BERLIN (AP) — 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.”
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.
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.
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.”
FILE - The twins Alice Kessler, top, and Ellen Kessler, bottom, are photographed together on stage in Stuttgart, Germany, Nov. 21, 2006. (Bernd Weissbrod/dpa via AP, File)
FILE - Alice Kessler and Ellen Kessler present excerpts from their show program "Eins und eins ist eins" (one and one is one) at a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 17, 1997. (Karl Mittenzwei/dpa via AP, File)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — World Cup co-host Mexico was optimistic about its chances of advancing from the group stage after being drawn to play against South Africa, South Korea and a yet-to-be-determined European team.
While some TV analysts described the group as “easy,” coach Javier Aguirre was more cautious.
“We faced Korea and they are not an easy team. They do their job. They are disciplined and organized, while South Africa is not easy either," he said after the draw in Washington on Friday. “They are good teams, but we have a chance, we are at home and with our people.”
Mexico faces South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup. A week later El Tri will play South Korea in Guadalajara. The last group stage match will be against the winner of a European playoff involving Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic and Ireland.
The country has high hopes despite being eliminated in the group stage in the 2022 World Cup and mixed results in international matches ahead of next year's tournament.
“There won’t be any easy opponents, but it could have been worse,” said striker Raul Jimenez, who plays for Fulham in the Premier League. “I think it’s a good group, from which we can learn a lot, and we’re taking it one game at a time because what we want is to win and finish first.”
Mexico has played South Korea twice in World Cup history and won both games, in France 1998 and Russia 2018. The teams tied 2-2 in a friendly match last September.
“It’s basically a European team, everyone is in Europe except the goalkeeper, they have a coach I know and they have physical strength which makes them a very strong opponent,” Aguirre said.
Mexico's only World Cup encounter with South Africa was a 1-1 draw in the opening game of the 2010 tournament, which South Africa hosted. That Mexico team was coached by Aguirre, who is now at the helm for the third time.
Mexico hosted World Cups in 1970 and 1986 and reached the quarterfinals both times. It lost to West Germany on penalties in the quarterfinals of the 1986 tournament. Aguirre, who was a member of that Mexico squad, said hot weather could be an advantage in next year’s tournament.
“I remember the 1986 World Cup match against Germany; it was very hot. It’s going to be a demanding situation for our opponents, but we’ll be preparing at home,” the 67-year-old coach said. “We hope to have our players who are currently playing outside of Mexico back soon so they can adapt.”
Even though it is co-hosting the tournament this time with the United States and Canada, Mexico also expects to receive a boost from playing its group stage matches — and possibly some knockout phase matches — at home.
“You feel a responsibility as one of the hosts to open this great event,” team captain Edson Álvarez said. “We rely on the extra support the fans give us, and opening the event against South Africa helps, and we can do great things.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum holds up the team name of Mexico during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
