Elke Sommer Remembered: A Personal Tribute to a Hollywood Original

This week's episode is a tribute to the world-famous actress, icon, artist and talent that is and was Elke Sommer, who we lost this week in Bel-Air. We became friends almost 20 years ago and she stayed relevant, kind, a present and prescient person who lived and loved well in ways that I'll never forget. She was a definition of Hollywood done right, not a defined-by-Hollywood entity by any means. In addition to films like The Prize, A Shot in the Dark, And Then There Were None, she also made two 1970s films that are cult masterpieces of horror, Lisa and the Devil and Baron Blood by and with Mario Bava. She made many more appearances in international film, theater and television. This is less about her career than it is my remembrance of a generous, independent and loving person and talent. I was honored to know Elke and her husband Wolf Walther. They passed on within months of each other and will remain a vivid love story and example of life enjoyed. I love you, Elke! Rest in power, my friend.

 

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💖 Let's Keep Talking About Hollywood! 💖
This podcast is a labor of love, funded entirely by incredible listeners across the globe. If you love the intimacy and honesty of these stories, you can help protect our independence:

• Donate to the Podcast: Any amount, no matter how small, fuels the engine! Drop a tip here: letstalkabouthollywood.com/support

Check out this episode!

Elke Sommer Remembered: A Personal Tribute to a Hollywood Original

This week's episode is a tribute to the world-famous actress, icon, artist and talent that is and was Elke Sommer, who we lost this week in Bel-Air. We became friends almost 20 years ago and she stayed relevant, kind, a present and prescient person who lived and loved well in ways that I'll never forget. She was a definition of Hollywood done right, not a defined-by-Hollywood entity by any means. In addition to films like The Prize, A Shot in the Dark, And Then There Were None, she also made two 1970s films that are cult masterpieces of horror, Lisa and the Devil and Baron Blood by and with Mario Bava. She made many more appearances in international film, theater and television. This is less about her career than it is my remembrance of a generous, independent and loving person and talent. I was honored to know Elke and her husband Wolf Walther. They passed on within months of each other and will remain a vivid love story and example of life enjoyed. I love you, Elke! Rest in power, my friend.

 

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💖 Let's Keep Talking About Hollywood! 💖
This podcast is a labor of love, funded entirely by incredible listeners across the globe. If you love the intimacy and honesty of these stories, you can help protect our independence:

• Donate to the Podcast: Any amount, no matter how small, fuels the engine! Drop a tip here: letstalkabouthollywood.com/support

Check out this episode!

Fall 2002 Storytime: Winona Ryder, Ari Emmanuel, Life After 9/11

It's October 24th, 2026! We're going to have some storytelling and storytime going back to the fall of 2002 when a lot of things we didn't know would cycle around 24 years later did! Stories from that era, the vibe and more are in this episode! Thanks for listening and sharing!

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💖 Let's Keep Talking About Hollywood! 💖
This podcast is a labor of love, funded entirely by incredible listeners across the globe. If you love the intimacy and honesty of these stories, you can help protect our independence:

• Donate to the Podcast: Any amount, no matter how small, fuels the engine! Drop a tip here: letstalkabouthollywood.com/support
• My Hollywood Reset GoFundMe: Help me rewrite the rules! This podcast will always be free and very dollar or social media share means the world: GoFundMe Link  https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2

Check out this episode!

Fall 2002 Storytime: Winona Ryder, Ari Emmanuel, Life After 9/11

It's October 24th, 2026! We're going to have some storytelling and storytime going back to the fall of 2002 when a lot of things we didn't know would cycle around 24 years later did! Stories from that era, the vibe and more are in this episode! Thanks for listening and sharing!

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💖 Let's Keep Talking About Hollywood! 💖
This podcast is a labor of love, funded entirely by incredible listeners across the globe. If you love the intimacy and honesty of these stories, you can help protect our independence:

• Donate to the Podcast: Any amount, no matter how small, fuels the engine! Drop a tip here: letstalkabouthollywood.com/support
• My Hollywood Reset GoFundMe: Help me rewrite the rules! This podcast will always be free and very dollar or social media share means the world: GoFundMe Link  https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2

Check out this episode!

