RIP: Agathe von Trapp

Agathe von Trapp
12 Mar 1913 - 28 Dec 2010

ZUI this article from the Daily Mail:

Agathe von Trapp, a member of the musical family whose escape from Nazi-occupied Austria was the basis for The Sound of Music, has died in the U.S., a longtime friend said yesterday.

Miss von Trapp, 97, died at a hospice in Baltimore, Mary Louise Kane said.

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Agathe von Trapp was the oldest daughter of Austrian naval Captain Georg Ritter von Trapp. His seven children by his first wife, Agathe, were the basis for the singing family in the 1959 play and 1965 film, which won the Oscar for best picture.

Miss von Trapp was played by Charmian Carr, who sang ‘16 Going On 17’ in the film and whose character was called Liesl.

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Her father had three more children with his second wife, Maria Augusta Kutschera. They performed together as the Trapp Family Singers

Agathe's death leaves four surviving members of the Trapp Family Singers: Maria von Trapp, 96; Rosmarie von Trapp, 81; Elenore 'Lorli' von Trapp Campbell, 79; and Johannes, 71.

I loved The Sound of Music, despite the many historical inaccuracies. I recommend Maria's book, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, which I read once long, long ago, for those interested in an account of the actual events.

I was surprised to see that any of the children were still alive. Captain von Trapp, of course, was Austria's top submarine captain commander in World War I. Agathe and Maria were the second and third, respectively, of the children born to him and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead; Rosmarie, Elenore and Johannes were Maria Kutschera's three children.