It’s been over sixty years since Julie Andrews spun around on that hilltop in the Austrian Alps. Most people think they know the story. They know the songs, the curtains-turned-playclothes, and the daring escape over the mountains. But when you look back at the Sound of Music cast original line-up, the reality is a lot messier, more interesting, and occasionally more heartbreaking than the Technicolor version we watch every Christmas.
Julie Andrews wasn’t even the first choice for Maria. Can you imagine?
Hollywood execs were actually looking at Grace Kelly or Shirley Jones. It was Walt Disney who unknowingly saved the movie by showing early footage of Mary Poppins to director Robert Wise. He saw Julie and that was that. But the rest of the cast? They were a mix of seasoned Shakespearean actors who hated the "saccharine" script and a group of kids who grew up to be lifelong friends. Honestly, the behind-the-scenes dynamic was nothing like the Von Trapp family values you see on screen.
Christopher Plummer and the "Sound of Mucus"
Christopher Plummer, who played Captain Georg von Trapp, famously loathed the film for decades. He called it "S&M" or "The Sound of Mucus." He was a serious stage actor who felt the role of the Captain was a bit... well, boring. He spent a lot of his time in Salzburg drinking and eating to cope with what he felt was a "sentimental" project.
In fact, Plummer was so over the whole thing that he was actually drunk during the filming of the Music Festival scene. Look closely at his face when they’re singing "Edelweiss"—that’s not just grief for Austria; that’s a very professional man trying to keep it together after a few too many beers at the local tavern.
Despite his initial grumpiness, his performance is what gives the movie its edge. Without his sternness, the movie would dissolve into sugar. He eventually softened his stance on the film later in life, largely because he remained incredibly close with Julie Andrews until he passed away in 2021. Their chemistry wasn't just for the cameras; it was a genuine, lifelong respect between two titans of the craft.
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The Von Trapp Children: Growth Spurts and Fake Teeth
The seven actors cast as the Von Trapp children weren't just random kids. They had to be triple threats. But casting kids comes with a logistical nightmare: they grow. Fast.
Charmian Carr, who played Liesl, was actually 21 at the time. She was older than the "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" lyrics suggested, but she had that youthful glow. On the other end of the spectrum, the younger kids were losing baby teeth left and right. If you watch the movie closely, you'll notice that some of the children's teeth change from scene to scene. The production had to hire a dentist to make "flippers"—temporary fake teeth—so their smiles stayed consistent.
What happened to the kids?
- Charmian Carr (Liesl): She didn't stay in acting long. She started an interior design business and had famous clients like Michael Jackson. She wrote two books about her experience before passing away in 2016.
- Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich): He stayed in the business and actually became the first live-action TV Spider-Man in the late 70s. He eventually moved to Australia and became a successful writer and director.
- Heather Menzies-Urich (Louisa): She married actor Robert Urich and did a lot of TV work, including Logan's Run. Sadly, she passed away in 2017.
- Duane Chase (Kurt): He left acting entirely. He went into geology and computer software. He’s basically the Friedrich who actually listened to the Captain's discipline and applied it to a real-world career.
- Angela Cartwright (Brigitta): Already a star from Make Room for Daddy, she went on to Lost in Space. Today, she’s a well-known photographer and artist.
- Debbie Turner (Marta): She also left Hollywood to focus on education and later started a floral design business.
- Kym Karath (Gretl): The youngest. She continued acting for a while and later moved into modeling and art history.
Kym Karath actually nearly drowned during the boat tipping scene. She couldn't swim, and the plan was for Heather Menzies-Urich to catch her. But Heather fell off the wrong side of the boat, and poor little Gretl went straight to the bottom of the lake. Julie Andrews had to dive in and grab her. Kym threw up on Heather afterward. Not exactly a "Favorite Things" moment.
