Here’s What Happened To The Stars Of The Sound Of Music

Is there a musical more beloved than The Sound of Music? Probably not. And even if you’ve not watched the classic flick in years, you’ll remember its iconic tunes – enough to participate in an audience singalong showing should you choose. Altogether now, “How do you solve a problem like Maria…”

Did we catch you humming along? We won’t tell... And you wouldn’t be alone in secretly harboring a love for the 1965 movie. Some of the critics at the Academy liked it, too. The Sound of Music ended up winning five Oscars for Best Music, Best Sound, Best Film Editing and Best Director for Robert Wise. Oh, and that all-important Best Picture gong to top it off. Not only that, but it made $110 million at the box office as well. Adjusted for inflation, that actually makes it the third-highest-grossing movie ever.

But on paper, The Sound of Music’s story doesn’t sound like a laugh riot. It’s based, of course, on the true tale of the von Trapp family and their nanny Maria. They all lived in Austria but had to flee under difficult circumstances when World War II broke out. Needless to say, the movie’s not actually historically accurate, but it makes up for that by being both entertaining and uplifting.

And The Sound of Music not only saved 20th Century Fox – which was in dire financial straits at the time – but it also made its location of Salzburg, Austria, a tourist destination. What else? Well, it created an army of diehard fans of course. Some of the folks are even people who appeared in the film! So, what happened to that fabulous cast after they left the hills behind? Let’s see.

Julie Andrews

Although The Sound of Music helped catapult a young Julie Andrews to fame, she was unsure about taking the role of Maria at first. In particular, Andrews feared that her character was too similar to another one she was playing in a teeny little movie called Mary Poppins. But we have her agent Arthur Park to thank for insisting that she take the role. And the rest, as they say, is history.