What Happened To The Sound Of Music Cast After The Movie?

Rodgers and Hammerstein's hit Broadway musical "The Sound of Music" was turned into a big-screen film in 1965, and it grossed $300 million, according to Biography. The film was based on the real-life Maria von Trapp's book, "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers." Doris Day, Grace Kelly, and other actresses were considered for the role of Maria before Julie Andrews signed on, and actors such as Yul Brynner and Bing Crosby nearly got the role of Captain von Trapp before Christopher Plummer took the part. 

The movie is one of the world's most famous musicals with memorable songs, and it starred a large cast of children alongside the two adult leads. But what happened to the stars after the film was released, in the mid-1960s and beyond? Not surprisingly, Andrews and Plummer went on to have very successful acting careers. As for their on-screen children and others who appeared in the film, some continued acting, while others chose completely different career paths. Read on to see what happened to some of your favorite actors and actresses from "The Sound of Music."

Christopher Plummer also had a successful entertainment career after starring in "The Sound of Music." The Canadian actor played Captain Von Trapp in the film and wrote in his 2008 memoir that he was less-than-impressed with the role and movie, saying he was an arrogant and snobby young man with a theater background who looked down on Hollywood, according to Biography. In 1974 he won a Tony Award for "Cyrano" and later starred in "Othello" and "Macbeth" on Broadway. He followed up with several film roles, obviously getting over the whole "Hollywood is beneath me thing," including 1999's "The Insider," 2001's "A Beautiful Mind," and 2003's "Cold Creek Manor."

Over the years he starred alongside Nicolas Cage and George Clooney and even lent his voice to the animated film "Up" in 2009. He won his first Academy Award in 2011 for "Beginners" in which he played a gay father who didn't come out until much later in life. One of his final films was the 2019 movie "Knives Out" about a family patriarch who dies and the murder mystery surrounding his demise. The actor passed away in February 2021 after falling and striking his head at his home in Connecticut. He was 91 years old.

Nicholas Hammond played Friedrich von Trapp, the 14-year-old second child in the von Trapp family, in "The Sound of Music." One of his favorite parts of making the film was the "Do-Re-Mi" scene, according to Parade. He loved the location, riding a bike, dancing, etc. But he admitted that the floral outfit made of drapes wasn't exactly his jam. "If you want to see acting in its purest form, me looking happy to be in those clothes—that is acting," he joked. He also noted how he bonded with his on-screen siblings, whom he remained friends with for decades. He even referred to them as his "second family."

Hammond continued to work in movies and on television after starring in the musical. Most notably, he played the original Peter Parker in the 1970s series "The Amazing Spider-Man." He also played Marcia Brady's boyfriend in "The Brady Bunch." In 2013, he starred in a two-man show with Julie Andrews that toured Australia and New Zealand. Fans flocked to the performances, and he and Andrews were amazed that the film still resonated so deeply with fans. Hammond also released a documentary, "Climbed Every Mountain with Nicholas Hammond" that centered on the real-life von Trapp family. It featured interviews and rare footage of the Austrian clan.

Duane Chase played Kurt von Trapp, the 11-year-old fourth child in "The Sound of Music." He was 13 years old at the time. During an interview with Parade, Chase conceded that he had some things in common with his character, explaining that the director and producer Bob Wise was keen on typecasting: "Kurt was a little precocious and I think perhaps my personality probably fit that role pretty well." He also remembered exploring places when he was on set and often people didn't know where he was. His favorite part was traveling around Austria with their teacher.

Chase stopped acting after graduating from high school. He had many interests and acting simply wasn't his priority. So, he decided that if he didn't find an acting gig, he would pursue other avenues. That included mountain climbing as well as joining the U.S. Forest Service as a firefighter. Chase also got a master's degree in geology before settling down as a computer software analyst and designer for a geophysical and geological software company.

Debbie Turner played sibling Marta in "The Sound of Music," but she has come a long way from her childhood entertainment roots. The only other film Turner appeared in was "North Dallas Forty." She currently lives in Chanhassen, Minnesota, with her husband Rick, according to the Star Tribune. She took advantage of the pandemic by making some very special masks. In the movie, Maria (Julie Andrews), makes recreational clothing for the children by repurposing fabric from drapery. Turner used the same fabric and made masks for four of her sibling co-stars (Nicholas Hammond, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, and Kym Karath), which turned into big business from fans around the globe.

Turner explained that she had been hunting for the fabric for years before the pandemic started. The former actress is a designer and owner of Debbie Turner Originals, which she has run for over three decades. When she posted the masks on Facebook, they became an instant hit. "They were right away gone," Turner explained. "I don't know if people were seeing them and telling their friends, whatever." At one point, she was making up to 50 masks a day.

She noted that she and the surviving sibling co-stars have kept in touch over the years, saying: "We've always all been close because we've been together so much over the years. We're like a family."

Eleanor Parker played the aristocratic baroness in "The Sound of Music," and according to producer/director Robert Wise, she was perfect for the job. He explained, via The Hollywood Reporter, that, "She was wonderful in the part, a sort of light 'heavy' who was also ultimately quite touching." However, most of Parker's best work took place before she starred in the musical. She received three best actress Academy Award nominations in the 1950s. Parker appeared in several films during that decade, including "Caged," "Detective Story," and "The Man With the Golden Arm" opposite Frank Sinatra. This is in addition to all the films she appeared in during the 1940s, such as "Pride of the Marines" and "The Woman in White."

Following "The Sound of Music," Parker received a Golden Globe nomination for her role on NBC's TV series "Bracken's World," but she left the series in 1970. Other TV credits include "Hawaii Five-O," "The Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," and "Murder, She Wrote." Her final film was 1991's "Dead on the Money." Parker died in 2013 at the age of 91.

Marni Nixon played Sister Sophia in "The Sound of Music." It was a small role, and the year prior she played Eliza Doolittle in a 1964 theater production of "My Fair Lady" in New York. Interestingly, Julie Andrews played the role in the original 1956 Broadway production, according to the New York Times. But where Nixon really shined was when she sang for celebrities in numerous popular films. For example, she sang for Deborah Kerr in "The King and I," substituted for Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" and was Audrey Hepburn's singer in "My Fair Lady." She became labeled as "the best known of the ghost singers."

Her role was kept secret from the public, and she would have lost her job if people knew she dubbed for these famous stars. Eventually, however, her skills were leaked, and people knew that she was the true singer in these types of films. It didn't bother her until "West Side Story" when she realized, "I was giving my talent, and somebody else was taking the credit." She appeared on Broadway in the 2000s in James Joyce's "The Dead," Stephen Sondheim's "Follies," and the revival of "Nine." She hosted a children's television show in the '80s and voiced Grandmother Fa in Disney's animated film "Mulan." She kept singing through her 80s and died at the age of 86 in 2016.