Aug 5, 2007

[Movies] Where Are the Von Trapp Children?

The Sound of Music

My partner Brian and I were flipping channels this afternoon and we came across The Sound of Music playing on Star Movies. Being the musical lovers that we are, we settled down to watch and sang along here and there, enjoying the good music and Julie Andrews' amazing voice.

As is the way of such things and idle afternoons together, one of us (namely Brian) had to pop the question, "I wonder whatever happened to the children?" Being the performance writer that I am, the idea of this entry soon formed and here we are, just a few hours after they sang their last notes away.

Let's go over their lives one-by-one as best we can. I tried going over multiple references but The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) remains to be my best resource.

Charmian Carr - She played Liesl Von Trapp in the film and tried her hand at continuing on in the entertainment industry before decided to settle down to be a full-time mother for her two daughters. She now runs an interior design business called Charmian Carr Designs with Michael Jackson as one of her biggest clients.

Nicholas Hammond - He played Friedrich Von Trapp and later on found fame as TV's Spider-Man, among many other appearances. In time he found a new life in Australia and is now based in Sydney as a producer, director and actor.

Heather Menzies - After playing Lousia Von Trapp in the movie, she went on to have a somewhat diverse TV and movie career (including time on the Logan's Run TV show) up until the late eighties. She is mother to 3 adopted children and a survivor of ovarian cancer. She works with the Urich Fund for Sarcoma Research at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Duane Chase - He was Kurt Von Trapp in the film and he didn't really stick around in entertainment for too long. He had a few TV appearances and a limited modeling career but eventually worked to fight fires with the forestry service. He's now a computer software analyst / designer for oil and mining companies.

Angela Cartwright - After playing Brigitta Von Trapp, she continued to have a number of TV stints, one of the most famous being her time as Penny Robinson on the original Lost in Space TV series. Now the mother of two children, she is busy as a photographer, novelist, artist and occasional actress.

Debbie Turner - She pretty much left the entertainment world after playing Marta Von Trapp. She worked at a ski resort after college where she eventually met her husband; she is now the mother of 4 children. For a time she was the West Coast ski racing champion but now she runs an upscale floral design business called The Winery along with designing collectible Santa Clause figurines which she sells online.

Kym Karath - She was the surly Gretl Von Trapp in the movie and she had a number of TV and movie stings in the years that followed. Eventually she stopped for a bit to take care of her son (whose godmother is Heather Menzies) and now lives in New York. It is said she is considering a return to acting.

Pretty far from the original image of them as darling, singing little children, but it's always interesting to see just how far they go.

5 comments:

  1. interesting entry

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  2. Hmmm.. I do remember that there was a concert lately featuring the descendants of the original von Trapps.

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  3. @Pat

    Glad you liked it.

    @Q

    yeah, I saw that too. Not sure if they were really the descendants or just a group using the name.

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  4. i loved this movie! its soo happy .. i wonder what happened to the rich countess ..?

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  5. Baroness Elsa Schraeder was played by Eleanor Parker, who had numberous film and television appearances after the movie.

    Many think she retired from acting a bit too soon despite numerous TV nominations and was last reported to be living in retirement in Palm Springs, CA.

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