Elke Sommer, Pink Panther Star and Golden Globe Winner, Dies at 85
Elke Sommer, the German-born actress who achieved international stardom in 1960s Hollywood comedies and thrillers, died at her home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, USA Today reported. She was 85.
Passing at Home in Los Angeles Following Extended Illness
Sommer died on October 28 at approximately 10 p.m. of heart failure after an extended period of illness, her stepson Sebastian Walther told the German news outlet Bild. She would have turned 86 on November 5.
“Elke passed away peacefully around 10 p.m. Now she can finally be with her beloved husband again,” Sebastian Walther told Bild.
Following the Death of Husband Wolf Walther
Sommer’s death came just three months after that of her husband, hotelier Wolf Walther, who died on July 22 at age 77 following a cancer diagnosis, according to Bild. The couple had been married since 1993.
“She could never have imagined a life without her beloved ‘Papa Bear,’ her husband Wolf Walther,” Erwin Schneider, a friend of Sommer, told Bild. “Her health had steadily declined since then. Now Elke has finally been able to join him.”
From Berlin Wartime Beginnings to Hollywood Stardom
Born Elke Schletz in Berlin in 1940 during Nazi occupation, Sommer initially planned to become an interpreter. Her family fled the capital during World War II and relocated to the small town of Niederndorf. In 1957, she moved to London to work as an au pair. While on vacation in Italy, a beauty contest helped open the door to acting, leading to director Vittorio De Sica noticing her and casting her in European films.
She relocated to Hollywood in the early 1960s, quickly establishing herself as an international sex symbol and popular pin-up model whose career spanned film, television, and theater. Her performance opposite Paul Newman in the 1963 film The Prize earned her a Golden Globe in 1964 in the new star of the year, actress category.
Sommer Stars in Pink Panther and Other 1960s Films
That same year, Sommer appeared in Blake Edwards’ A Shot in the Dark, part of the Pink Panther series. She played Maria Gambrelli, a maid suspected of murder whose innocence Inspector Clouseau, played by Peter Sellers, insists on proving.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, her long list of prominent cinematic appearances featured The Art of Love alongside James Garner and Dick Van Dyke, The Oscar paired with Stephen Boyd, Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! featuring Bob Hope, The Wrecking Crew alongside Dean Martin and Sharon Tate, The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz, Zeppelin, Ten Little Indians, Baron Blood, Lisa and the Devil, and the British comedy Carry On Behind. She also appeared in Playboy pictorials published in September 1964, December 1967, and September 1970.
Arranging Burial in Marloffstein, Germany
According to Bild coverage, Sommer expressed a wish to be laid to rest in Marloffstein, Germany, inside her family’s plot alongside her mother and father. Her stepson is arranging for Sommer and her husband to be laid to rest together there.