Werner von Trapp, 91; family was portrayed in ‘Sound of Music’

Werner von Trapp, 91, a member of the musical family made famous by the 1965 movie “The Sound of Music,” died Thursday at his home in Waitsfield, Vt. The cause of death was not announced. The family confirmed his death but declined to comment further.

“The Sound of Music” was based loosely on a 1949 book by his stepmother, Maria von Trapp, who died in 1987. It tells the story of an Austrian woman who marries a widower with seven children and teaches them music.

Born in 1915 in Zell am See, Austria, Von Trapp was the fourth child and second son of Capt. Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe Whitehead. In the movie, Werner von Trapp was portrayed by the character Kurt.

During the 1930s, Von Trapp studied cello and became proficient on several other instruments. He sang tenor with his family’s choir, the Trapp Family Singers, who won great acclaim throughout Europe after their debut in 1935.

In 1938, Von Trapp and his family escaped Nazi-occupied Austria. After they arrived in New York, the family became popular with concert audiences and eventually settled in Vermont.

During World War II, Von Trapp served in Europe with the Army and then returned to his family’s farm in Stowe, Vt., to resume touring with the family choir.

After the Trapp Family Singers retired, Von Trapp helped to found a music school in Reading, Pa. Several years later he brought his family back to Vermont and settled on a dairy farm in Waitsfield.