Actors who played the Von Trapp kids in The Sound of Music revealed what it was like to film with the late Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews.
Debbie Turner, 64, who was seven when she played Marta in the movie, Angela Cartwright, 68, who played Brigitta when he was 13, and Nicholas Hammond, 70, who was 14 when he played Friedrich appeared on This Morning today.
They paid tribute to Christopher, who died Friday at the age of 91 and was best known for his role as Captain Von Trapp in the 1965 music film, praising the star’s “ concentration and dedication ” on set.
Nicholas, from New South Wales, revealed how the star would deliberately distance himself from the kids on set so that they would immediately be drawn on screen to ‘fun and cheerful’ Andrews, who played Maria Von Trapp in the film.
Actors who played the Von Trapp kids in The Sound of Music revealed what it was like to film with the late Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews. Pictured Christopher and Julie as Captain Von Trapp and Maria in the 1965 film
Pictured, (LR) Charmian Carr, Nicholas Hammond, Heather Menzies, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, Debbie Turner, Kym Karath, Christopher Plummer as the Von Trapp family in the film
“He showed me what it is like to be an actor, with his concentration and dedication,” he said. It was true that he was more serious on set, especially Julie who was lovely and fun, full of light and joy for all of us.
But Christopher came there to do a job and knew that as kids we shouldn’t be as comfortable with him as we were with our father, as with Maria. So it was actually a very calculated move.
“She was so kind and warm and taught us jokes and songs and Christopher kept his distance from us and I think that was absolutely the right decision and I really admired him.”
But Christopher had a softer side, with Debbie, from Minnesota, recalling a famous scene from the movie where he secretly pulled faces at her to make her laugh.
Debbie Turner, 64, who was seven when she played Marta in the movie, Angela Cartwright, 68, who played Brigitta when she was 13, and Nicholas Hammond, 70, who was 14 when he played Friedrich, appeared on This Morning today
Nicholas revealed how the star would deliberately distance themselves from the kids on set so that they would immediately be drawn to ‘fun and cheerful’ Andrews on screen. Pictured, the Von Trapp family in The Sound of Music
She said, “We did the scene after we got back from the berry pick and he looked at me and said” Marta, where were you really? ”
“The camera was on his back and I just remember him pulling faces at me and making me laugh … It was just kind of fun to remember he had a soft side to him.”
Julie, now 85, was 27 while the movie was being filmed, before the 1964 movie Mary Poppins came out in the US, and Angela remembered how the star would teach the young actors words to songs from the iconic musical on set.
“Mary Poppins hadn’t come out yet, so nobody in America knew who she was,” said Nicolas. Most people in LA didn’t know who she was.
Julie, now 85, was 27 while The Sound of music was being filmed Pictured, Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins in 1964
“ She was 27 and the studio was in danger of going out of business, and that was all on the shoulders of a 27-year-old girl and when you consider what she did in that movie, it’s an amazing achievement. ”
Angela added: ‘Oh, she taught us Mary Poppins songs, absolutely! I can still say backwards: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. She was lovely to be around and she had a lot of energy and we had such a great time in the movie. ‘
Christopher was famously quoted saying he regretted his choice to star in the movie, but Angela says his view of the movie ‘changed’ as he got older, and that his serious attitude gave the role an ‘edge’.
“I think that changed as he got older and he realized how his career was moving forward as a result, much faster than was possible,” she said.
‘I think he was a little sorry he said that, but I think he put a real edge to the piece that made it not so sickly sweet and I loved working with Chris, a very talented man who was very sad to lose him ‘.
Pictured with Julie in 2015, Christopher was a veteran Shakespearean actor honored for his diverse stage, television and film work in a career spanning more than six decades
Christopher was a veteran Shakespearean actor honored for his varied stage, television and film work in a career spanning more than six decades.
The artist became the oldest actor to win an Academy Award at the age of 82 for his supporting performance in ‘Beginners’ as an older man who comes out as gay after the death of his wife.
He was best known for his role in ‘The Sound Of Music’, which at the time eclipsed ‘Gone With the Wind’ (1939) as the highest-grossing film ever and won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1965.