Elke Sommer
Known for Acting · 154 credits
- Born
- 1940-11-05 (age 85)
- Place of birth
- Berlin, Germany
Biography
Elke Sommer, born Elke von Schletz, is 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. She quickly became a noted sex symbol and moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s. She 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 movie work during the decade came in European films. 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.
Known For
TV Shows (57)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self
The Love Boat
1977
as Benita James
St. Elsewhere
1982
as Natasha
Die Harald Schmidt Show
1995
as Self
The Six Million Dollar Man
1974
as Dr. Ilse Martin
NDR Talk Show
1979
as Self
Wetten, dass..?
1981
as Self
Bambi
1948
as Self
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest
Nachtcafé
1987
as Self
The Oscars
1953
as Self
ZDF-Fernsehgarten
1986
as Self
Dinah!
1974
as Self
Wer weiß denn sowas?
2015
as Self
Dalli Dalli
1971
as Self / Self - Candidate
Tietjen und Bommes
1997
as Self
The Bob Hope Show
1950
as Self
Menschen der Woche
2000
as Self
alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio
1994
as Self
Miss Universe
1955
as Host
Cinépanorama
1956
as Self
The Muppet Show
1976
as Self - Special Guest Star
The Danny Kaye Show
1963
as Self
Lafer! Lichter! Lecker!
2006
as Self
Verstehen Sie Spaß?
1980
as Self
Die Pyramide
1979
as Self - Musician
Wir in Bayern
2003
as Self
Heut' abend
1980
as Self
Stars in the Ring
1959
as Self
Der große Preis
1974
as Self
Reflets de Cannes
1954
as Self
Showgeschichten
1986
as Self
Musik aus Studio B
1961
as Self
Unsere kleine Show - Musik zur blauen Stunde
1969
as Self
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as The Princess
Krimistunde
1982
Na siehste!
1987
as Self
Der goldene Schuß
1964
as Self
Bio’s Bahnhof
1978
as Self
Schmidteinander
1990
Peter the Great
1986
as Charlotte
Je später der Abend
1973
as Self
Anastasia - The Mystery of Anna
1986
as Isabel Von Hohenstauffen
Happy Holiday
1993
as Isabella Scattini
Inside the Third Reich
1982
as Magda Goebbels
Die WIB-Schaukel
2001
as self
Wünsch dir was
1969
as Self
Top of the Hill
1980
as Eva Heggener
The Bobby Darin Show
1973
Schnick-Schnack
1975
as Self
Gisbert
1999
Zwischenstation
1964
as Self
Filmlegenden. Deutsch
2006
as Self
Münchner Bilderbogen
1970
as Self
Florian III
1994
as Sonja Carpenter
Jenny's War
1985
as Eva Gruenberg
Destiny Ridge
1993
as Anna Hansen
Movies (97)
A Shot in the Dark
1964
as Maria Gambrelli
And Then There Were None
1974
as Vera Clyde
Lisa and the Devil
1973
as Lisa Reiner
Percy
1971
as Helga
The Wrecking Crew
1968
as Linka Karensky
The Art of Love
1965
as Nikki Dunnay
The Oscar
1966
as Kay Bergdahl
The Prize
1963
as Inger Lisa Andersson
The Money Trap
1965
as Lisa Baron
Zeppelin
1971
as Erika Altschul
The Astral Factor
1978
as Chris Hartman
Deadlier Than the Male
1967
as Irma Eckman
They Came to Rob Las Vegas
1968
as Ann Bennett
The Victors
1963
as Helga
Baron Blood
1972
as Eva Arnold
The Jukebox Kids
1959
as Giulia Cesari
The Dolls
1965
as Ulla (segment "Il Trattato di Eugenetica")
The Prisoner of Zenda
1979
as Countess Montparnasse
That's Carry On!
1977
as Professor Anna Vooshka (archive footage)
Frontier Hellcat
1964
as Annie Dillman
Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!
1966
as Didi
Carry On Behind
1975
as Professor Anna Vooshka
Love, the Italian Way
1960
as Greta
Lily in Love
1984
as Alicia Braun
The House of Exorcism
1975
as Lisa Reiner
Mondo Hollywood
1967
US Against the World
1977
as Self
Probe
1972
as Heideline 'Uli' Ullman
I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses
1978
as Magdalene Kruschen
Albert Speer und der Traum von Hollywood
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Don't Bother to Knock
1961
as Ingrid
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: The World's Most Exotic Vacation Resorts
1988
as Self
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
1980
as Miss Pelham
Sunset Boulevard - 27 Meilen Amerika
1997
as Self - Actress
Howlers of the Dock
1960
as Giulia Giommarelli
What's a Carry On?
