The Sound of Music's Charmian Carr dies at 73

Charmian Carr, the actress who played Liesl von Trapp in The Sound of Music, died in Los Angeles of complications from a rare form of dementia. She was 73.

In the 1965 classic, Carr portrayed the eldest of the von Trapp children, famous for singing "Sixteen Going on Seventeen." When Carr, born in Chicago and raised in Southern California, was cast in the role, she had never taken any singing or acting lessons, and her only other major role was in the Stephen Sondheim television musical Evening Primrose.

Kym Karath, who played Gretl von Trapp in The Sound of Music, tweeted that Carr was "like a sister throughout my life." Carr appeared at Sound of Music fan events, and wrote two books — Forever Liesl and Letters to Liesl. After leaving acting, she went on to run an interior design firm in Los Angeles, with clients including Michael Jackson and Sound of Music screenwriter Ernest Lehman. She is survived by two children, four grandchildren, and four siblings. Catherine Garcia

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