie Spaß?
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Top of the Hill
TV · as Eva Heggener · 2 eps
The Prisoner of Zenda
Movie · as Countess Montparnasse
The Fantastic Seven
Movie · as Rebecca Wayne
The Double McGuffin
Movie · as Prime Minister Kura
Jamaican Gold
Movie · as Ursula
Die Pyramide
TV · as Self - Musician · 1 ep
NDR Talk Show
TV · as Self · 3 eps
The Astral Factor
Movie · as Chris Hartman
I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses
Movie · as Magdalene Kruschen
Bio’s Bahnhof
TV · as Self · 1 ep
That's Carry On!
Movie · as Professor Anna Vooshka (archive footage)
US Against the World
Movie · as Self
Nicht von gestern
Movie · as Billie Dawn
The Love Boat
TV · as Benita James · 2 eps
The Swiss Conspiracy
Movie · as Rita Jensen
Meet Him and Die
Movie · as Perrone's Secretary
One Away
Movie · as Elsa
The Muppet Show
TV · as Self - Special Guest Star · 1 ep
Carry On Behind
Movie · as Professor Anna Vooshka
The Net
Movie · as Christa Sonntag
The House of Exorcism
Movie · as Lisa Reiner
Schnick-Schnack
TV · as Self · 1 ep
And Then There Were None
Movie · as Vera Clyde
Lisa and the Devil
Movie · as Lisa Reiner
Percy's Progress
Movie · as Clarissa
One or the Other of Us
Movie · as Miezi
The Six Million Dollar Man
TV · as Dr. Ilse Martin · 1 ep
Der große Preis
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Dinah!
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Journey to Vienna
Movie · as Toni Simon
Je später der Abend
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Bobby Darin Show
TV · 1 ep
Baron Blood
Movie · as Eva Arnold
Probe
Movie · as Heideline 'Uli' Ullman
Zeppelin
Movie · as Erika Altschul
Percy
Movie · as Helga
Perlico - Perlaco
Movie
Dalli Dalli
TV · as Self, Self - Candidate · 1 ep
The Invincible Six
Movie · as Zari
Münchner Bilderbogen
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Wünsch dir was
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Unsere kleine Show - Musik zur blauen Stunde
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Wrecking Crew
Movie · as Linka Karensky
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
Movie · as Ann Bennett
The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz
Movie · as Paula Schultz
The Dick Cavett Show
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
Deadlier Than the Male
Movie · as Irma Eckman
The Corrupt Ones
Movie · as Lilly Mancini
Mondo Hollywood
Movie
Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!
Movie · as Didi
The Oscar
Movie · as Kay Bergdahl
The Venetian Affair
Movie · as Sandra Fane
The Money Trap
Movie · as Lisa Baron
The Dolls
Movie · as Ulla (segment "Il Trattato di Eugenetica")
The Art of Love
Movie · as Nikki Dunnay
Hotel der toten Gäste
Movie · as Herself
Tausend Takte Übermut
Movie · as Herself
The Jack Benny Hour
Movie · as Elke Sommer / Maria Poppenini
A Shot in the Dark
Movie · as Maria Gambrelli
Frontier Hellcat
Movie · as Annie Dillman
Zwischenstation
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Der goldene Schuß
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Victors
Movie · as Helga
The Prize
Movie · as Inger Lisa Andersson
Who Stole the Body?
Movie · as Brigitte
… denn die Musik und die Liebe in Tirol
Movie · as Singer
Seduction by the Sea
Movie · as Eva
The Danny Kaye Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Bahía de Palma
Movie · as Olga
Sweet Ecstasy
Movie · as Elke
Das Mädchen und der Staatsanwalt
Movie · as Renate Hecker
Café Oriental
Movie · as Sylvia
Un chien dans un jeu de quilles
Movie · as Ariane
Nachts ging das Telefon
Movie · as Mabel Meyer
Le Chien
Movie · as Elle
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Daniella by Night
Movie · as Daniella
Don't Bother to Knock
Movie · as Ingrid
Geliebte Hochstaplerin
Movie · as Barbara Shadwell
Und sowas nennt sich Leben
Movie · as Britta
Auf Wiedersehen
Movie · as Suzy Dalton
Musik aus Studio B
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Howlers of the Dock
Movie · as Giulia Giommarelli
Himmel, Amor und Zwirn
Movie · as Eva
Lampenfieber
Movie · as Evelyne
The Warrior Empress
Movie
Love, the Italian Way
Movie · as Greta
The Day the Rains Came
Movie · as Ellen
Ship of the Dead
Movie · as Mylène Loureau
La Pica sul Pacifico
Movie · as Rossana
L'amico del giaguaro
Movie · as Greta
The Jukebox Kids
Movie · as Giulia Cesari
Men and Noblemen
Movie · as Caterina
Stars in der Manege
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Cinépanorama
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Reflets de Cannes
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Oscars
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV · as The Princess · 1 ep
The Bob Hope Show
TV · as Self · 5 eps
Bambi
TV · as Self · 2 eps