Heather Menzies

Heather Menzies Urich December 3 1949 December 24 2017 was a CanadianAmerican model and actress known for her roles as Louisa von Trapp in the 1965 film The Sound of Music Beautiful sunny and engaging blonde actress Heather Menzies was born on December 3 1949 in Toronto Canada Her family moved to the United States when Heather was eleven She graduated from Hollywood High School and subsequently attended the Falcon Studios University of the Arts in Hollywood Heather made a strong and promising film debut as Louisa von Trapp in the delightful classic musical The Sound of Music 1965 Menzies also appeared with The Sound of Music 1965 star Julie Andrews in the epic drama Hawaii 1966 After initially establishing herself as an innocent ingénue in the 1960s Heather reinvented herself with a much sexier image in the 1970s She did a nude pictorial for the August 1973 issue of Playboy Heather gave an extremely sweet and appealing performance as mad scientist Strother Martins lovely and loyal daughter in the enjoyably oddball horror feature Sssssss 1973 Menzies was likewise quite spirited and personable as a feisty skip tracer in the terrific fright film cult favorite Piranha 1978 On television Heather achieved her greatest fame as scantily clad fugitive Jessica in the shortlived but still popular Logans Run 1977 science fiction TV series Among the numerous TV shows Menzies did guest spots on are The Farmers Daughter 1963 Dragnet 1967 1967 Marcus Welby MD 1969 The Love Boat 1977 TJ Hooker 1982 Bonanza 1959 SWAT 1975 and Love American Style 1969 Heather appeared with her late actor husband Robert Urich on several occasions She acted in three episodes of Vega 1978 and one episode of Spenser For Hire 1985 plus had a small role in the offbeat science fiction mystery thriller Endangered Species 1982 Moreover Menzies first met Urich on the set of a TV commercial they acted in together An ovarian cancer survivor Heather resided in Los Angeles with her three children and worked for the Urich Fund for Sarcoma Research at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center Menzies died from brain cancer at age 68 on December 24 2017