Who Is Still Alive From ‘The Sound of Music’?

Remind Staff November 29, 1:24 pm

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Julie Andrews, 1965 — ©20th Century-Fox Film Corp./Courtesy Everett Collection

At this point, the Oscar-winning 1965 musical The Sound of Music is more than a movie; it’s a cultural institution. Even if you have never watched the tale of a young nun named Maria (Julie Andrews) who leaves the convent to become a governess to a former naval captain’s (Christopher Plummer) seven children, you know the classic songs, like “Do-Re-Mi” and “My Favorite Things.”

The film, which is based on the lives of a real singing family who escaped from Austria shortly before World War II, has become a Christmas classic, too, with many eagerly awaiting the annual showing on Dec. 15 on ABC. But how many of the stars of this beloved family film are still alive?

Julie Andrews (89)

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The Oscar-winning actress who played lovable governess Maria was born in 1935 and soon achieved success in the theater world. With her star turn as Mary Poppins in the 1964 film of the same name, Andrews became a film star as well, and today is considered one of the grand dames of musical acting.

After winning a Best Actress Oscar for Mary Poppins, Andrews was nominated again for The Sound of Music and 1982’s Victor/Victoria. A vocal surgery accident in 1997 left Andrews unable to sing publicly for a number of years, but her appearance as Queen Clarisse Marie Renaldi in 2001’s The Princess Diaries introduced her to a whole new generation of fans, as did her appearances in Enchanted and the Shrek films. Andrews is alive and is currently the voice of gossip writer Lady Whistledown on the hit Netflix series Bridgerton.

Duane Chase (73)

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

Chase played Kurt von Trapp. Following the hit musical, he did not continue acting, and pursued a career in forestry and geology. He currently lives in Washington.

Angela Cartwright (72)

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images

Cartwright played Brigitta von Trapp, the fifth child and third daughter of Georg von Trapp. Before The Sound of Music, she appeared on The Danny Thomas Show; after the film, Cartwright went on to star as Penny Robinson in the hit sci-fi series Lost in Space, which aired from 1965-68, and in 2018 made a guest appearance in the rebooted series, but she has mostly retired from acting. She is married to producer Steve Gullion, with whom she has two children.

Debbie Turner (68)

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Turner, who played Marta von Trapp, left show business shortly after the film’s debut and returned to school. She is currently a floral designer and lives in California.

Kym Karath (66)

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; Tibrina Hobson/WireImage/Getty Images

Karath, who began her career at age 3 opposite Henry Fonda in Spencer’s Mountain, played Gretl von Trapp, the youngest child of the talented brood. She made some guest appearances on some shows during the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, including Dr. Kildare and her film sister’s show Lost in Space, but she’s mostly stayed out of the spotlight since then.

Nicholas Hammond (74)

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images

Hammond played Friedrich von Trapp, the 14-year-old son of Georg von Trapp. Unlike most of the other von Trapp kids, Hammond went on to an even higher profile role following the film’s release: from 1977 to 1979, he played Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the television series The Amazing Spider-Man, making him the first actor to play a live-action Peter Parker. He has continued acting throughout the years, and was most recently part of the large ensemble cast of Quentin Tarantino‘s 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Christopher Plummer (d. 2021)

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; Jim Spellman/WireImage/Getty Images

Christopher Plummer, who played Captain Georg von Trapp, won almost every acting award in the land, including a late-in-life Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in 2010’s Beginners. A versatile star of everything from Shakespearean theater to dramas like A Beautiful Mind, Plummer was long hostile to the film that made him famous (he notably referred to it as “the Sound of Mucus”), but made his peace with it before his 2021 death, at age 91.

Heather Menzies-Urich (d. 2017)

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Menzies-Urich, who played Louisa von Trapp, continued acting for a number of years, performing as a guest star on shows like Dragnet and T.J. Hooker, and playing Jessica 6 on the TV version of Logan’s Run. She was married to ’70s and ’80s TV star Robert Urich for 27 years, from 1975 until his death in 2002. She died in 2017 at the age of 68.

Charmian Carr (d. 2016)

20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; Tibrina Hobson/WireImage/Getty Images

Carr, who played lovestruck 16-year-old Liesl von Trapp, retired from acting almost immediately after The Sound of Music and pursued a career in interior design. She died in 2016 at the age of 73.

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