AN ACTRESS who starred in the Sound of Music as a child has died following a battle with brain cancer.
Heather Menzies-Urich, who played the third oldest of the Von Trapp children, Louisa Von Trapp, in the popular Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, died aged 68 on Christmas Eve.
The 1965 film, which also stars Dame Julie Andrews, portrays the family's escape from Nazi-occupied Austria.
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The child actors and actresses who played the seven Von Trapp siblings became world famous for their roles and renditions of such tunes as Do-Re-Mi and So Long, Farewell.
Ted Chaplin, of the Rodgers and Hammerstein agency, said: "Heather was part of 'the family.'
"There is really no other way to describe the members of the cast of the movie of The Sound of Music.
"And of 'the kids,' Heather was a cheerful and positive member of the group, always hoping for the next gathering."
The Canadian actress, who was just 16 when the film was released, went on to appear in TV series including Logan's Run and The Six Million Dollar Man.
She was married to the actor Robert Urich, with whom she appeared in the TV series Vega$, who died of a rare form of cancer in 2002.
Mrs Menzies-Urich spent many of her subsequent years establishing and then fund raising for the Robert Urich Foundation which carried out research into treatment for cancer and support for patients.