They first appeared as revue dancers when they were 15, at the Palladium in Düsseldorf, shortly after moving from Leipzig. “We were far too young back then,” says Ellen Kessler 46 years later in the Theater am Gärtnerplatz. The twins have also been on stage here, in 1976 in the ballet “The Seven Deadly Sins” based on Bertolt Brecht. Now the two ladies are sitting next to director Josef Köpplinger: slim and long-legged, just as you know them, chin-length blonde hair, perfect make-up. Busts with their stage costumes from different decades stand around them.
The dresses are to be auctioned from October 12th to 30th, online at the auction house Neumeister (www.neumeister.com) The proceeds benefit the victims of the flood disaster in the Ahr valley. The cameras click. Alice and Ellen Kessler were used to it, for decades. You were omnipresent on German television, danced at the Lido in Paris in the 1950s, lived there for five years, appeared regularly in shows by Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, felt at home in Las Vegas, and lived in Italy for many years. The two women, now 86 years old, have been living in Munich Grünwald since 1986. Together. Inseparable. The interview was done in advance on the phone.
SZ: Alice and Ellen Kessler, which costumes are being auctioned now?
Alice Kessler: Anything that we haven’t worn in a long time and don’t want to wear anymore.
Ellen Kessler: Actually, all the stage costumes that were hanging around at home and no longer had any purpose for us, we have now parted with them. We’re not performing anymore.
But you still have some in the closet?
Ellen Kessler: We kept three pairs of costumes: The pink costume we wore at our last gig at the Paris Lido. That was in 1977. We got the costumes as parting gifts, they have a great emotional meaning for us. And then a long sequined dress that we could still wear wonderfully for big events and a sequined suit.
How many did you have in total?
Ellen Kessler: Hundreds. In the “Kessler Kabarett Show” in Italy and Germany alone, we performed in 17 different costumes in one evening.
The “Mermaid” costume is embroidered all over with sequins. Manual work that could hardly be paid for today.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
Some of the pieces are heavy and expensive, they are elaborately hand-embroidered with sequins or have silk fringes. What was important to you in terms of design?
Ellen Kessler: They had to be effective, of course, but above all they had to fit well and be comfortable. It doesn’t matter whether it’s dresses or pants.
Alice Kessler: The trousers had to fit like a second skin when dancing. I liked trousers because you can wear flat shoes with them, which I found to be an advantage.
Your names are handwritten on the labels of the fashion labels in your costumes. Are their bodies different?
Ellen Kessler: No not at all. The costumes have always fit the two of us. Only one of us should have gone to the fitting. But we didn’t want to slip into each other’s costumes. This piece of individuality was important to us.
Many costumes are in size 34/36, they are 1.76 tall. Did you have to give up a lot to keep yourself so slim?
Alice Kessler: We could always eat whatever we wanted. We really like to eat, preferably Italian and Asian.
How about a portion of fries with mayo?
Alice Kessler: Naturally. We certainly don’t consciously eat low-fat.
You have worked and lived independently all your life. Was that an important criterion for you in your career?
Ellen Kessler: Total independence has always been the most important thing for us. That was the engine. Ever since we were children, we have made it our goal to become self-employed and financially independent. At the Lido in Paris, we negotiated our own contracts and decided how short our skirts should be.
The orange tunic ensemble was made to Frank Sinatra’s preference. He is said to have loved the color orange.
(Photo: Catherine Hess)
You are now 86 and have never made a secret of your age. Do you still feel good in this world where so much has changed?
Alice Kessler: To be honest, I don’t think the developments of the past few years are nice at all. First the pandemic, then the war in Ukraine and the consequences.
Ellen Kessler: We have experienced carefree times. Sometimes we see pictures of Paris or Rome on TV. We recognize streets through which we have often walked. We could also travel to the cities, but we won’t do that during the pandemic.
Alice Kessler: We don’t want to experience these now common inconveniences: delays, cancellations, lost suitcases. A lot has also become too uncertain. I need security to feel good.
Ellen Kessler: We’ve seen the whole world, we’ve had everything.
