Heather Menzies-Urich, who played Louisa von Trapp in the 1965 musical “The Sound of Music,” has died at 68.
The Toronto-born actress’s death was confirmed by the Rodgers & Hammerstein estate, which owns the rights to the classic movie, on Monday.
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“Heather was part of ‘the family,”’ read a statement posted on the company’s website read.
“There is really no other way to describe the members of the cast of the movie of The Sound of Music.”
“We are all lucky to have known her, and she will happily live on in that beautiful movie. We will miss her.”
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While Menzies-Urich was best known for her role in the musical, in which she starred in at just 15 years of age, she also appeared in several other movies such as “Piranha,” and TV shows such as “Dragnet,” and “Bonanza.”
The actress was also married to producer and actor Robert Urich from 1975 until his death in 2002. The couple had three children: Ryan, Allison and Emily.
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Ryan told Reuters that the actress was recently diagnosed with brain cancer.
“She was an actress, a ballerina and loved living her life to the fullest,” he said, explaining she died on Christmas Eve.
“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 p.m.”
Menzies-Urich was also remembered by Kym Karath, who played Gretl, another von Trapp child, in The Sound of Music.
“I am filled with infinite sadness tonight,” Karath wrote on Twitter Sunday night. “My precious friend and SOM sister Heather Menzies passed away this evening. Devastated.”
Menzies-Urich’s death comes about 14 months after the passing of Charmian Carr, the actress who played Liesl, the eldest von Trapp child.
— With files from Reuters
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