Someone in the dark: Michael's Sound of Music Connection

The Michael-ing Daily ~

Michael's Sound of Music Connection ~ March 8th, 2012
http://www.mjjcommunity.com/forum/threads/121782-The-Michael-ing-Daily-Michael-s-Sound-of-Music-Connection-March-8th-2012

-Quoted from Michael Jackson during an Interview where he was asked if he was happy "(with a smile he states) "My Favorite Things," the show tune from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music (1955).

Charmian Carr as Liesl von Trapp (The Sound of Music)

Michael Jackson with Charmian Carr
Charmian Carr played Liesl von Trapp in " The Sound of Music" . Charmian Carr never thought about acting. THe only acting role she ever had was a high school girl in a school play. She used to model until her friend send a picture of Charmian to the casting director of "the sound of music". Charmian Carr only modeled because she was saving up a trip to Europe . The Director discovered Charmian Farnon ( The director changed her last name because her real name was always miss prounounced) could dance and sing when he called her in for an interview . A screen test actually. Charmian now owns her own design business in Ecino California with a client that includes Michael Jackson who hired her in part because of his love for Liesl. Charmian is internationally recognized as Liesl and often does personal appearances, radio and television as a result of the phenomenal success of this film. In 1995, she hosted "The Sound of Music" segment for the A&E channel's special on Rogers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Movies." Television audiences remember Charmian when she starred with Anthony Perkins in the John Houseman/Stephen Sondheim production of "Evening Primrose." Then Charmian found herself involved in two careers. She spent many years acting in national commercials while at the same time developing a highly successful Interior Design business. Her clients include Michael Jackson. Charmian was the contractor/designer on his Encino, California " Disneyland " home. She toured with Michael, who introduced her to scores of renowned people. Charmy designed five homes for her Von Trapp sister 'Louisa,' Heather Menzies and husband Robert Urich. She is currently decorating for Ernest Lehman, the screenwriter of "The Sound of Music." Charmian's interests include skiing, aerobics, dance, biking, and she is often called upon to perform "Sixteen Going on Seventeen." She spends as much time as possible visiting her two daughters, Jennifer and Emily and swimming with her three yellow Labrador Retrievers. One of her passions is gardening, and her results are spectacular.

Michael Jackson with Charmian Carr
The Interviews with Charmaine Carr regarding Michael Jackson:

Carr's film career tapered off when she focused her energies on becoming a full-time mom. She is currently an interior designer with her own firm (Charmian Carr Designs). Her TSOM legacy, however, continues to follow her, even into that field. In fact, one of her most famous clients is a huge fan of Liesl. His name is Michael Jackson.

"Wow! You were the mannequin room lady!" I blurted upon learning of Carr's work with the King of Pop. Michael Jackson wanted a room that looked like a party was going on, so Carr complied by gathering a room full of mannequins and dressing them in party attire. As we discussed her friendship with Michael, uncharacteristically, she let down a bit of reserve.

" I had a wonderful relationship with him. I worked with him for six and a half years (from 1981-87) at the height of his career -- Thriller had come out".

"He was terrific," she remembers. "He was very kind to me, very caring. We became good friends. He was over for dinner very often. We would go to Disneyland . He took my two daughters and me on tour with him, when he did the Victory tour. I haven't seen him in years now." Her words drop off wistfully.

It seems fitting that the woman who portrayed Liesl, seen by so many as the the ideal teenager -- "innocent and naive" -- in the ideal family, would befriend the man known as much for his childlike fantasy world as for his music.

You left your acting career behind, why was that?
I decided I wanted to have a family and I didn’t think that I could do both things well.
And you’ve gone into interior decorating, how has all that come about, is it something you’ve always been interested in?
I was dating an interior designer when I was filming The Sound of Music and I became very interested in what he did. I spent time with him and loved when he would show me his fabrics and samples for jobs and thought that when I was married and had my own house that I would want to decorate it and then it was just a word of mouth business that started and has become full time.
You famously said that one of your clients is Michael Jackson, how did all that come about?
He loved Liesl and he’d actually moved to Encino because he’d heard Liesel lived in Encino and the builder that was going to build his house I had been the decorator on a house that he had worked on right before Michael’s and he gave Michael my name and phone number.
What is he like as a person?
He’s pretty brilliant, he’s very talented but he’s very eccentric to say the least.
Does it bother you that given the media attention that he’s had for various things, that you are associated with him?
No, it doesn’t bother me.

