Birthday:
08-20-1936
(88 years)
Birthplace:
Nerchau, Germany
Biography
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.
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.
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Their works
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The Thursday
Act like Self
event1964 star_border 6.9
top_panel_open
It's the story of a day spent by Dino, separated by his wife, who sees his son Robertino after five years. Dino has not contributed anything in life and to win the affection of his son, invents a story about his past. At the end of the day however, he will succeed in establishing a positive relationship with his son and telling the truth about himself.
Erik the Conqueror
Act like Rama
event1961 star_border 6.4
top_panel_open
In the 9th Century, two Viking children, separated since their early childhood with one raised by the British and the other by Vikings, meet after nearly 20 years as rivals as war breaks out between Britian and the Vikings for control of England.
Countess Mariza
Act like Ilonka
event1958 star_border 6
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Paying a rare visit to her estate, a countess clashes with the man she hired to manage it.
Ein Leben wie im Flug
Act like Self
event2007
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The celebration of Joachim 'Blacky' Fuchsberger's 80th birthday. A biographical documentary.
Das Posthaus im Schwarzwald
Act like Lilli
event1958 star_border 4
top_panel_open
Rural comedy set in the Black Forest.
Dead Woman from Beverly Hills
Act like Tiddy Sister Nr. 2
event1964 star_border 5
top_panel_open
Detective C.G. begins to investigate the death of an attractive woman whose naked body was found in Beverly Hills. When he recovers her journal, he is taken into her past where he finds that she lead a sexually promiscuous life. Perhaps in the pages of the diary will be a clue to her killer's identity.
Canzoni, bulli e pupe
Act like Self
event1964 star_border 5.7
top_panel_open
In order to promote a plumcake an adman associates with a mad scientist who has found a way to interfere with TV broadcasts.
The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina
Act like Tänzerin
event1958 star_border 7
top_panel_open
Sabrina is a beautiful thief, one who happens to have seven moles on her thigh, forming the constellation Ursa Minor; this is the only clue German police have to solve a recent robbery. Teo is a photographer looking for a pair of beautiful legs to participate in a photo contest. When he secretly takes a photo of Sabrina's legs, including the telltale moles, Sabrina has to get it back at any cost, something which brings her into dangerous proximity with the smitten Teo. Romance and assorted hijinx ensue.
Love and the Frenchwoman
Act like La jumelle, un mannequin de publicité (segment "L'Adultère")
event1960 star_border 4.9
top_panel_open
The seven stages in the life of the modern Frenchwomen are disclosed by seven directors in a witty way: 1 - Childhood, 2 - Adolescence, 3 - Virginity, 4 - Marriage, 5 - Adultery, 6 - Divorce, 7 - The Single Woman.
The Magician
event1960 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
In a Munich circus, Pierre, who has come to attend the funeral of his father, a famous illusionist, finds love in the arms of the beautiful Hildegarde. But he discovers that Hildegarde has a twin sister, Greta.
Sodom and Gomorrah
Act like Dancer
event1962 star_border 5.4
top_panel_open
Lot leads his people to a fertile valley adjacent to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, hotbeds of vice and corruption ruled by the merciless Queen Bera. When Lot orders a dam to be busted in order to prevent the destruction of the cities by the attacking Helamites, the queen, in gratitude, allows Lot's people to settle in Sodom. Soon, however, the veneer of civilization begins crumbling as Lot and the Hebrews become corrupted by the Sodomites.
Complexes
Act like Self (segment "Guglielmo il Dentone")
event1965 star_border 7
top_panel_open
In the first episode, Quirino tries to conquer co-worker Gabriella. In the second episode, Prof. Beozi ends up in a raid of the police in a local for homosexuals when trying to avoid a scandal. In the third episode, Guglielmo passes all tests in order to become reader of the television news brilliantly, although the commission works with all subtleness's to exclude him.
Rocco e le sorelle
event1961 star_border 6
top_panel_open
A Sicilian leaves for Milan, in search of fortune, with the four sisters he supervises fiercely.
Tabarin
Act like Self
event1958 star_border 4
top_panel_open
Jacques Forestier, also a choreographer, an art decorator and a stage producer, is the very competent manager of "Tabarin", a renowned Parisian music-hall. A hard worker, he always wants the best for the public, at the expense of his health. He is assisted in his task by his wife Rosine and his lively secretary Mimi. Chance has it that one of the dancers he auditions for a new show is Florence, his former lover. He doesn't want her in the show but the spiteful belle has a rich influential protector who imposes her anyway. Some time later, Jacques falls victim of a heart attack.
Heimat - Deine Filme
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event2008
top_panel_open
This documentary takes an entertaining and informative look at the German Heimatfilm phenomenon. The first part examines the history of the genre since the 1950s, while the second part presents crowd favorites of the genre.
Scene of the Crime
Act like Mutter Bemering (1 ep.)
event1970 star_border 6.2
top_panel_open
Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss, crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland.
Die Harald Schmidt Show
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event1995 star_border 7
top_panel_open
The Harald Schmidt Show is a German late night talk show hosted on Sky Deutschland by comedian Harald Schmidt. The show first aired from 5 December 1995 to 23 December 2003 on Sat.1. Schmidt then moved his show to Das Erste as Harald Schmidt and Schmidt & Pocher, but he returned to Sat.1 on 13 September 2011. After cancellation on Sat.1, the show continued on Sky Deutschland in September 2012.
Balko
Act like Natascha Adomeit (1 ep.)
event1995 star_border 5.8
top_panel_open
Balko is a German prime time television series broadcast on the private TV channel RTL. It is a police detective story with comical twists featuring two inspectors of the Dortmund police, Balko and his colleague Klaus Krapp. Balko's main characteristics are his coolness and his consistently laid-back appearance, whereas “Krappi” is a typical mama’s boy and very clumsy. The series started in 1995 and has won several television awards.
Ein Schloß am Wörthersee
Act like Anita Strassberg (1 ep.)
event1990 star_border 5.8
top_panel_open
Ein Schloß am Wörthersee is a German television series.
Markus Lanz
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event2008 star_border 5
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TV presenter Markus Lanz invites prominent guests and experts from all areas of public life to his colourful talk show. As a rule, there are four guests, introduced individually to contribute their personal experiences to the topics.
The Ed Sullivan Show
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event1948 star_border 6.6
top_panel_open
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows.
In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
Bambi Awards
Act like Self - Laudation (1 ep.)
event1948 star_border 9
top_panel_open
The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after Felix Salten's book Bambi, A Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of porcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in Süßen.
Numéro un
Act like Self (2 ep.)
event1975 star_border 6
top_panel_open
A French variety show.
The Danny Kaye Show
Act like Self (1 ep.)
event1963 star_border 6.3
top_panel_open
The Danny Kaye Show is an American variety show hosted by Danny Kaye that aired on CBS from 1963 to 1967 on Wednesday nights. Directed by Robert Scheerer, the show premiered in black-and-white, but later switched to color broadcasts. At the time, Kaye was at the height of his popularity, having starred in a string of successful films in the 1940s and '50's, made successful personal appearances at such venues as the London Palladium, and appeared many times on television. His most recent films had been considered disappointing, but the television specials he starred in were triumphant, leading to this series. Prior to his television and film career, Kaye had made a name for himself with his own radio show, and numerous other guest appearances on other shows.
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