SOUND OF MUSIC STAR DIES AFTER CANCER BATTLE
ACTOR Heather MenziesUrich, best known as Louisa von Trapp in the 1965 film The Sound of Music, died on Sunday. She was 68.
Menzies-Urich, the widow of actor Robert Urich, had been recently diagnosed with cancer, according to her son Ryan Urich.
Urich said his mother died on Christmas Eve, surrounded by her children and family members.
“She was an actor, a ballerina and loved living her life to the fullest,” Urich said.
“She was not in any pain but, nearly four weeks after her diagnosis of terminal brain cancer, she had enough.”
Among those to pay tribute were Kym Karath, who played her sister Gretl in the musical.
Born in Toronto, Menzies-Urich’s first screen credit came in the TV series The Farmer’s Daughter in 1964. She was 15 when she was cast as the third-oldest of the seven von Trapp children in The Sound of Music, a box office smash that went on to win five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Her other feature films credits included Hawaii, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Piranha, and
Endangered Species.
Her TV credits included
Dragnet, Bonanza, Marcus Welby M.D., The Bob Newhart Show and Logan’s Run.
Menzies-Urich’s family moved from Canada to the Los Angeles area when she was a teenager. She was 14 when she landed the part of Louisa in the production, directed by Robert Wise, that starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.