Jump to content

Kessler Twins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kessler Twins
The Kessler Twins in 1965
Born
Alice Kaessler
Ellen Kaessler

(1936-08-20)20 August 1936
Nerchau, Gau Saxony, Nazi Germany
Died17 November 2025(2025-11-17) (aged 89)
Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany
Other namesdie Kessler-Zwillinge (in Germany)
le gemelle Kessler (in Italy)
Occupations
  • Singers
  • dancers
  • actresses
Years active1947–2016

Alice and Ellen Kessler (born Kaessler, German: [aˈliːsə/ˈɛlən ˈkɛslɐ]; 20 August 1936 – 17 November 2025), usually credited as the Kessler Twins (German: die Kessler-Zwillinge; Italian: le gemelle Kessler), were twin German singers, dancers and actresses who were popular in Europe, especially Germany and Italy, during the 1950s and 1960s.

Early life

[edit]

Twin sisters Alice and Ellen Kessler were born on 20 August 1936 in Nerchau, Saxony,[1] to parents Paul and Elsa Kaessler[2] (also spelled Kässler).[3] The girls started ballet classes at the age of six,[4] and they joined the Leipzig Opera's child ballet program at age 11.[5] In 1952, when the twins were 16, their parents used a visitor's visa for the family to escape East Germany.[5][6][7]

Career

[edit]
The Kessler Twins on The Danny Kaye Show in 1966
Kessler Twins in 1966

After they reached Düsseldorf, the sisters performed at the Palladium theatre.[8] Between 1955 and 1960, they performed at The Lido in Paris.[8] There they met American singer Elvis Presley, who was on leave from the army on 17 June 1959.[8] The twins represented West Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959, finishing in 8th place with "Heute Abend wollen wir tanzen geh'n" ("Tonight we want to go dancing").[9][8] While performing at The Lido, they also met Don Lurio, a US-born Italian choreographer who brought them to Italy in 1961.[10]

In 1962, the twins moved to Italy,[11] changing their surname from Kaessler to Kessler.[12] They gradually worked into more serious roles and became very popular through the RAI television variety show Studio Uno (1961–1966), with the opening theme "Da-da-un-pa" becoming their most memorable song in Italy.[8] At the age of 40, they agreed to pose for the cover of an issue of the Italian edition of Playboy, which became the fastest-selling Italian Playboy to that date.[9][11]

The Kessler sisters were also significantly popular in the United States, making their American television debut on variety show The Red Skelton Hour[13] and appearing on national television programs including The Danny Kaye Show and The Ed Sullivan Show.[14] They also appeared in the 1962 film Sodom and Gomorrah as dancers, and were depicted on the cover of Life that same year.[15]

The Kessler Twins in 2005

The Kessler Twins moved back to Germany in 1986 and lived in Grünwald, near Munich, Bavaria.[11] They received awards from both the German and Italian governments for promoting German–Italian cooperation through their work in show business.[16]

Personal life and deaths

[edit]

Despite both sisters having a history of romances – with Ellen even being with the Italian actor Umberto Orsini for 20 years, and Alice having relationships with the French singer Marcel Amont and Italian actor Enrico Maria Salerno – neither of the two sisters ever married.[10][17]

The twins died together, by assisted suicide in Grünwald, on 17 November 2025, at the age of 89.[18][19][20][17] The suicide took place in the presence of a doctor and a lawyer from the German Society for Humane Dying.[21] It was known that the twins did not want to become dependent on nursing care, and wanted to die together.[22] According to a friend, Ellen had suffered a stroke in October, and their general quality of life was declining due to heart problems and loss of the sense of smell.[23] In a 2023 interview with Bild, the sisters revealed that they had changed their last will and testament. They had initially wanted to bequeath their entire estate to Doctors Without Borders, but changed it so that more social organisations would inherit something; these organisations included the Paul Klinger Künstlersozialwerk, CBM Blindenmission, UNICEF, and Deutsche Stiftung Patientenschutz.[24]

Selected filmography

[edit]

Sources:[25][26]

