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.

Filmography

• Lukas — Alice Kessler
• Balko — Natascha Adomeit
• Auf eigene Gefahr — Leonore Dreikantl
• Ein Schloß am Wörthersee — Anita Strassberg
• 1978Just a Gigolo — Dancer (uncredited)
• 1975Treffpunkt Herz — Gast
• Die diebischen Zwillinge — Judy
• Scene of the Crime — Mutter Bemering
• 1964Dead Woman from Beverly Hills — Tiddy Sister Nr. 2
• 1963Maskenball bei Scotland Yard — Kessler-Zwillinge
• 1962Der Vogelhändler — Tänzerin
• 1962Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies — Tilli
• 1962Sodom and Gomorrah — Dancer
• 1961Die lachende Dritte — Alice
• 1961Erik the Conqueror — Rama
• 1961Rocco e le sorelle
• 1960Love and the Frenchwoman — La jumelle, un mannequin de publicité (segment "L'Adultère")
• 1960The Magician — Greta
• 1958Countess Mariza — Ilonka
• 1958Das Posthaus im Schwarzwald — Lilli
• 1958Der Bettelstudent — Mira
• 1958Mein Schatz ist aus Tirol — Li
• 1958The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina — Tänzerin
• 1957Die Zwillinge vom Zillertal — Tänzerin
• 1957Mit Rosen fängt die Liebe an — Liese
• 1957Scherben bringen Glück — Margit
• 1957The Count of Luxemburg — Fritzi
• 1957Vier Mädels aus der Wachau — Franzi
• 1955Solang es hübsche Mädchen gibt — Ailce

Appearances as themselves (75)

• Ringlstetter — self
• Wer weiß denn sowas? — Self
• Heimat - Deine Filme — Self
• Markus Lanz — Self
• 2007Ein Leben wie im Flug — Self
• Inas Nacht — Self
• Filmlegenden. Deutsch — Self
• Lafer! Lichter! Lecker! — Self
• Herzlichen Glückwunsch - Die Michael Schanze Jubiläumsgala — Self
• 2003Johannes Heesters: Eine Legende wird 100 — Self
• Menschen bei Maischberger — Self
• Ein roter Teppich für.... — Self
• Aeschbacher — Self
• Alles Liebe V.I.P. — Self
• Menschen der Woche — Self
• Alpha Forum — Self
• Zimmer frei! — Self
• Die Harald Schmidt Show — Self
• Lebens-Künstler — Self
• Versteckte Kamera — Self
• Die Feste mit Florian Silbereisen — Self
• alfredissimo! Kochen mit Bio — Self
• Riverboat — Self
• Boulevard Bio — Self
• DAS! — Self
• Mini Playback Show — Self
• Pssst ... — Self
• Alles Nichts Oder?! — Self
• Nachtcafé — Self
• Showgeschichten — Self
• Die verflixte 7 — Self
• Menschen — Self
• Wortwechsel — Self
• Heut' abend — Self
• Die Pyramide — Self
• NDR Talk Show — Self
• Bio’s Bahnhof — Self
• Auf los geht's los — Self
• Domenica In — Self
• Kölner Treff — Self
• Music & Guests — Self
• Numéro un — Self
• Am laufenden Band — Self - Guest
• Die Montagsmaler — Self
• 8 x 1 in Noten — Self
• Klimbim — Self
• Hätten Sie heut’ Zeit für mich? — Self
• 1971Alice und Ellen — Self
• Anneliese Rothenberger gibt sich die Ehre — Self
• Dalli Dalli — Self - Contestant
• 1969Festival der Stars — Self
• Peter Alexander präsentiert Spezialitäten — Self
• Wünsch dir was — Self
• Night-Club — Self
• 1968Paris nach Noten — Self
• Starparade — Self
• 1967Andere Zeiten - andere Sitten — Self
• Continental Showcase — Self
• Die Caterina-Valente-Show — Self
• 1965Complexes — Self (segment "Guglielmo il Dentone")
• 1965Show - Charme - Chansons — Self
• 1964Songs, Bullies and Chicks — Self
• 1964The Thursday — Self
• 1963Perpetuum Musicale - Eine Revue ohne Aufenthalt — Self
• The Danny Kaye Show — Self
• Lieben Sie Show ? — Self - Host
• Wieder zurück: Siegfried Arno - Eine Musik-Show aus Studio 3 — Self
• Hotel Victoria — Self
• Discorama — Self
• Stars in der Manege — Self
• 1958Tabarin — Self
• Zum blauen Bock — Self
• Eurovision Song Contest — Self - Contestant
• Bambi — Self - Laudation
• The Ed Sullivan Show — Self