Elke Sommer, 1960s Hollywood actor, dies at 85
The German-born actor known for roles opposite Paul Newman and Peter Sellers has died at her home in Los Angeles.
Elke Sommer, the German-born actor who became a fixture in 1960s Hollywood comedies and spy films, died Wednesday at her home in Bel Air, Los Angeles. She was 85.
Born Elke Schletz in Berlin in 1940, Sommer moved into European film before catching the attention of Hollywood producer Pandro S. Berman, who cast her opposite Paul Newman in The Prize. Elke Sommer won a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer for that role.
Her best-known work came in Blake Edwards' Pink Panther sequel A Shot in the Dark, where she played a maid opposite Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau. She also appeared in The Art of Love with James Garner and Dick Van Dyke, and worked with Bob Hope, Dean Martin and Sharon Tate in other films.
Sommer was married twice: to photographer Joe Hyams from 1964 to 1981, and to German hotelier Wolf Walther from 1993 until his death in July.
- Berlin, November 5, 1940
- Born
- The Friend of the Jaguar, Italy 1958
- First film
- Opposite Paul Newman in The Prize
- Key Hollywood role
- A Shot in the Dark with Peter Sellers
- Best-known film
Why it mattersSommer's death marks the end of an era in Hollywood's golden age of comedy and espionage films that shaped entertainment in the 1960s.
AustraliaNo direct Australian impact, but Sommer's films remain part of the classic cinema watched across Australia.
Corroborated bytheguardian.com
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