The Youtube Video of an Interview with Charmian Carr talking about Michael Jackson ..

http://youtu.be/y_YU_9zDFdgThe Back Story Article:

Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

The Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein's last work together, told the story of the von Trapp family. Starring Mary Martin as Maria and Theodore Bikel as Captain von Trapp, it opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16, 1959, garnering much praise and numerous awards. It has been frequently revived ever since. The show was made into a film in 1965 starring Julie Andrews as Maria and Christopher Plummer as the Captain. It won five Oscars, including best picture and best director, Robert Wise. Hammerstein died in August 1960, before the film was made. So when Rodgers wrote two extra songs for the film, he wrote the lyrics as well. The Sound of Music probably contains more hit songs than any other Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, likely due to the phenomenal success of the film version. It was the most financially successful film adaptation of a Broadway musical ever made. It also contained many memorable songs, including the title song, "Do-Re-Mi", "My Favorite Things", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" "So Long, Farewell", "Sixteen Going on Seventeen", and "Edelweiss".
"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a show tune from Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music". Here it is sung at the close of the first act by the Mother Abbess. It is themed as an inspirational piece, to encourage people to take every step towards attaining one's dreams.

The Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City is named after Rodgers. Forbes named Rodgers and Hammerstein the second top-earning dead celebrity in 2009 at $235 million. While Rodgers and Hammerstein's work contains cheerful and oftentimes uplifting songs, they departed from the comic and sentimental tone of early 20th century musicals by seriously addressing issues such as racism, sexism and classism in many of their works. For example, Carousel concerns domestic violence, while South Pacific addresses racist views by westerners of Pacific islanders, and racism generally. Based on the true story of the von Trapp family, The Sound of Music explores the views of Austrians to the takeover of Austria by the Third Reich.

One of Michael Jackson's first public appearances was at a school program in the first grade in 1963 at Garnett Elementary School in Gary Indiana. Wearing black pants and a white shirt, he sang "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" from "The Sound of Music". The reaction was overwhelming. ~ Quote from (Mother) Katherine: "Michael demonstrated in public for the first time, singing “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” a cappella at a Garnett Elementary School assembly. Joe’s father and I were in the audience, and it was something to see hard-nosed Samuel Jackson burst into tears the second that Michael began to sing in his sweet pure voice. I was matching him, tear for tear. Michael was so poised; not nervous a bit. A natural even then.
~ Quote from Michael: "When I finished that song, the reaction in the auditorium overwhelmed me. The applause was thunderous and people were smiling; some of them were standing. My teachers were crying and I just couldn't believe it. I had made them all happy. It was such a great feeling. I felt a little confused too, because I didn't think I had done anything special. I was just singing the way I sang at home every night. When you're performing, you don't realize what you sound like or how you're coming across. You just open your mouth and sing."
~ TV Guide Interview - Michael was asked: “Do you remember the first time you ever stepped onstage?” to which he replied, “I was 5 years old. And it was at a public school recital. We had to wear white shirts and short knickers. And I remember them saying, ‘Little Michael Jackson is coming up to sing ‘Climb Ev'ry Mountain.’ I got the biggest applause. When I went to my seat my grandfather and mother were crying. They said, ‘[We] can’t believe how beautiful you sound.’ That’s the first one I remember.”
Climb Every Mountain from "The Sound of Music"
Climb every mountain,
Search high and low,
Follow every byway,
Every path you know.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
'Till you find your dream.

A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life
For as long as you live.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream

A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life,
For as long as you live.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
Till you find your dream.

The Jacksons : An American Dream: Climb Every Mountain
http://youtu.be/TdWv1dT0abIThe Back Story Maria Von Trapp Article:

Maria von Trapp Returns to
"Sound of Music" Home..By Karin Strohecker
SALZBURG, Austria (Reuters) - Maria von Trapp has taken a trip down memory lane to see her old family home just before it opens as a new hotel.
Staying in the house for the first time since the von Trapps fled the Nazi regime in the late 1930s has been a deeply moving experience for the second-eldest daughter of Baron von Trapp, whose story was made famous by the "Sound of Music" film.
"Our whole life is in here, in this house," the 94-year-old told Reuters in an interview. "Especially here in the stairwell, where we always used to slide down the railings."
Von Trapp smiles as she recalls the memory of her and her six siblings clambering and playing in the villa in the leafy suburbs of Salzburg in Austria and spending nights in hammocks in the park surrounding the family home.
The Photo Gallery:

A Book About The Real Maria Von Trapp and Her Musical Family

The Real Von Trapp Family

The Garnett Elementary School

What used to be Garnett Elementary School and is now Images of Hope, Inc., a preschool Friday, July 10, 2009 in Gary IN. Michael Jackson attended Garnett Elementary as a boy. Danese Kenon/The Star

Inside what used to be Garnett Elementary School and is now Images of Hope, Inc. Michael and some of his siblings attended Garnett Elementary School . It was closed, then reopened as an adult education center called Martin Luther King, Jr. Academy. It was closed again, again reopened as of March, 2010 as Images of Hope, Inc. Danese Kenon/The Star