Whatever Happened to ‘The Sound of Music’ & ‘Logan’s Run’ Star Heather Menzies?

Even though this article is titled Whatever Happened to Heather Menzies?, the ending can be given away right now. Heather passed away a few years back, in 2017. Now, with that said, Menzies’s life was a pretty darn interesting one and well worth taking a look back at.

First and foremost, Menzies was one of the children in the classic musical The Sound of Music. The role of Louisa Von Trapp was one that Menzies cherished.

Speaking with Parade magazine in 2013 about making the movie, Menzies said this, “The whole thing was just a blast. I don’t remember it ever feeling like work at all.” She went on to say, “I just counted my lucky stars that I was in the movie.”

So, with all that said, The Sound of Music is not necessarily everyone’s favorite movie with Menzies in it. You see, during the early ’70s, she absolutely rocked it in Sssssss, a charming little body horror movie having to do with snakes.

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While promoting that film, Menzies talked about the appeal of working in the horror genre. She said those movies often stood the test of time, and Sssssss is definitely proof of that.

Menzies told Classic Film & TV Café that the movie was “a lot of fun to do. At first, handling the snakes was horrifying, but we all got used to it.”

In 1975, Menzies tied the knot with actor Robert Urich. And it turns out that 1975 was a pretty darn decent year, not just for Menzies and Urich, but the entire world as well. After all, 1975 was the year that videotape recorders were introduced to consumers. Bill Gates and Paul Allen started a little company that would help to revolutionize the computing world. And it was also the year that director Steven Spielberg decided that no one should ever feel safe in the ocean again.

Next up, Menzies was delightful as Jessica 6 in this short-lived television adaptation of the feature film Logan’s Run. Sure, it didn’t have the movie’s big budget, but it had heart, and it had a great cast. Along with Menzies, the show featured Gregory Harrison as Logan 5 and Donald Moffat as an android named REM.

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A year after that, Menzies upped her game even more with the Roger Corman-produced movie Piranha, which was directed by a young Joe Dante.

The late ‘70s and early ‘80s were full of TV appearances. Menzies costarred in the TV movie Captain America. After that, there was a guest spot on T.J. Hooker. You get it, lots of TV stuff. However, for whatever reason, Menzies’s on-screen appearances really seemed to be slowing down by the late ‘80s.

So, what happened? Well, it is a familiar story. The names have changed, but the story is essentially the same. You see, Menzies and Urich wanted a family. Ultimately, they would adopt three kids in all: two girls and a boy. More on them in just a little bit, but suffice it to say that anyone who has ever been a parent knows that sacrifices are required.

Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection

And it would seem, at least from the outside looking in, that Menzies chose to focus on her family. That choice became even more important when Robert announced in 1996 that he had been diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that attacks soft tissue in the body. Over the course of the next half-decade or so, there would be many ups and downs for the Urich family.

Sadly, in 2002, Urich passed away from the disease. At that time, Menzies established the Robert Urich Foundation. To this day, the foundation’s website still has this quote from Menzies that kind of says it all: “After my husband lost his battle on April 16th, 2002, I vowed that I would make it my life’s mission to continue to fight for his dream and vision: a world where the word ‘cancer’ is simply a memory of war we have won.”

Sadly, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, Menzies herself would also pass away from brain cancer, of all things, on Christmas Eve 2017. She is remembered not only for her work on television and in movies but also for the strength that she had throughout her life and the inspirational influence that she had on her own children, two of whom ended up working in the field of medicine, no doubt hoping to help others the way that both of their parents had been helped during their time of need.

A worthy legacy for sure for both Menzies and Urich, who, at the end of the day, were great entertainers, but even better human beings.

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