Charmian Carr (born Charmian Anne Farnon; December 27, 1942 – September 17, 2016) was an American actress best known for her role as Liesl, the eldest von Trapp daughter in the 1965 film version of The Sound of Music.
Carr was born Charmian Anne Farnon in Chicago, Illinois, the second child of vaudeville actress Rita Oehmen and musician Brian Farnon [1] The couple divorced in 1957.[2] She had two sisters, both actresses (Shannon Farnon and Darleen Carr). Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 10.[3] While a student at San Fernando High School, graduating in 1960,[4] Carr was a cheerleader and played basketball and volleyball. "She had never had a singing lesson and had never tried to act" before she was signed to be in The Sound of Music.[2]
Carr was studying speech therapy and philosophy at San Fernando Valley State College[5] when a friend arranged for her to audition for a role in The Sound of Music. In a newspaper article published November 9, 1964, Carr related the story behind the tryout as follows:
I was going to college and getting extra spending money by modeling in fashion shows in one of the stores. One of the girls who modeled with me knew that Robert Wise, producer-director of The Sound of Music had been conducting a four-month search for someone to play the part of 16-year-old Liesl. My friend, without my knowing it, sent in my picture and explained in a note that I sang and danced. I received a call from Mr. Wise to come for a tryout. It took me completely by surprise.[3]
Director Robert Wise thought that Farnon was too long a surname paired with Charmian. He gave her a list of single syllable surnames and she chose Carr.[6] She won the role of Liesl over Geraldine Chaplin, Kim Darby, Patty Duke, Shelley Fabares, Teri Garr, Mia Farrow, and Lesley Ann Warren.[7] The film was on the whole a very happy experience for her. However, during the filming of her dance scene with Rolf in the gazebo, the costumers had forgotten 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."[8]
In 1965, Carr worked with Van Johnson on a pilot for the television program Take Her, She's Mine.[2] She then appeared in Evening Primrose, a one-hour musical written by Stephen Sondheim which aired on ABC Stage 67 in 1966.[9] During the same year, she accepted the Golden Globe award for best picture, musical or comedy on behalf of Robert Wise.[10] The following year, she married dentist Jay Brent, and left show business; they divorced in 1991. They had two daughters.[11]
Carr owned the interior design firm Charmian Carr Designs in Encino, California, and she wrote Forever Liesl and Letters to Liesl.[12] She reunited with many of her co-stars from The Sound of MusiconThe Oprah Winfrey Show in October 2010 to celebrate the film's 45th anniversary.[13] In 2014, Carr recorded "Edelweiss" with the great-grandchildren of the von Trapps on the album Dream a Little Dreambythe von Trapps and Pink Martini.[14]
^ abcHopper, Hedda (March 7, 1965). "In Hollywood". Valley Morning Star. Harlingen, Texas. p. A7. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Liesl at 64 going on 70". The Daily Telegraph. London. December 26, 2007. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