Let's Talk About Hollywood Turns 1! Mergers, L.A. Industry Memories & The Forgotten Audience

Thanks for all of your support and for subscribing! Being a part of your podcast routine is an honor!

 

I'm celebrating the one-year anniversary of Let's Talk About Hollywood, thanks to you! Looking at major industry shifts like the potential Paramount-Warner Bros. merger through a personal, empathetic and experienced lens, I'll give you my thoughts on L.A.'s past industry cycles with support for the creatives, technical, crafts and talented people like you, worldwide, who can and will get through another potential industry contraction when Hollywood already feels at a standstill.

Audiences make the creative world go round. This is for you and for all of you who serve audiences with your talents whether past, present or future-tense. 

Thanks for a great first year of 48 episodes! 

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💖 Let's Keep Talking About Hollywood! 💖
This podcast is a labor of love, funded entirely by incredible listeners across the globe. If you love the intimacy and honesty of these stories, you can help protect our independence:

• Donate to the Podcast: Any amount, no matter how small, fuels the engine! Drop a tip here: letstalkabouthollywood.com/support
• My Hollywood Reset GoFundMe: Help me rewrite the rules! This podcast will always be free and very dollar or social media share means the world: GoFundMe Link  https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2

Check out this episode!

Let's Talk About Hollywood Turns 1! Mergers, L.A. Industry Memories & The Forgotten Audience

Thanks for all of your support and for subscribing! Being a part of your podcast routine is an honor!

 

I'm celebrating the one-year anniversary of Let's Talk About Hollywood, thanks to you! Looking at major industry shifts like the potential Paramount-Warner Bros. merger through a personal, empathetic and experienced lens, I'll give you my thoughts on L.A.'s past industry cycles with support for the creatives, technical, crafts and talented people like you, worldwide, who can and will get through another potential industry contraction when Hollywood already feels at a standstill.

Audiences make the creative world go round. This is for you and for all of you who serve audiences with your talents whether past, present or future-tense. 

Thanks for a great first year of 48 episodes! 

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💖 Let's Keep Talking About Hollywood! 💖
This podcast is a labor of love, funded entirely by incredible listeners across the globe. If you love the intimacy and honesty of these stories, you can help protect our independence:

• Donate to the Podcast: Any amount, no matter how small, fuels the engine! Drop a tip here: letstalkabouthollywood.com/support
• My Hollywood Reset GoFundMe: Help me rewrite the rules! This podcast will always be free and very dollar or social media share means the world: GoFundMe Link  https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2

Check out this episode!

I Know the Mood of Hollywood Every Day

What did Hollywood really feel like from inside the newsroom in 2002 when Hollywood had an average of 100 industry-related parties a week in L.A. County alone?

In this episode of Let’s Talk About Hollywood, I return to October 2002, when a promotion at The Hollywood Reporter suddenly put me closer to the suits, publicists, agents, directors, stars, aspiring stars and everyday intrigue that kept the town running.

I was learning the business of Hollywood, and how to budget millions, while Hollywood was also learning who I was.

There’s a disastrous industry party, an increasingly ridiculous fight over press coverage, a $600 newsroom telephone I told the publisher will “pay for itself in exclusives,” (it did), and an invitation to a rooftop book party with Margaret Cho, Mark Wahlberg and Courtney Love on the guest list.

But outside the Hollywood machinery, real life keeps moving. Bebbles and I worry about the terrifying sniper shootings back home in Maryland, industry realities - both petty and grand - (my em dashes!) and one very ordinary conversation about buying a car reminds me that balancing millions of dollars at work is sometimes easier than balancing thousands, feelings and a marriage at home.

Thanks for all of your support and for subscribing! Being a part of your podcast routine is an honor!

Written and read by Karl Gibson.

💖 Let's Keep Talking About Hollywood! 💖
This podcast is a labor of love, funded entirely by incredible listeners across the globe. If you love the intimacy and honesty of these stories, you can help protect our independence:

• Donate to the Podcast: Any amount, no matter how small, fuels the engine! Drop a tip here: letstalkabouthollywood.com/support
• My Hollywood Reset GoFundMe: Help me rewrite the rules! This podcast will always be free and very dollar or social media share means the world: GoFundMe Link  https://gofund.me/9fa60a3b2

Check out this episode!