The five surviving former child actors who played the Von Trapp children in the 1965 cinematic masterpiece The Sound of Music got together to sing “Do Re Mi” to the renowned Julie Andrews, giving her the surprise of a lifetime.
The Sound of Music is one of those timeless classic family films that holds a particular place in the hearts of many Americans. The young actors who portrayed the roles in the 1965 Academy Award-winning film reunited at the 48th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to honor Julie Andrews, a friend and co-star.
Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich in the musical, together with Duane Chase (Kurt), Angela Cartwright (Brigitta), Debbie Turner (Marta), and Kym Karath (Gretl), surprised Andrews as the song Do-Re-Mi started to play. Andrews portrayed Maria von Trapp, who started her career as the children’s governess, in the movie based on actual events.
According to Fox News, the reunion was bittersweet. Charmian Carr and Heather Menzies-Urich, who played Liesl and Louisa von Trapp in the movie, died in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Christopher Plummer’s Captain Georg von Trapp passes away in 2021.
Andrews was nominated for an Academy Award for her depiction of Maria, a young lady who is sent by her convent to work as a governess for the seven children of a widowed naval officer in 1930s Austria. Carol Burnett presented Andrews with the AFI Life Achievement Award.
The distinction, according to the comic, was merited. She has always sacrificed everything for us. And she is great in “all” ways. I appreciate it, friend.
After accepting the honor, Julie Andrews thought back on the many people who had a profound impact on her life.
This evening made me realize how many people are involved in producing a movie, she remarked. What a tremendous amount of collaboration is needed to produce a film. My spouse Blake didn’t like it when people referred to the movie business or the film industry as “the business.” He was adamant that films should always be considered works of art. And I’m aware that the AFI has the same sentiments.
The actor who played Brigitta, Angela Cartwright, talked about working with Andrews on The Sound of Music in an interview with Fox News Digital.
I loved her, the young actress at the time revealed. We all did it. You can kind of guess in the movie. We were very proud of her. She immediately extended a warm welcome to us. She would sing to us and we would dance in between takes. She recently gave a performance of “Mary Poppins,” which gave her the chance to sing every song from the film. You can tell how much we cared for her. She has amazing talent. She has such a lovely voice, and it was a wonderful experience.
The ongoing closeness of the cast members was also emphasized by Cartwright.
According to Cartwright, “It’s fascinating because sometimes you make a movie and you really don’t see each other anymore or stay in touch.” But we’ve all stayed in touch. Undoubtedly, we’ve come together for occasions and reunions. It feels like a member of the family is lost every time one of the cast members departs. Since the filming, more than 50 years ago, we have all stayed in touch and are aware of one another’s lives.
The 1949 book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp served as the model for both the Broadway musical and later the movie. As with any work that calls itself “based on a true story,” The Sound of Music made a lot of changes to the von Trapp family’s actual story. Joan Gearin of the National Archives, for instance, noticed that the family was musical before to Maria’s arrival.
However, their perilous flight from the Nazis involved trains rather than ascending mountains. The family didn’t want to support the goals of the Nazis, so they planned to leave Austria after Hitler’s dictatorship assumed power. 1938 saw their arrival in America, after which they started their 1955 globe tour.
Maria von Trapp never gave up on her musical and spiritual pursuits. She only received roughly $500,000 in royalties when the wildly popular film on her life was produced, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Nevertheless, she believed that the film would promote optimism and “great good” by reviving people’s faith in God, which was a priority for her.