What is your advice to young women?
Alice Kessler: Learn a good job! Nothing is denied women today, they can even become an astronaut if they want to.
Ellen Kessler: Stand on your own two feet and don’t make yourself dependent. Especially not from a man.
And young artists?
Ellen Kessler: I would not recommend becoming a dancer, the hard training demands a lot. If you want to be on stage, then it’s better to go to a musical. That’s what’s needed now: to combine dancing and singing.
What can we learn from you?
Alice Kessler: sincerity and honesty.
Ellen Kessler: Discipline from me.
You worked with Franz Sinatra and met Elvis Presley. What were these male stars like back then?
Ellen Kessler: We saw Elvis at the Lido in Paris. He came to Paris almost every weekend and we went to dinner together. Actually, he was very shy and uptight.
Alice Kessler: We felt a little sorry for him.
Ellen Kessler: Some others, like Sammy Davis Jr., were incredibly collegial and helpful. Sammy even wanted to give us his arrangements.
Alice Kessler: We did a TV show every year with Marcello Mastroianni, that was in 1966 or 67, and he really wanted to dance with us à la Fred Astaire. That was his dream. Then we made it happen. he was great He was a very down to earth person.
Alice (left) and Ellen Kessler at the premiere in the Hansa-Variete-Theater Hamburg in 2010. They no longer perform.
(Photo: Malte Christians/dpa)
The men of that time were more chauvinistic than they are allowed to be today. Have you experienced assaults?
Ellen Kessler: We never had to fight back. I think because there were two of us, we always seemed a bit like a wall. One alone might have experienced something invasive. But for two…
Alice Kessler: … we haven’t had any bad experiences. Not all these years.
Ellen Kessler: Maybe our body language also signaled: leave us alone.
Was that wall you speak of sometimes a hindrance to love?
Alice Kessler: It certainly wasn’t easy for a man to be in a relationship with a Gemini, but somehow it worked out.
The image of women has changed. What would you not want to do today?
Ellen Kessler: There’s actually nothing there, we’ve never had to do anything that we didn’t really want to do.
Which time do you like to think back to the most?
Ellen Kessler: The early days in Paris, when we were young and without responsibilities. We walked around town every night after the show and enjoyed Paris.
Now you have landed in Munich. Isn’t the city boring for you?
Ellen Kessler: We came to Munich when we were shooting our first film “As long as there are pretty girls” with Grethe Weiser and Georg Thomalla, that was in 1955. We said: If Germany, then Munich, and then to Grünwald, we’ll go through it who knew Bavaria Film.
What is your everyday life like now?
Alice Kessler: One of us always does her gymnastics in the morning. The other takes care of the mail and cooks lunch. We take turns with it. I always have my reading lessons in the afternoon.
Ellen Kessler: I’m reading “Love in Times of Hate” which takes place in Berlin between 1933 and 1939. There are all the celebrities of that time who had to flee: Marlene Dietrich, Billy Wilder, the Mann family.
Twins used to be something special, there were fewer than today. Did you feel extraordinary?
Alice Kessler: Not really, it was normal for us to look the same and do everything together.
What advice would you give to parents of twins, or to twins themselves?
Alice Kessler: Paying attention to independence. We always had to look exactly the same, even the hair clips were the same. Our father wanted it that way, he was very proud of his twins. But that is certainly not ideal for the development of a young person.
Ellen Kessler: It wasn’t until we were in Paris that we started buying our clothes in at least different colors.
Have you always agreed on questions of taste?
Alice Kessler: If they perform together for more than 70 years, then differences of opinion in questions of taste are inevitable.
Why should the proceeds of the auction benefit the victims of the Ahr Valley?
Ellen Kessler: We made a spontaneous donation when the extent of the flood disaster became apparent. The idea for the costumes came up soon after. But only now can we realize them. The area of art and culture in the region was also massively affected by the consequences of the catastrophe: we decided to support the reconstruction of the spa building and the spa park in Bad Neuenahr with the entire proceeds from the auction.