Charmian Carr
Encyclopedia
Charmian Carr is an American actress and singer. She is mainly known for her role as Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp
daughter in The Sound of Music
where she starred with Julie Andrews
, Christopher Plummer
, Nicholas Hammond
, Heather Menzies
, Duane Chase
, Angela Cartwright
, Debbie Turner
, and Kym Karath
.
Carr was born Charmian Farnon in Chicago, Illinois. She is the second child of vaudeville
actress Rita Oehman and musician Brian Farnon, who named her Charmian
after a character from Shakespeare
's play Antony and Cleopatra
. She has two sisters, one older and one younger. Her sisters, both actresses, are Shannon Farnon
and Darleen Carr
.
While Charmian was attending college part-time and working for a doctor, her mother arranged for her to audition for a role in The Sound of Music. Charmian's mother had not asked her if she wanted to audition for the part, but Charmian grew up in a show business family and said that she knew that her mother would consider her getting a part in a film more important than earning a college diploma. Director Robert Wise
thought Farnon too long a surname for her, and after he had given her a list of single syllable surnames, she chose Carr. She won the role of Liesl over Geraldine Chaplin
, Patty Duke
, Mia Farrow
and Sharon Tate
.
The film was on the whole a very happy experience for her. During the filming of her dance scene with Rolf in the gazebo, however, the costume crew forgot to put no-slip pads on her shoes, she slid through a window of the gazebo and she "had to complete the scene in agony."
Carr also appeared in Evening Primrose, a one-hour musical written by Stephen Sondheim
, which aired on television's ABC Stage 67
in 1966. The male lead was Anthony Perkins
. She has written two books, Forever Liesl and Letters to Liesl.
While publicising The Sound of Music
after its release, Carr met Jay Brent, whom she married in May 1967. She retired from acting to raise her two daughters, Jennifer and Emily, and to establish an interior decorating company. The marriage lasted until 1991.
Carr now owns and operates Charmian Carr Designs in Encino, California. Her interior decorating clients included Ernest Lehman
, screenwriter for The Sound of Music
; Michael Jackson
, who hired her because he was a fan of the film; and other cast members from the film.
On December 12, 2007, Carr made a rare television appearance as a guest on Loose Women
where she shared some of her memories of making The Sound of Music with the hosts.
Carr reunited with all of her co-stars from The Sound of Music on The Oprah Winfrey Show
in October 2010 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of The Sound of Music.
Von Trapp children
The Von Trapp Children are a musical group made up of Justin, Amanda, Melanie, and Sofia von Trapp, descendants of the Trapp Family Singers. They are the grandchildren of Werner von Trapp and great-grandchildren of Georg Ritter von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead, and the...
daughter in The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
where she starred with Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
, Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, Nicholas Hammond
Nicholas Hammond
Nicholas Hammond is an American actor best known for his roles as Friedrich von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music, and as Peter Parker/Spider-Man on the CBS television series The Amazing Spider-Man...
, Heather Menzies
Heather Menzies
Heather Urich , born December 3, 1949 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a Canadian-born actress who moved to California via Florida at the age of 11. She enrolled at the Falcon Studio’s University of the Arts, in Hollywood. Her first professional role at the age of 13 was on My Three Sons...
, Duane Chase
Duane Chase
Duane Chase is an actor, best remembered as Kurt von Trapp in The Sound of Music. He played Danny Matthews in The Big Valley for one episode. He stopped acting after high school and went on to study for his Master's degree in geology.-Current status:Today, he lives in Seattle, Washington, and...
, Angela Cartwright
Angela Cartwright
Angela Margaret Cartwright is an English-born American actress primarily known for her roles in movies and television...
, Debbie Turner
Debbie Turner
Debbie Turner is an American former child star who played the role of Marta von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music.-Life and career:...
, and Kym Karath
Kym Karath
Kimberly "Kym" Karath is an American actress, best known for her role as Gretl in The Sound of Music.- Career :...
.
Carr was born Charmian Farnon in Chicago, Illinois. She is the second child of vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
actress Rita Oehman and musician Brian Farnon, who named her Charmian
Charmian (servant to Cleopatra)
Charmian was a trusted servant and advisor to the historical Cleopatra VII of Egypt.-Plutarch:In Plutarch's Parallel Lives biography of Mark Antony, he noted that Augustus Caesar "had a decree made, declaring war on Cleopatra, and depriving Antony of the authority which he had let a woman exercise...
after a character from Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's play Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
. She has two sisters, one older and one younger. Her sisters, both actresses, are Shannon Farnon
Shannon Farnon
Shannon Farnon is an American actress and voice actress. She is best known as being the first actress to voice Wonder Woman in a Hanna-Barbera production....
and Darleen Carr
Darleen Carr
Darleen Carr is an American actress best known for a recurring role in the 1981–82 television series Bret Maverick opposite James Garner...
.
While Charmian was attending college part-time and working for a doctor, her mother arranged for her to audition for a role in The Sound of Music. Charmian's mother had not asked her if she wanted to audition for the part, but Charmian grew up in a show business family and said that she knew that her mother would consider her getting a part in a film more important than earning a college diploma. Director Robert Wise
Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...
thought Farnon too long a surname for her, and after he had given her a list of single syllable surnames, she chose Carr. She won the role of Liesl over Geraldine Chaplin
Geraldine Chaplin
Geraldine Leigh Chaplin is an English-American actress and the daughter of Charlie Chaplin.Chaplin first came to prominence for her Golden Globe-nominated role of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago . She received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville...
, Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
, Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
and Sharon Tate
Sharon Tate
Sharon Marie Tate was an American actress. During the 1960s she played small television roles before appearing in several films. After receiving positive reviews for her comedic performances, she was hailed as one of Hollywood's promising newcomers and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for...
.
The film was on the whole a very happy experience for her. During the filming of her dance scene with Rolf in the gazebo, however, the costume crew forgot to put no-slip pads on her shoes, she slid through a window of the gazebo and she "had to complete the scene in agony."
Carr also appeared in Evening Primrose, a one-hour musical written by Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, which aired on television's ABC Stage 67
ABC Stage 67
ABC Stage 67 was the umbrella title for a series of 26 weekly shows that included dramas, variety shows, documentaries, and original musicals....
in 1966. The male lead was Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins was an American actor, best known for his Oscar-nominated role in Friendly Persuasion and as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , and its three sequels.-Early life:...
. She has written two books, Forever Liesl and Letters to Liesl.
While publicising The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
after its release, Carr met Jay Brent, whom she married in May 1967. She retired from acting to raise her two daughters, Jennifer and Emily, and to establish an interior decorating company. The marriage lasted until 1991.
Carr now owns and operates Charmian Carr Designs in Encino, California. Her interior decorating clients included Ernest Lehman
Ernest Lehman
Ernest Lehman was an American screenwriter. He received 6 Academy Award nominations during his screenwriting career...
, screenwriter for The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
; Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, who hired her because he was a fan of the film; and other cast members from the film.
On December 12, 2007, Carr made a rare television appearance as a guest on Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
where she shared some of her memories of making The Sound of Music with the hosts.
Carr reunited with all of her co-stars from The Sound of Music on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
in October 2010 to celebrate the 45th anniversary of The Sound of Music.