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New York Post
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘The Sound of Music' child stars shares the secret to cast's 60-year friendship
The hills are alive – with the sound of a reunion. The former child stars of 'The Sound of Music,' who have remained friends for 60 years, recently reunited in Florence, Italy. Kym Karath, who played the youngest von Trapp sibling, Gretl, shared photos of the group catching up and enjoying bottles of wine on her Instagram. 'The Sound of Music in Florence – the five of us!' the 66-year-old captioned a group photo. In the snap, Karath appeared alongside Nicholas Hammond, 75, who played the eldest von Trapp son, Friedrich; Duane Chase, 74, who played Kurt; Angela Cartwright, 72, who played Brigitta; and Debbie Turner, 68, who played Marta. It was a bittersweet reunion for the pals. Heather Menzies-Urich, who played Louisa, died in 2017 at the age of 68. Charmian Carr, who was the eldest sibling of Liesl, passed away in 2016 at age 73. Christopher Plummer, who played the family patriarch Captain von Trapp, died in 2021 at the age of 91. 'Celebrating together in Florence with all my film siblings was a complete delight,' Karath told Fox News Digital. 'Being together, the five of us, in one of the most beautiful cities, Florence, and appearing in the breathtaking historic theater Teatro Niccolini, built in 1648, was absolutely magical,' she gushed. 'The press was wonderful, and the fans were overwhelmingly warm and enthusiastic.' 7 The former child stars of 'The Sound of Music,' who have remained friends for 60 years, recently reunited in Florence, Italy. Instagram / @kym_karath Karath said it's a no-brainer that the cast mates have remained close over the years.' 'I think the secret behind our friendship is the secret of all enduring friendships, although ours started at a film studio; staying close, loyal, and being there for one another,' the actress explained. 'As for the film's enduring appeal, beyond the soaring melodies and beautiful locations, it is the story of a real family who loved one another and were truly courageous.' 7 Kym Karath (top left), who played the youngest von Trapp sibling, Gretl, shared photos of the group catching up and enjoying bottles of wine on her Instagram. Instagram / @kym_karath 'The Sound of Music' premiered on March 2, 1965. The Oscar-winning film was inspired by the real-life von Trapp family that fled Austria to escape the Nazi regime. It tells the tale of a 1930s governess who watches over the large family and their widowed father, with the help of music. Descendants of the von Trapp family now run the von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort in Vermont. 7 'The Sound of Music' premiered on March 2, 1965. © 1965 Argyle Enterprises and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation 7 The Oscar-winning film was inspired by the real-life von Trapp family that fled Austria to escape the Nazi regime. It tells the tale of a 1930s governess who watches over the large family and their widowed father, with the help of music. Bettmann Archive 'Here is a little-known fact – the film family is friends with the real family,' said Karath. 'I just had a wonderful conversation with Elizabeth von Trapp, Werner's daughter. Werner was portrayed by Duane Chase… and they became friends. When Werner passed away, he left Duane his beautiful Austrian jacket.' There's also one good reason why the cast enjoyed an Italian getaway. 'We are currently working on a documentary and filmed [it] while we were in Florence together!' she teased. 7 'Being together, the five of us, in one of the most beautiful cities, Florence, and appearing in the breathtaking historic theater Teatro Niccolini, built in 1648, was absolutely magical,' Karath (right) said. 'The press was wonderful, and the fans were overwhelmingly warm and enthusiastic.' Instagram / @kym_karath The actress was just three years old when she was scouted while having a cheeseburger at her father's restaurant in California. However, Karath's claim to fame was the film adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical 'The Sound of Music.' Karath previously told Fox News Digital that being on the set in Salzburg was 'spellbinding.' 'One of the best things about that movie for me was becoming a family,' Karath explained. 'And we did become one in real life. And being in Salzburg, Austria, I think, started my profound love of Europe and history. [But] it was not a fun thing, missing my father and brother. But my sister and mother were with me. And our group really became a family, which was wonderful.' 7 'I think the secret behind our friendship is the secret of all enduring friendships, although ours started at a film studio; staying close, loyal, and being there for one another,' Karath explained. Instagram / @kym_karath The film's leading lady, Julie Andrews, quickly developed a close-knit bond with the child actors. The star, now 86, went on to win a Golden Globe and received an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Maria. Karath described the actress as 'a gift.' 'I loved her from the minute I met her,' she gushed. 'There is never a bad moment with Julie Andrews – never. She's just the sweetest, most unbelievable, talented, brilliant human… I think we all have the same favorite memory to some extent. That was when she took out her guitar, and she just sang to us. And she would have us sing with her in between the scenes to amuse us, to entertain us, to make the time pass. She was a pure delight.' Plummer did not offer the same warm and fuzzy feeling, she said. 7 'The Sound of Music starred' Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Nicholas Hammond, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, Debbie Turner, Heather Menzies-Urich, Kym Karath, and Charmian Carr. 'At the time, he was kind of standoffish,' Karath admitted. 'Very handsome, but I really wasn't noticing men being handsome at [age] five – actually let me correct myself. I noticed that George Chakiris was handsome when he was in 'West Side Story.'' But that all changed decades later.' 'There was an event for 9/11 at the Westport Country Playhouse… I went backstage to see him, and he was waiting for me. Paul Newman was the master of ceremonies. He and [his wife] Joanne Woodward grabbed me backstage and said, 'Your father's been pacing the floor, he's dying to see you!'… Such a lovely man. So courtly, charming, and funny. Truly delightful.'