Awards

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Kessler, Alice; Kessler, Ellen (1996). Eins und eins ist eins (in German). Ed. Ferenczy bei Bruckmann. ISBN 978-3-7654-2880-7. OCLC 38132100.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "'Im Tode vereint' — Kessler-Zwillinge gemeinsam gestorben". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). 17 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  2. ^ ""Platz sparen": Kessler-Zwillinge wollen mit ihrer Mutter in eine Urne". Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (in German). 5 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Nicht nur neben der Mutter: Kessler-Zwillinge finden ihre letzte Ruhe auf diesem Friedhof". Abendzeitung (in German). 20 November 2025. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Kessler-Zwillinge Alice und Ellen sind gestorben". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 17 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Kessler-Zwillinge feiern ihren 160. Geburtstag". Leipziger Volkszeitung (in German). 20 August 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  6. ^ Feddersen, Jan (20 August 2018). "Kessler-Zwillinge feierten ihren 82. Geburtstag". eurovision.de (in German). Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Im Alter von 89 Jahren: Die Kessler-Zwillinge sind gestorben". Die Zeit (in German). dpa. 17 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "singend und tanzend ins internationale Showbusiness". SWR (in German). 19 August 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Perché le gambe delle gemelle Kessler erano il sogno di tutte? La vera storia delle dive della tv italiana". www.elle.com (in Italian). 24 September 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  10. ^ a b Giuffrida, Angela (18 November 2025). "The Kessler Twins sisters Alice and Ellen die together aged 89". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  11. ^ a b c "Kessler-Zwillinge werden 75". SWI swissinfo.ch (in German). 20 August 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  12. ^ Wulff, Hans-Jürgen: Der Tanz der Puppen. Die Kessler-Zwillinge und ihre Performances. In: montage AV. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Geschichte audiovisueller Kommunikation, (2015), Nr. 1, p. 159-170
  13. ^ "'The Red Skelton Hour' (CBS) Season 12 (1962–63)". CTVA US Music Variety. 25 September 1962. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  14. ^ "Showgirls Alice und Ellen Kessler". Der Spiegel (in German). 19 August 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  15. ^ "February 22 1963 Life Magazine Sensations from Germany Kessler Twins on Cover". Etsy Canada. 22 February 1963. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  16. ^ a b Wulff, Hans-Jürgen; mediarep.org (2015). "Der Tanz der Puppen. Die Kessler-Zwillinge und ihre Performances". Montage AV. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Geschichte audiovisueller Kommunikation (in German). doi:10.25969/MEDIAREP/3506. ISSN 0942-4954.
  17. ^ a b Arkin, Daniel (18 November 2025). "The Kessler Twins, German entertainment duo, die together by assisted suicide". NBC News. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  18. ^ "Alice and Ellen Kessler, '60s Singing Sensations, Die at 89". The New York Times. 19 November 2025. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  19. ^ Etienne, Vanessa (17 November 2025). "Twin Sisters Who Were Once Famous Entertainers Choose to End Their Lives on the Same Day". People. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  20. ^ Klugmayer, Lisa (17 November 2025). "Die Kessler-Zwillinge sind tot". FOCUS online (in German). Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  21. ^ Hoffmann, Nadja; Zsolnay, Maria; Woitsch, Katrin (19 November 2025). "Alice und Ellen Kessler sind tot – Sie wurden von Sterbehilfeverein begleitet". Merkur.de (in German). Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  22. ^ Frey, Angelica (21 November 2025). "Inseparable, sensuous and confident, the Kessler twins were pioneers of variety show culture". The Guardian.
  23. ^ Teresa Winter, Maria Zsolnay (18 November 2025). "'Wir sehen uns wieder auf Wolke 7': Der Abschiedsbrief der Kessler-Zwillinge". Münchner Merkur (in German). Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  24. ^ Trunk, Steffen (19 November 2025). "Kessler-Zwillinge bestimmten im Testament: Wer das Millionen-Haus erbt". www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de (in German). Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  25. ^ "Alice Kessler". filmportal.de (in German). 20 August 1936. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  26. ^ "Ellen Kessler". filmportal.de (in German). 20 August 1936. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  27. ^ Guttmann, Katja (17 November 2025). "Kessler-Zwillinge mit 89 Jahren in München gestorben". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  28. ^ CINEMA online (18 December 1956). "Kino bei CINEMA: Kinoprogramm, Filme, DVDs, Stars, Trailer und mehr". cinema.de (in German). Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  29. ^ "Die Zwillinge vom Zillertal". filmportal.de (in German). Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  30. ^ "Ehrenbürger der Stadt Grimma". Stadt Grimma (in German). Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  31. ^ Reppenhagen, Charlotte (17 November 2025). "Sie starben gemeinsam! Die berühmten Kessler-Zwillinge sind tot". gala.de (in German). Retrieved 17 November 2025.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kessler Twins.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kessler_Twins&oldid=1324166148"