Image of Ellen Kessler

Ellen Kessler

Alice and Ellen Kessler (born 20 August 1936 in Nerchau, Saxony, Germany) are twin entertainers known in Europe, especially Germany and Italy, from the 1950s and 1960s for their singing, dancing, and acting. They are usually credited as the Kessler Twins (Die Kessler-Zwillinge in Germany and Le Gemelle Kessler in Italy), where they remain popular. The Kessler sisters enjoyed a significant degree of popularity in the US, appearing on national television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show. The Kesslers made their American television debut on the CBS variety show, The Red Skelton Hour. They also appeared in the 1963 film Sodom and Gomorrah as dancers and were featured on the cover of Life Magazine that same year. Their parents, Paul and Elsa, sent them to ballet classes at the age of six, and they joined the Leipzig Opera's child ballet program at age 11. When they were 18, their parents used a visitor's visa to escape to West Germany, where they performed at the Palladium in Düsseldorf. They performed at The Lido in Paris between 1955 and 1960, where they met Elvis Presley, on leave from the Army on June 17, 1959, and represented West Germany in the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in 8th place with Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n (Tonight we want to go dancing). They moved to Italy in 1960 and gradually moved to more serious roles. They became very popular thanks to the RAI television variety show Studio Uno (1961–1966). At the age of 40, they agreed to pose on the cover of the Italian edition of Playboy. That issue became the fastest-selling Italian Playboy to that date. They moved back to Germany in 1986 and live in Grünwald. They have received two awards from both the German and Italian governments for promoting German-Italian cooperation through their work in show business. Source: Article "Kessler Twins" from Wikipedia in english, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.


Read bio at tmdb | Read bio at Wikipedia
Born:
Aug 20, 1936 In Nerchau, Germany
Movie/TV Credits:
91
First Appeared:
In the series Bambi Awards 1948-01-01
Latest Project:
Series Ringlstetter 2016-12-01
Known For
Poster of Heimat - Deine Filme
Poster of Die verflixte 7
Poster of Domenica In
Poster of Continental Showcase
Filmography
Series Ringlstetter self 2016-12-01
Series Wer weiß denn sowas? Self 2015-07-06
Series Markus Lanz Self 2008-06-03
Series Heimat - Deine Filme Self 2008-12-13
Movie Ein Leben wie im Flug Self 2007-03-15
Series Inas Nacht Self 2007-06-09
Series Filmlegenden. Deutsch Self 2006-01-14
Series Lafer! Lichter! Lecker! Self 2006-12-09
Movie Filmlegenden. Deutsch Self 2005-06-26
Series Menschen bei Maischberger Self 2003-09-02
Movie Johannes Heesters: Eine Legende wird 100 Self 2003-12-05
Series Ein roter Teppich für.... Self 2002-10-26
Series Menschen der Woche Self 2000-09-30
Series Alpha Forum Self 1998-01-07
Series Lukas Ellen Kessler 1996-03-03
Series Zimmer frei! Self 1996-07-09
Series Balko Ira Adomeit 1995-03-19
Series Die Harald Schmidt Show Self 1995-12-05
Series Die Feste mit Florian Silbereisen Self 1994-06-02
Series alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio Self 1994-12-27
Series Auf eigene Gefahr Lucie Grindel 1993-10-10
Series Riverboat Self 1992-01-03
Series DAS! Self 1991-01-02
Series Boulevard Bio Self 1991-08-06
Series Pssst ... self 1990-02-19
Series Ein Schloß am Wörthersee Erika Strassberg 1990-10-17
Series Mini Playback Show Self 1990-12-31
Series Alles Nichts Oder?! Self 1988-04-08
Series Showgeschichten Self 1986-07-26
Series Die verflixte 7 Self 1984-04-07
Series Wortwechsel Self 1982-01-08
Series Menschen Self 1982-01-09
Series Heut' abend Self 1980-02-03
Series NDR Talk Show Self 1979-02-09
Series Die Pyramide Self 1979-03-16
Series Bio’s Bahnhof Self 1978-02-09
Series Auf los geht's los Self 1977-01-22
Series Domenica In Self 1976-10-03
Series Kölner Treff Self 1976-01-25
Series Numéro un Self 1975-04-05
Movie Treffpunkt Herz Gast 1975-10-04
Series Am laufenden Band Self - Guest 1974-04-27
Series Die Montagsmaler Self 1974-01-14
Series 8 x 1 in Noten Self 1973-07-19
Series Klimbim Self 1973-07-24
Series Hätten Sie heut’ Zeit für mich? Self 1972-06-01
Series Anneliese Rothenberger gibt sich die Ehre Self 1971-12-25
Series Die diebischen Zwillinge Kathy 1971-02-27
Series Dalli Dalli Self 1971-05-13
Series Scene of the Crime Mutter Bemering 1970-11-29
Series Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten Self 1969-03-09
Series Wünsch dir was Self 1969-12-20
Series Night-Club self 1968-09-13
Series Starparade Self 1968-03-14
Movie Andere Zeiten - andere Sitten Self 1967-11-16
Movie Playgirl Self 1966-06-23
Series Continental Showcase Self 1966-06-11
Series Die Caterina-Valente-Show Self 1966-09-01
Movie Complexes Self (segment "Guglielmo il Dentone") 1965-08-15
Movie The Thursday Self 1964-01-24
Movie Canzoni, bulli e pupe Self 1964-05-29
Movie Dead Woman from Beverly Hills Tiddy Sister Nr. 1 1964-04-09
Movie Maskenball bei Scotland Yard Kessler-Zwillinge 1963-08-23
Series The Danny Kaye Show Self 1963-09-25
Movie Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies Milli 1962-05-08
Movie Der Vogelhändler Tänzerin 1962-08-02
Series Lieben Sie Show ? Self - Host 1962-11-24
Movie Sodom and Gomorrah Dancer 1962-10-04
Series Hotel Victoria Self 1961-03-12
Movie Rocco e le sorelle 1961-05-05
Movie Erik the Conqueror Daya 1961-12-07
Movie Die lachende Dritte Ellen 1961-07-02
Movie The Magician 1960-08-24
Movie Love and the Frenchwoman L'autre jumelle, un mannequin de publicité (segment "L'Adultère") 1960-09-16
Series Discorama Self 1959-02-04
Series Stars in der Manege Self 1959-04-11
Movie Das Posthaus im Schwarzwald Cilli 1958-10-10
Movie Der Bettelstudent Katja 1958-01-24
Movie Tabarin Self 1958-05-21
Movie The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina Tänzerin 1958-11-21
Movie Mein Schatz ist aus Tirol Lo 1958-12-19
Movie Countess Mariza Rosika 1958-12-17
Movie Vier Mädels aus der Wachau Hanni 1957-08-01
Movie Scherben bringen Glück Flora Fleuron 1957-01-01
Series Zum blauen Bock Self 1957-08-03
Movie Die Zwillinge vom Zillertal Tänzerin 1957-09-26
Movie The Count of Luxemburg Franzi 1957-12-18
Movie Mit Rosen fängt die Liebe an Lotte 1957-09-26
Movie Solang es hübsche Mädchen gibt Ellen 1955-07-07
Series Bambi Awards Self - Laudation 1948-01-01
Series The Ed Sullivan Show Self 1948-06-20