Alice and Ellen Kessler, twin dancers and singers who launched their career in the 1950s and performed with Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra and Harry Belafonte, among others, have died, police in Germany said Tuesday. They were 89.
The death of the twins in Grünwald, a prosperous suburb of Munich where they shared a house, was reported by German newspaper Bild and news agency dpa on Monday, without named sources. Munich police on Tuesday confirmed the deaths, saying in an emailed statement that it was a “joint suicide.” In a statement, the German Society for Humane Dying confirmed to Bavarian Broadcasting that it was an assisted suicide.
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The Kessler twins learned to dance at a young age and joined the Leipzig Opera children’s ballet. In 1952, when they were 16, their family fled to West Germany, where they danced in a revue theater in Düsseldorf. In 1955, the sisters were discovered by the director of the Lido cabaret theater in Paris, where their international career took off.
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In the 1960s, the Kessler twins toured worldwide, moved to Rome and performed with Astaire, Sinatra and Belafonte. They turned down an offer to appear with Elvis Presley in “Viva Las Vegas” in 1964 for fear of becoming defined by musical films in America, dpa reported.
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Even at 80, the sisters appeared on stage in a musical. Alice said shortly before their 80th birthday that they probably wouldn’t have managed to perform for so long alone.
Being a twosome “only has advantages,” she said. “Together you’re stronger.”
Asked about the secret of their success, she remarked: “Discipline, every day. Gratitude, time and again. Humility, not cockiness. And togetherness. Until death.”
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The twins told the German tabloid Bild in April 2024 that they wanted to be buried in the same urn, along with the ashes of their mother and dog. “That’s what we stipulated in our wills,” Ellen Kessler told Bild.
Assisted suicide is legal in nine countries in Europe as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Cuba and Ecuador, according to the nonprofit Dignity in Dying.
In the U.S., dying with medical assistance is legal in 10 states and Washington, D.C., but at least eight other states are considering similar laws this year, according to Death with Dignity.
Currently, some New York lawmakers and advocates are calling for Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the “Medical Aid In Dying” bill, also known as MAID. The bill would legalize giving terminally ill adult patients who have six months or less to live the option to have a doctor prescribe them a mixture of a lethal medication.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.