Who is Kurt in Sound of Music?

The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise, and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, with Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, and Eleanor Parker. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 stage musical of the same name, composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. The film's screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman, adapted from the stage musical's book by Lindsay and Crouse. Based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp, the film is about a young Austrian postulant in Salzburg, Austria, in 1938 who is sent to the villa of a retired naval officer and widower to be governess to his seven children.[4] After bringing love and music into the lives of the family, she marries the officer and, together with the children, finds a way to survive the loss of their homeland to the Nazis.

Filming took place from March to September 1964 in Los Angeles and Salzburg. The Sound of Music was released on March 2, 1965, in the United States, initially as a limited roadshow theatrical release. Although initial critical response to the film was mixed, it was a major commercial success, becoming the number one box office film after four weeks, and the highest-grossing film of 1965. By November 1966, The Sound of Music had become the highest-grossing film of all-time—surpassing Gone with the Wind—and held that distinction for five years. The film was just as popular throughout the world, breaking previous box-office records in twenty-nine countries. Following an initial theatrical release that lasted four and a half years, and two successful re-releases, the film sold 283 million admissions worldwide and earned a total worldwide gross of $286 million.

The Sound of Music received five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, Wise's second pair of both awards, the first being from the 1961 film West Side Story.[5] The film also received two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Motion Picture and Best Actress, the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical. In 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) listed The Sound of Music as the fifty-fifth greatest American film of all time, and the fourth greatest film musical. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[101] The Academy Film Archive preserved The Sound of Music in 2003.[174]

After giving birth to her son, who was born with disabilities, Karath helped establish the Aurelia Foundation, a charity which provides services for special-needs individuals once they finish high school.

What do you think of The Sound of Music cast, all grown up? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Feature Image: 20th Century Studios.

This post was updated in June 2022.

Need help with tasks and jobs around the house? Complete this survey to go in the running to win a $50 gift voucher

After getting married and starting a family, she temporarily left acting. Kym says she's been afraid of water ever since she almost drowned while filming the scene in The Sound of Music where everyone falls out of the boat on the lake.

The 62-year-old also co-founded the Aurelia Foundation, a non-profit that serves adults with disabilities. 

This article was originally published on February 19, 2018, and was updated on February 8, 2021.

Feature Image: 20th Century Studios.

Related Stories

Related Stories

Tags:

• where-are-they-now
• features

Share

• Share via facebook
• Share via twitter
• Share via whatsapp
• SMS Share via SMS
• Share via e-mail

Leave a comment

A little piece of millions of people’s childhoods died with the sad news that Christopher Plummer passed away at age 91.

see also

Christopher Plummer, ‘Sound of Music’ actor, dead at 91

Although the Canadian-born actor had an illustrious career that spanned seven decades and included an Oscar win in 2012 for his supporting turn in the film “Beginners,” he’s perhaps best known for his role as Captain Georg von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.”

Playing a gruff widower, the father to seven unruly children who falls in love with a rambunctious nun (played by Julie Andrews, now 85) was a role he famously detested, yet was beloved by all who watched it annually — usually around Christmastime. 

And as for his septet of musically gifted offspring who were forced to wear play clothes made out of curtains? Here’s where they are now.

Charmian Carr: Liesl

Liesl sang the delightful song “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” and fell for the wrong guy — budding Nazi Rolf. But Carr, who had never acted before, won the role over other actresses including Mia Farrow, Teri Garr and Patty Duke.

Carr left show biz, married a dentist and had two children. She owned an interior design firm in Encino, California, and wrote two “Sound of Music”-related tomes, “Forever Liesl” and “Letters to Liesl.” Carr died in 2016 at the age of 73 from complications related to dementia.

Nicholas Hammond: Friedrich

Hammond, now 70, had already appeared on Broadway when he was cast as feisty Friedrich. He had another place in pop culture history for his turn as Doug Simpson, the callous jock who dumps Marcia Brady after she breaks her nose in the famous “The Subject was Noses” episode of “The Brady Bunch.”

Hammond went on to star as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the ’70s television series “The Amazing Spider-Man.” He made regular appearances on many other shows. Hammond has lived in Australia since the mid-1980s, when he filmed a mini-series Down Under and fell in love with the country. He’s continued to act regularly in Australian television series.

Heather Menzies-Urich: Louisa

Menzies-Urich was cast at age 14 with no prior acting experience and charmed audiences with her melancholy renditions of “So Long, Farewell” and “The Lonely Goatherd.” She went on to star on a number of shows and even appeared in a Playboy magazine pictorial cheekily titled “Tender Trapp.”

Menzies-Urich married “Vegas” star Robert Urich and together they adopted three children. After Urich’s death in 2002, she established a foundation in his memory and spent most of her time raising money for cancer research. She passed away in 2017, just weeks after her 68th birthday, of brain cancer.

Duane Chase: Kurt

Chase, now 70, joined the Forest Service four years after “The Sound of Music” came out. He went on to earn a degree in geology and currently lives in Washington.

Angela Cartwright: Brigitta

English-born Cartwright, now 68, was already a seasoned vet when she was cast as Brigitta, having made her screen debut at age 3 as Paul Newman’s daughter in “Somebody Up There Likes Me.” She also co-starred in the long-running sitcom “The Danny Thomas Show” and played Penny Robinson in “Lost in Space.” Cartwright’s older sister is actress Veronica Cartwright.

Debbie Turner: Marta

Shortly after the film’s debut, Turner, now 64, left show business and returned to school. Eventually, she moved to Minnesota, where she and her husband raised four daughters.

Kym Karath: Gretl

Adorable little Gretl, a k a Kym Karath, began her career at age 3 opposite Henry Fonda in “Spencer’s Mountain.” Karath, now 62, graduated from USC with a humanities degree, moved to Paris, married and had a son. Eventually, she moved back to the States and describes herself as an actor and writer on Twitter.

“Deeply saddened to hear of Chris Plummer’s passing,” she tweeted. “He was a lovely, brilliantly talented man, with a wickedly witty sense of humor. And he was extremely sweet to me. I will miss him.”

Was Kurt Russell in The Sound of Music?

What does Kurt say they put on Fraulein Josephine's toothbrush?

What are the 7 children's names in sound of music?

How many von Trapp children are still alive?