Elke Sommer, Star of 'A Shot in the Dark' and 'The Prize', Dies at 85

Elke Sommer, the German-born actress who starred in "A Shot in the Dark" and "The Prize," died Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 85. Her stepson Sebastian Walther confirmed the death to the German outlet Bild.

The loss came just three months after the death of her husband, Wolf Walther, who died of cancer. Sebastian Walther told Bild: "Now she can finally be with her beloved husband again."

From Berlin to Hollywood

Sommer was born in Berlin on November 5, 1940, while the city was under Nazi occupation. Her family fled the capital during World War II and settled in the small town of Niederndorf. In 1957, at 17, Sommer moved to London and worked as an au pair for the family of actress Vicki Michelle. A holiday in Italy changed her path: director Vittorio De Sica noticed her, and film roles followed quickly. She relocated to Hollywood in the early 1960s and also built a career as a popular pin-up model.

Her route from wartime Berlin to Hollywood leading roles took just over twenty years. In plain terms: a refugee child became one of the decade's most visible European stars in American film.

What were her defining roles?

Sommer's 1960s filmography lists leading roles opposite major Hollywood names:

• "The Prize" with Paul Newman
• "A Shot in the Dark," the "Pink Panther" sequel, 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
• "Deadlier Than the Male"
• "The Wrecking Crew" with Dean Martin and Sharon Tate
• "The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz"

In 1964, she won a Golden Globe as most promising newcomer actress for "The Prize." The award came within roughly three years of her arrival in Hollywood.

What did she do in the 1970s?

Her 1970s output shifted toward thrillers, horror and European productions. The titles included "Zeppelin" with Michael York; the Agatha Christie adaptation "Ten Little Indians" — also known from her earlier credit "And Then There Were None" lineage of Christie films; "Baron Blood"; "Lisa and the Devil"; and the British comedy "Carry On Behind."

She sustained a screen career across two decades and two continents, working with directors and co-stars from De Sica's Italy to British comedy franchises. Her death closes a chapter on one of the last prominent German-born actresses of the classic Hollywood studio era, three months after her husband's passing.