VALE ELKE SOMMER: PINK PANTHER STAR DIES AT 85, MONTHS AFTER HER HUSBAND
Photo: Unsplash
Elke Sommer, the German-born actress who charmed audiences around the world in the swinging sixties, has died at the age of 85.
The star passed away at her home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, at about 10pm on Wednesday 28 October, just a week shy of her 86th birthday.
Her stepson, Sebastian Walther, told the German newspaper Bild that the cause was heart failure, and that she had been bed-bound in the months before her death.
The loss comes only three months after her husband, Wolf Walther, died of cancer in July.
"Now she can finally be with her beloved husband again," Sebastian told Bild, as reported by Yahoo Entertainment.
Elke Sommer's journey from Berlin to Hollywood
She was born Elke Schletz in Berlin on 5 November 1940.
Her big break came almost by chance in 1958, when, aged 17 and on holiday in Italy, she won the Miss Viareggio contest.
That win opened the door to acting, and she was soon discovered by the celebrated Italian director Vittorio De Sica.
Within a few years she had made the leap to English-language films, and Hollywood quickly took notice.
In 1964 she won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer, a sign of just how bright her star was shining.
The role that made her a household name
For many fans, she will always be Maria Gambrelli, the mysterious maid at the heart of A Shot in the Dark (1964).
The Pink Panther sequel saw her play opposite Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau, and their scenes together remain much-loved comedy gold.
Nearly three decades later she returned to the franchise in Son of the Pink Panther (1993), a lovely full-circle moment for long-time fans.
Her other film credits read like a who's who of the era.
She starred in The Prize alongside Paul Newman and Edward G. Robinson, and in The Wrecking Crew (1968) with Dean Martin.
She also appeared in Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966), the Agatha Christie adaptation And Then There Were None (1974), and the very British romp Carry On Behind (1975).
Along the way she worked with screen greats including James Garner and Dick Van Dyke.
A talent that went far beyond the screen
Television kept her busy too, with appearances in The Six Million Dollar Man, St. Elsewhere and the drama Inside the Third Reich.
She was also a singer, recording several albums and performing on The Dean Martin Show.
From the 1990s she poured much of her creative energy into painting, and her colourful canvases showed the strong influence of Marc Chagall.
Her career spanned nearly 60 years, and her final credit was a voice role as Nette in the 2017 animated short A Thousand Kisses.
A life of love and loss
Before her long marriage to Wolf Walther, she was married to the Hollywood columnist Joe Hyams from 1964 until 1981.
Wolf was her husband of more than three decades.
Losing him earlier this year was a heavy blow, and her stepson's words suggest the family takes some comfort in the thought that the pair are now reunited.
Her death has been confirmed by outlets around the world, including TMZ and Deadline.
Why Elke Sommer still matters
It is easy to remember the sixties starlets for their glamour alone, but Elke Sommer was so much more than a pretty face on a film poster.
She was a multi-talented performer who moved between comedy, thrillers, music and fine art with ease.
She reinvented herself again and again, long after the Hollywood spotlight had moved on to younger stars.
If you would like to remember her this weekend, A Shot in the Dark is the perfect place to start, ideally with a cup of tea and a few friends who love a good laugh.
Vale, Elke, and thank you for the joy.
