Sound of Music Star Dies of Brain Cancer

Heather Menzies-Urich, who played Louisa von Trapp in The Sound of Music, died Christmas Eve at the age of 68, TMZ reports. Her son, Ryan Urich, says she had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer a month earlier. "She was an actress, a ballerina, and loved living her life to the fullest," Urich says. Menzies-Urich is survived by her children, grandchildren, and a great grandchild. Her husband, actor and producer Robert Urich, died in 2002, according to the BBC.

Menzies-Urich, born in Toronto, was cast in the Oscar-winning The Sound of Music at the age of 15 after getting her start in acting the year before. It was to be her most famous role. "We are all lucky to have known her, and she will happily live on in that beautiful movie," says Ted Chapin of the estate of Rodgers & Hammerstein, the creators of the musical. (More The Sound of Music stories.)