Last of 'Sound of Music' von Trapp singers dies at 99
- 10 years ago
The last surviving member of the Trapp Family Singers, has died at the age of 99 at her home in Vermont.
Maria Von Trapp was one of seven children born to Austrian Naval Captain Georg von Trapp and his first wife.
Maria and her family fled Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938 and ended up performing in the U.S.
Her family's fascinating life story inspired a Broadway musical in 1959, The Sound of Music.....And subsequently the 1965 blockbuster movie, starring Dame Julie Andrews, which won an Oscar for Best Picture.
The Sound of Music tells of a young woman who leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the seven children of a naval officer widower.
Maria -- seen here in footage filmed five years ago -- said it was based loosely on a book by the governess, who became von Trapp's second wife.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MARIA VON TRAPP SAYING:
"It was not quite what we experienced in our life, but I like 'The Sound of Music' very much. I think it's a
Maria Von Trapp was one of seven children born to Austrian Naval Captain Georg von Trapp and his first wife.
Maria and her family fled Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938 and ended up performing in the U.S.
Her family's fascinating life story inspired a Broadway musical in 1959, The Sound of Music.....And subsequently the 1965 blockbuster movie, starring Dame Julie Andrews, which won an Oscar for Best Picture.
The Sound of Music tells of a young woman who leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the seven children of a naval officer widower.
Maria -- seen here in footage filmed five years ago -- said it was based loosely on a book by the governess, who became von Trapp's second wife.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) MARIA VON TRAPP SAYING:
"It was not quite what we experienced in our life, but I like 'The Sound of Music' very much. I think it's a