Actor
27 December 1942, Chicago, Illinois, USA - 17 September 2016, Tarzana, California, USA
Charmian Carr played Liesl von Trapp, the eldest daughter, in The Sound of Music (1965). She was 21, not 16, and she became one of the most enduring ambassadors the film ever produced, returning to Salzburg for cast reunions decades later. The gazebo where she danced now lives permanently at Hellbrunn Palace.
Carr was cast in March 1964 after a friend sent a photograph of her to Robert Wise, noting she could pass for sixteen. She beat out Mia Farrow, Patty Duke, and reportedly Sharon Tate for the part. She had no formal acting training and had never taken a singing lesson; she grew up in a family of performers and landed the role on presence alone.
The “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” scene was filmed at the gazebo on the grounds of Schloss Leopoldskron. During the sequence, Carr slipped through a glass panel in the set and sprained her ankle; a bandage remains visible in early cuts of the film. The original gazebo from the production is now permanently installed in the gardens of Hellbrunn Palace, where visitors can stand in the same structure and pose as Liesl.
Unlike many actors who played child or teenage roles in major films, Carr stayed close to the film throughout her life. She wrote Forever Liesl in 1999, sharing behind-the-scenes stories with a warmth that matched her screen persona. She returned to Salzburg for reunion events in 2000 and 2010. She built a successful interior design practice in California after acting, working for clients including Michael Jackson. She recorded a version of “Edelweiss” with von Trapp great-grandchildren in 2014.
She died in September 2016 at 73. Salzburg’s connection to her is concentrated in the Hellbrunn Palace gazebo: a small wooden structure that has become one of the most photographed objects associated with the film, drawing visitors who make a specific trip to stand where Liesl once danced.
On the map
The 2 places on this page, where they actually stand.
Locations
Built 1613-1619
Summer residence of Markus Sittikus, built by Santino Solari in Italian Renaissance style (1613-1619). The palace itself is elegant and relatively austere; its fame rests on the extraordinary grounds: the Wasserspiele (trick fountains), the Steintheater, the Sound of Music Pavilion, and the zoo.
The octagonal white gazebo from The Sound of Music. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer performed "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" here. Originally at Schloss Leopoldskron, relocated to Hellbrunn in the 1970s. Now enclosed behind a fence after visitors broke ankles attempting to recreate the spinning dance sequence.
