Heather Menzies-Urich, Actress In 'Sound Of Music,' Dies At 68

Actress Heather Menzies-Urich, best known for portraying Louisa von Trapp in the 1965 film The Sound of Music, died Sunday night. She was 68. Variety magazinereports:

"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 actress, 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 and took her last breath on this earth at 7:22 pm."

Menzies-Urich was 15 years old when she was cast to play one of the seven von Trapp children. As the L.A. Times recalls, "Menzies-Urich played Louisa von Trapp, the third-oldest of the seven von Trapp children, in the film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer." The musical won five Academy Awards including best picture. Reuters reports on Menzies-Urich's work after The Sound of Music:

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 starring as Jessica 6 in the TV series Logan's Run.

Her husband, actor Robert Urich, died in 2002.

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