The Real Maria vs. The Movie Maria
We have to talk about the discrepancy between the Sound of Music cast original portrayal and the real people. The real Maria von Trapp was not the gentle, soft-spoken saint Julie Andrews played. She was known to have a bit of a temper. The real children often said that the Captain was actually the "softie" in the house, while Maria was the disciplinarian.
The movie also implies they escaped over the mountains to Switzerland. If they had actually hiked over those specific mountains from Salzburg, they would have ended up straight in Germany—exactly where the Nazis were. In reality, they just took a train to Italy. It was much less dramatic, but way more practical.
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The real Maria actually has a cameo in the movie. During the "I Have Confidence" sequence, as Julie Andrews walks through an archway, you can see the real Maria von Trapp walking in the background. She happened to be visiting the set that day and they threw her in as an extra.
Why the Supporting Cast Mattered
Eleanor Parker, who played the Baroness, is the unsung hero of this movie. In any other film, she would be the villain. But Parker played her with such elegance and subtle heartbreak that you actually feel bad for her. She realizes the Captain doesn't love her and she bows out with dignity.
Then there’s Richard Haydn as Max Detweiler. His dry, cynical wit was the perfect foil to the earnestness of the nuns and the kids. Haydn was a character actor of the highest order, and his "Uncle Max" is the reason the movie doesn't feel like a Sunday School lesson. He brought a sense of "showbiz" to the mountains.
The Nuns and the "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" Mystery
Peggy Wood, who played the Mother Abbess, was an opera star in her day, but by the time they filmed in 1964, she couldn't hit the high notes anymore. While she did her own acting, her singing was dubbed by Margery McKay.
The "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" sequence was filmed in a real abbey, but the interior scenes—including the iconic "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"—were shot on a soundstage in Los Angeles. The lighting was so perfect it looked like divine intervention, but it was just Hollywood magic.
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The Lasting Legacy of the 1965 Cast
Why does this specific group of people still resonate?
It’s the chemistry. You can’t fake the way those seven kids looked at Julie Andrews. During the months of filming in Salzburg, they essentially became a surrogate family. The weather was terrible—it rained almost the entire time—which forced the cast to spend hours together in cramped trailers or local hotels.
That "trapped in a hotel because it’s pouring outside" energy translated into the genuine bond you see on screen. When they reunited on The Oprah Winfrey Show decades later, they still finished each other's sentences. It’s rare for a cast of that size, especially with child actors, to remain that close for over half a century.
Real-World Takeaways for Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into the history of the Sound of Music cast original, there are a few things you should actually do rather than just re-watching the DVD for the hundredth time.
- Read "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers" by Maria von Trapp. It’s the actual source material. You'll find that the real story is much darker and more complex than the movie. They struggled financially for years in America before finding success.
- Visit Salzburg with a critical eye. Don't just take the "Sound of Music" bus tour. Go to the Nonnberg Abbey where the real Maria was a postulant. It’s much quieter and more solemn than the movie makes it out to be.
- Look for the "Making Of" documentaries. Specifically, find the ones where the "kids" (now in their 60s and 70s) talk about the filming. They share details about the heavy wool costumes they had to wear in the heat and how they used to prank the adult actors.
- Check out Julie Andrews' memoir, "Home Work." She talks extensively about the transition from Mary Poppins to The Sound of Music and the immense pressure she felt to carry such a massive production.
The movie isn't just a piece of cinema; it’s a time capsule of a specific era of Hollywood. It was the last of the giant, sweeping roadshow musicals before the gritty "New Hollywood" era of the 70s took over. The cast captured lightning in a bottle, and while many of them have now passed away, the work they did in that rainy Salzburg summer remains the gold standard for movie musicals.
Basically, the film works because the cast didn't treat it like a kids' movie. They treated it like a drama that happened to have songs. That’s the secret. That's why it's still being talked about in 2026.
Check out the remastered 4K versions if you haven't seen them yet. The detail in the costumes—those heavy Alpine loden jackets and the intricate embroidery—is wild when you see it in high definition. It gives you a whole new appreciation for the production design that supported such an iconic cast.