When Julie Andrews arrived on the set of The Sound of Music in 1964, she had recently finished filming another iconic role – much to the delight of the youngsters playing the Von Trapp children. 'She’d just filmed Mary Poppins and she taught us how to say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious",' Angela Cartwright, who played Brigitta, tells HELLO! in this exclusive interview. 'She taught us how to say it backwards, too, and it’s something I’ve never forgotten.' Julie’s performances in the two roles – Maria, the singing nun, and the 'practically perfect' nanny Mary, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress – made her one of the world’s biggest stars. With her beautiful singing voice, radiant presence and natural warmth, she instantly became one of its best-loved, too. Now, as she celebrates her 90th birthday on 1 October, Dame Julie is a Hollywood legend, with a remarkable decades-long stage and screen career featuring roles in everything from The Princess Diaries to the hit TV series Bridgerton, which she narrated in her instantly recognisable, deeply comforting tones. As well as an Oscar, her extraordinary list of accolades includes seven Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Bafta Award and a damehood.
Special connection
In honour of the British-born star’s milestone birthday, HELLO! spoke to two of the actresses who starred alongside her in The Sound of Music 60 years ago, becoming, as Julie has said, "family". They shared their memories of filming with the actress in Salzburg, Austria, and the close relationship they still have with her. For the seven children, who ranged in age from five to 16 years old, working on the film was an incredible adventure, with Julie at its centre. Debbie Turner, 69, who was seven when she won the part of Marta von Trapp, remembers her on-screen governess-turned-stepmother as being 'wonderful'. Debbie says: "She was very much the same person off camera as she was on camera – she was loving and kind and sweet and hilarious. She was really fun.
"If we were misbehaving a little bit or being rambunctious, or we had to wait around before shooting because it was raining, she would take us off to the side and play her guitar or tell us jokes." When filming began, Julie’s daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, from her first marriage to the costume designer Tony Walton, was a toddler. She would go on to adopt two children, Amy and Joanna Edwards, with her second husband, the director Blake Edwards, to whom she was married until his death in 2010. She is also a grandmother of nine and great-grandmother to three children. On set, Julie’s maternal quality shone through, and she was happy to bond with her on-screen charges. "We felt as though she was our real Fraulein," says Angela, who was 12 when she played the Von Trapps’ middle daughter. "She’s always been so warm to us."
© Getty ImagesFor Angela, now 73, watching the film six decades later is "like watching home movies. It’s like the way our kids watch videos of themselves. It brings back wonderful memories," she says. The children attended school classes together on set, and Angela became close friends with Heather Menzies, who played Louisa. "It was like being with your best friend in Salzburg, which is a gorgeous city," she says. "There are things I’ll never forget, like the Do-Re-Mi routine with Julie around the Pegasus Fountain and up and down the Mirabell Garden steps. She was very gracious with us."
The young stars had no idea of the cultural phenomenon they were involved in until the night of the film’s premiere, in New York in March 1965. "The music whisked you away to this land of mountains," Angela says. "And then, of course, Julie twirling. I remember just going: 'Oh my gosh, this is amazing.' We knew we were filming something special, but we never imagined it would be so loved the world over 60 years later."
© Getty Images for AFI
© Penske Media via Getty ImagesAngela went on to have a successful acting career, appearing in the popular sci-fi series Lost in Space, while Debbie left showbusiness and became a floral designer. Charmian Carr, who played the family’s eldest daughter, Liesl, died in 2016 and Heather Menzies in 2017, but the other Von Trapp children have stayed in touch. "We just have fun when we’re together – we become naughty all over again," Debbie says. "Nicky [Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich] is so witty, and he’ll get Kym [Karath, who played Gretl] rolling with laughter. She has the best, most infectious laugh you’ve ever heard, and the rest of us roll our eyes at them but laugh too."
"Every time we’ve got together with her, we just pick up where we were last time"
They cherish the occasions on which they have seen Julie over the years, often at events celebrating the film. "Every time we’ve got together with her, we just pick up where we were last time," Debbie says. The last time she saw the actress was in 2022, when Julie received the AFI Life Achievement Award in Los Angeles. Movingly, the five remaining Von Trapp children surprised her by serenading her with a performance of Do-Re-Mi. "Afterwards, she spent time with all of us individually, embracing us and asking how we were, what we’d been doing and how our families were,' she says. 'It was so lovely, and exactly how she’s always been with us. She has so much class." The Von Trapps are all travelling to Salzburg in October for The Sound of Music’s 60th anniversary gala, and although Julie isn’t expected to attend, they hope to see her again soon.
© Getty ImagesUnique appeal
When it comes to Julie’s enduring success, Debbie and Angela agree in their assessment of the reason: a rare combination of brilliance and kindness. "She’s so talented, but also such a genuine person," Debbie says. Angela adds: "I think it’s her amazing voice, and her warmth." Do they have a birthday message for her? "Happy birthday, Julie," Debbie says. "You’ve been an amazing influence in my life, and I’m so much of a better person to have known you." Angela adds: "I hope your birthday is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" Anyone who’s been touched by one of the actress’s performances will agree.
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps
