Actress Elke Sommer dies at 85

Elke Sommer, the German-born actress who rose to fame in 1960s Hollywood comedies and spy films, died at age 85. Her death occurred at her home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles on Wednesday, according to her stepson, Sebastian Walther.

Walther shared the news with the German newspaper Bild. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that officers responded to the death of an 85-year-old woman on her street that same evening.

Born Elke Schletz in Berlin on November 5, 1940, during World War II, Sommer evacuated to southern Germany with her family in 1942. Her father, a Protestant pastor, passed away when she was 14. Although she planned to study languages, a chance meeting with an Italian film industry executive in 1958 led to her first role in 'The Friend of the Jaguar.' She soon adopted the surname Sommer and began working across Europe.

Her career in the United States launched when producer Pandro S. Berman cast her in 'The Prize' after seeing a German drama she had starred in. In that 1963 film, she acted alongside Paul Newman. The role earned her the Golden Globe for most promising newcomer. She followed this with a part in Blake Edwards' 'A Shot in the Dark,' playing a maid framed for murder in a story involving Peter Sellers. She also appeared in films with James Garner, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Hope, and Dean Martin.

Sommer's personal life included two marriages. She wed Joe Hyams, a photographer and actor, in November 1964; they divorced in 1981. In 1993, she married German hotelier Wolf Walther, who died in July at age 77. Her work pace slowed during the 1970s but resumed in Europe with roles in 'Zeppelin' and 'And Then There Were None.' She later shifted her focus to painting while continuing to make occasional film and television appearances, including voicing the character Yzma in the German dub of 'The Emperor's New Groove.'

Beyond her film credits, Sommer engaged in a high-profile legal dispute with Zsa Zsa Gabor. The conflict began in 1984 after Gabor made public comments suggesting Sommer was financially struggling and aging poorly. In 1990, Gabor’s husband added to the criticism in print. Sommer filed a defamation and libel suit seeking $10 million. A jury ruled in her favor in 1993, ordering Gabor and her husband to pay $3.3 million.

Sommer addressed her public image in a 2014 interview with Film Talk. She described the label of sex symbol as essentially meaningless, noting that she was simply performing written lines. She argued that her contribution was energy rather than just physical appearance. She stated, 'My whole life, I have been directed, I have been produced, I spoke the lines written for the character. I was always playing, and the only thing I could bring was my energy.'

Despite her casual view of the sex symbol title, Sommer emphasized the value of screen glamour. In a 1967 television interview promoting the film 'Deadlier than the Male,' she expressed belief that movie stars should appear extraordinary to audiences. She said, 'I think movie stars, if I can use that word..should be something extraordinary and above normal, above average to the people who pay a lot of money to go see them.'

Her career spanned six decades, beginning with European productions and transitioning to major American studio films before returning to European work and visual arts. Her final years were spent in Los Angeles, where she lived until her death this week.