1998
as Professor Anna Vooshka (archive footage) (uncredited)
La Pica sul Pacifico
1959
as Rossana
The Fantastic Seven
1979
as Rebecca Wayne
The Curious Case of Inspector Clouseau
2002
as self
Flashback
2000
as Frau Lust
Life Is Too Long
2010
as Alfis Mutter
The Venetian Affair
1966
as Sandra Fane
Percy's Progress
1974
as Clarissa
The Double McGuffin
1979
as Prime Minister Kura
The Warrior Empress
1960
The Last Days of Sharon Tate
1999
The Swiss Conspiracy
1976
as Rita Jensen
Hollywood Ghost Stories
1986
as Herself
The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz
1968
as Paula Schultz
Mario Bava: Operazione paura
2004
as Self
Ship of the Dead
1959
as Mylène Loureau
Severed Ties
1992
as Helena Harrison
One or the Other of Us
1974
as Miezi
The Corrupt Ones
1967
as Lilly Mancini
Lampenfieber
1960
as Evelyne
The Invincible Six
1970
as Zari
Jenny's War
1985
as Eva Gruenberg
L'amico del giaguaro
1959
as Greta
The Journey to Vienna
1973
as Toni Simon
Who Stole the Body?
1963
as Brigitte
Sweet Ecstasy
1962
as Elke
The Net
1975
as Christa Sonntag
Daniella by Night
1961
as Daniella
Le Chien
1962
as Elle
Ewig rauschen die Gelder
2005
as Mrs. von Korff
Alles nur Tarnung
1996
as Jutta
Bahía de Palma
1962
as Olga
… denn die Musik und die Liebe in Tirol
1963
as Singer
Twisted Sex Vol. 5
1993
as (archive)
One Away
1976
as Elsa
Auf Wiedersehen
1961
as Suzy Dalton
Und sowas nennt sich Leben
1961
as Britta
Jamaican Gold
1979
as Ursula
Meet Him and Die
1976
as Perrone's Secretary
The Day the Rains Came
1959
as Ellen
Un chien dans un jeu de quilles
1962
as Ariane
Death Stone
1987
as Kris Patterson
Men and Noblemen
1959
as Caterina
Tausend Takte Übermut
1965
as Herself
Hotel der toten Gäste
1965
as Herself
The Jack Benny Hour
1965
as Elke Sommer / Maria Poppenini
Das Mädchen und der Staatsanwalt
1962
as Renate Hecker
Himmelsheim
1989
as Helga Münzel
Geliebte Hochstaplerin
1961
as Barbara Shadwell
Café Oriental
1962
as Sylvia
Himmel, Amor und Zwirn
1960
as Eva
Seduction by the Sea
1963
as Eva
Nicht von gestern
1977
as Billie Dawn
Der Mann im Pyjama
1981
as Frau Lachmann
Reblaus
2005
as Maria Rüppel
Nicht mit uns
2000
as Andrea Paretti
Niemand weint für immer
1984
as Lou Parker
Nachts ging das Telefon
1962
as Mabel Meyer
Perlico - Perlaco
1971
Doppeltes Spiel mit Anne
1999
as Frau Lorenz
Elke Sommer erzählt...
2010
as Self
Training Your Best Friend
1989
as Self
About Elke Sommer
Elke Sommer, born Elke von Schletz, is 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. She quickly became a noted sex symbol and moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s. She also became one of the most popular pin-up girls of the time, and posed for several pictorials in Pl… With 154 credits spanning from 1948 to 2021, Elke Sommer has appeared in 97 films and 57 TV shows.
Fans searching for Elke Sommer movies, Elke Sommer filmography, or the latest projects starring Elke Sommer can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Elke Sommer Movies
- A Shot in the Dark (1964) — as Maria Gambrelli
- And Then There Were None (1974) — as Vera Clyde
- Lisa and the Devil (1973) — as Lisa Reiner
- Percy (1971) — as Helga
- The Wrecking Crew (1968) — as Linka Karensky
Where to Watch Elke Sommer Films
Most Elke Sommer movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Elke Sommer, check our movies catalogue and browse page.