CDA: Alice and Ellen Kessler

I never heard of these ladies but their shared obit caught my eye on the Times. This was the first time I remember seeing a dual obit, people who died on the same day. Alice and Ellen Kessler were identical twins, German singers and dancers, sometime actresses (can we just say "entertainers?") who were a big deal in the 60s. They died at the age of 89 vis assisted suicide. Ellen had recently suffered a serious stroke and they went public with their intention to end their lives together.

Here they are on The Ed Sullivan Show. There's so much to love in this video.

1. It cracks me up how they redo the rhythm in "Mais Que Nada" to be absolutely square.

2. The twin on the left occasionally gets caught looking at her feet. So cute.

3. I love how they make a duet out of "The Look of Love" and "Quiet Nights and Quiet Stars." I guess it works but overall it sounds like two people singing two songs at the same time.

4. You hear just a twinge of a German accent now and then, in the vowels or in the finish of certain consonants.

5. THE WIGS! So Teutonic! The bun in the back and the tendrils on the side - - I think Leonie Rysanek used a variation of this style as Chrysothemis in Elektra.

6. The backup dancers are adorable. I don't know who came up with the idea of the gold lamé bows but I support that decision.

7. Their dancing is well executed, to be sure, but can we agree that, like the rhythms, it's lacking a certain looseness or swing? The general message is "determined" rather than "fun" or "sexy." But I guess some people might find that Teutonic determination sexy...?

PS: I was right about Rysanek in Elektra. She's the blonde on the right in the picture below. I guess in ancient Greece they didn't yet pull the hair back but in 1980 they were still working the tendrils!