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Sound of Music' Turns 60! See Rare Behind-the-Scenes Photos from the Set of the Julie Andrews Movie (Exclusive)
Life imitated art on the set of The Sound of Music, the beloved musical that debuted in movie theaters on March 2, 1965. In the adaptation of the Broadway hit, Julie Andrews starred as kindly governess Maria, who looked after the seven von Trapp children in Austria at the dawn of World War II. Andrews, then 29 and an up-and-coming actress, also took a motherly role off camera when it came to the young actors who played the children. 'She was kind of a nanny for us,' recalls Duane Chase, who played mischievous Kurt von Trapp. 'She helped, I wouldn't say, keep us in line but corralled us.' Related: What Happened to the Real Von Trapp Family from The Sound of Music? Here's Where They Ended Up After Fleeing Austria (No, They Didn't Climb Over the Hills!) Kym Karath, aka Gretl von Trapp, the youngest sibling, remembers Andrews, now 89, teaching them to sing 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,' a tune from her upcoming movie Mary Poppins, before that film was even released. 'She amused us a lot,' says Karath. To mark the milestone anniversary of The Sound of Music — which went on to win the Best Picture Oscar — 20th Century Fox unearthed archival photos from behind the scenes. Though six decades have passed since the cast (some of whom have died, including Christopher Plummer, who played the stern von Trapp patriarch) spent a magical few months together on the sets in L.A. and Europe, it's clear it was a special time for all involved. Says Chase, 'I am incredibly blessed to have been part of that." Poor weather forced Heather Menzies (Louisa von Trapp), Andrews, Chase, Karath and Charmian Carr (Liesl von Trapp) to take a break while filming the 'Do-Re-Mi' picnic scene in Werfen, Austria. 'We were waiting out the overcast,' recalls Chase. 'They were both very witty,' Karath says of Andrews and Plummer, pictured practicing his performance of 'Edelweiss' during a rehearsal. 'I think that was one of the sources of their wonderful chemistry.' Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich von Trapp) and onscreen brother Chase (right, pictured on the Fox lot in L.A.) were gifted 'fancy' skateboards by the son of a crew member, Chase says. 'She was really warm and congenial, and loving, patient and very sweet,' Karath says of Andrews, pictured juggling during some downtime on set. Professional puppeteers (above) rehearsing 'The Lonely Goatherd' scene with Angela Cartwright (Brigitta von Trapp), Menzies, Hammond, Debbie Turner (Marta von Trapp) and Chase. "I don't know why anybody thought it wasn't going to be kind of chilly or rainy, but I think they sort of miscalculated," Karath says of the young castmates bundling up in blankets at one point while filming in Salzburg, Austria. "I think no more than two weeks will go by that we haven't been in touch," Karath, pictured above (L) with Turner and a crew member on set, says of herself and the surviving von Trapp child actors. The women playing the nuns in the film — from left to right, Ada Beth Lee, Peggy Wood, Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Doreen Tryden and Marni Nixon — strike a pose on set in Los Angeles. Chase remembers a joke the serious-on-screen Plummer, pictured above in his dressing room, told him on set — and a photographer capturing their laughter. "He signed on the back of it, 'To the two laughing boys, your friend, Chris,' " Chase says. "That is one of the few items I have from the movie that I really cherish." The cast wave at the camera while practicing their bike riding for the "Do-Re-Mi" sequence with choreographer Mark Breaux. From L: Cartwright, Hammond, Carr, Andrews, Breaux, Chase and Turner. From L: Chase, Hammond, Menzies, Cartwright and Turner enjoyed some much-deserved downtime on set, complete with burgers and milk. "I remember us all enjoying pretty much everything," Karath says of the kids' set experience. Andrews, Plummer and director Robert Wise are pictured above, between takes of filming the final scene of the movie — the family's escape over the Austrian mountains — in Ahornbüchsenkopf, Bavaria. Read the original article on People
