Kessler Twins

Alice and Ellen Kessler (born 20 August 1936), usually credited as the Kessler Twins (German: die Kessler-Zwillinge; Italian: le gemelle Kessler), are German twin sisters who as singers, dancers and actresses were popular in Europe, especially Germany and Italy, during the 1950s and 1960s.

Kessler Twins
The Kessler Twins in 2005
Born
Alice Kessler
Ellen Kessler

(1936-08-20) 20 August 1936
Nerchau, Saxony, Nazi Germany
Other namesdie Kessler-Zwillinge (in Germany)
le gemelle Kessler (in Italy)
Occupations
  • Singers
  • dancers
  • actresses
Years active1942–present

The Kessler sisters enjoyed a significant degree of popularity in the US as well, making their American television debut on the CBS variety show The Red Skelton Hour and appearing on national television programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show. They also appeared in the 1963 film Sodom and Gomorrah as dancers and were featured on the cover of Life Magazine that same year.

Lives and careers

Twin sisters Alice and Ellen Kessler were born in Nerchau, Saxony to parents Paul and Elsa Kessler. The girls started ballet classes at the age of six, and they joined the Leipzig Opera's child ballet program at age 11. When the twins were 18, their parents used a visitor's visa for the family to escape East Germany.

After they reached Düsseldorf, the sisters performed at the Palladium. Between 1955 and 1960, they performed at The Lido in Paris. There they met American singer Elvis Presley, who was on leave from the army on 17 June 1959. 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").[1]

The Kessler Twins pictured on the Italian magazine TV Sorrisi e Canzoni in 1965
The Kessler Twins performing on The Danny Kaye Show in 1966

In 1960, the twins moved to Italy, where they gradually worked into more serious roles. They became very popular through 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.[1]

The Kessler twins moved back to Germany in 1986 and live in Grünwald, Bavaria. They have received two awards from both the German and Italian governments for promoting German-Italian cooperation through their work in show business.

Selected filmography

References
  1. "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.
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