Kym Karath Opens Up About Working With Julie Andrews In ‘The Sound Of Music’

Kym Karath began her Hollywood career at a young age, appearing in various television shows and films. However, her most notable role came at the age of six when she was cast as the youngest von Trapp child, Gretl, in the 1965 movie, The Sound of Music, which was directed by Robert Wise.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, the actress revealed that her foray into acting began unexpectedly at the age of three while she was in her dad’s California restaurant. “Some producers walked up to me and my mom and asked my mom if I wanted to be in a movie,” Karath admitted to the news outlet. “And my mother said, ‘You’d better ask her.’ And I said, ‘If it won’t take too much time ‘cause I’m busy. I have a lot of dolls to take care of.’ And I guess they were super charmed. And that was the beginning of my first movie, [1963’s] ‘Spencer’s Mountain.’”

Kym Karath speaks about her time on the set of ‘The Sound of Music’

Recently, the 64-year-old reminisced about her audition and her time working on the set of The Sound of Music. “By then, I was 5 [but] I had an older brother and sister by 15 and 16 years, so… I thought I was 5 going on 18. I was pretty poised, and I walked in with my portfolio under my arm and I said, ‘Good afternoon gentlemen.’… That was the first audition,” Karath confessed. “And then there was a singing audition, which I was more than happy to participate in. And they asked me what songs I wanted to sing. I said, ‘What do you want me to sing?’ Because I knew all of them… I’m a human jukebox to this day… So I sang ’16 Going on 17.’ Kind of ridiculous for a 5-year-old, but as I said, I was 5 going on 18.”

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Karath also noted that being part of the film was the highlight of her young life as it allowed her to go on an adventure. “One of the best things about that movie for me was becoming a family, and we did become one in real life. And being in Salzburg, Austria, I think, started my profound love of Europe and history. [But] it was not a fun thing missing my father and brother. But my sister and mother were with me. And our group really became a family, which was wonderful,” she said. “[Director] Robert Wise was spectacular to work with,” she continued. “He was so warm, so lovely, and so sweet… It was work, and you needed to remember your lines, but it was easy in a way because I was with my friends all the time.”

Kym Karath shares her experience with co-star Julie Andrews

The actress was also opportune to work closely with Julie Andrews, who played the lead role of Maria Von Trapp, the stepmother of the Trapp Family Singers. Karath revealed that Andrews was very kind and nurturing, particularly towards the younger cast members.

“I loved her from the minute I met her. There is never a bad moment with Julie Andrews – never. She’s just the sweetest, most unbelievable, talented, brilliant human… I think we all have the same favorite memory to some extent,” the 64-year-old confessed. “That was when she took out her guitar and she just sang to us. And she would have us sing with her in between the scenes to amuse us, to entertain us, to make the time pass. She was a pure delight.”

Kym Karath explains why she left the limelight

Karath explained that after stepping into the limelight, she had to leave momentarily to focus on her education. “When I hit puberty, and I was quite developed for my age, there were a lot of horrible people who came forward,” she told Fox News Digital. “And my parents were both terrified of what was happening. And they said, ‘No more – just focus on school.’ I was lucky enough to have gone to this wonderful private girls’ school called Marlborough. And then I went to university, and that took me out of that.”

Karath claimed that after her university education, she could not stand the rigors of starting her career afresh, which informed her decision to relocate to France. “But going back into it, after I graduated from university, it was casting couch all over again. It was horrible. And I fled,” Karath confessed. “There was the Lolita predator-type. It was pretty bad. And I wasn’t accustomed to that. I worked as a professional for so many years, and I had a very positive experience. I would say 98 percent of it was positive. That was not something I was going to do, that I was willing to do, or wanted to experience. And I was pretty vulnerable after losing my dad, who died tragically during my sophomore year. I said, ‘No more of this.’ And I went to Paris. What else would a 24-year-old do?”