'Sound of Music' actress Heather Menzies-Urich dies at 68

LOS ANGELES -- Actress Heather Menzies-Urich, who played one of the singing von Trapp children in the hit 1965 film, "The Sound of Music," has died. She was 68.

Her son, actor Ryan Urich, told Variety his mother died late Sunday in Frankford, Ontario. She recently had been diagnosed with brain cancer.

"She was an actress, a ballerina and loved living her life to the fullest," Urich said.

Menzies-Urich played Louisa von Trapp, the third-oldest of the seven von Trapp children, in the film adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical that starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.

"The Sound of Music" won five Academy Awards, including best picture.

"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,"' Ted Chapin, president and chief creative officer of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, said in a statement.

A Toronto native, Menzies-Urich's other film credits include "Hawaii" and "Piranha."

On television, she appeared as a fugitive in "Logan's Run" and had guest spots on "Dragnet," "Bonanza," "Marcus Welby, M.D." and other series.

Variety reports that Menzies-Urich is survived by two other children, several grandchildren and a great grandchild.

Her husband, actor Robert Urich, died in 2002. After his death, Menzies-Urich established the Robert Urich Foundation to raise funds for cancer research.