Werner von Trapp

Werner Ritter von Trapp (21 December 1915 – 11 October 2007) was an Austrian singer and the second-oldest son of Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agatha Whitehead von Trapp. He was a member of the Trapp Family Singers, whose lives were the inspiration for the play and movie The Sound of Music.[1] He was portrayed as the character Kurt.[2][3]

Werner von Trapp
Werner von Trapp (left) with his brother Rupert in 1946
Born(1915-12-21)21 December 1915
Zell am See, Austria-Hungary
Died11 October 2007(2007-10-11) (aged 91)
Waitsfield, Vermont, U.S.
OccupationSinger, farmer
Spouse(s)Erika Klambauer
Children6
Parent(s)Georg von Trapp
Agatha Whitehead

Biography

Werner was named for a paternal uncle who was killed during World War I. Along with his six siblings Rupert von Trapp (1911–1992), Agathe von Trapp (1913–2010), Maria Franziska von Trapp (1914–2014), Hedwig von Trapp (1917–1972), Johanna von Trapp (1919–1994) and Martina von Trapp (1921–1951), father, and stepmother, Maria Augusta von Trapp, Werner comprised the Trapp Family Singers, who inspired the 1959 Broadway musical and the 1965 Academy Award winning Best Picture The Sound of Music. In the family chorus he sang tenor. Georg and Maria Augusta had three children together: Rosmarie von Trapp (born 1928 or 1929),[4] Eleonore von Trapp (born 1931), and Johannes von Trapp (born 1939).

The Trapp family rehearsing, 1941. Werner is in the background, in the center, behind his stepmother who wears a dark suit.

The Trapps fled Austria after the German annexation of Austria,[5] fearing reprisals resulting from declining to sing at Hitler's birthday party and Georg von Trapp's refusal to accept a commission in the German Navy. They went to the United States in 1938, settled in Vermont in 1942, and performed throughout the country. Georg Ritter von Trapp died in 1947 and the family went on performing until 1956; nevertheless, some of the siblings left before the last concert took place on 26 January 1956.[6]

Werner von Trapp became a naturalized United States citizen while serving in the United States Army, initially serving with the 101st Infantry Battalion and later the 10th Mountain division in Italy during World War II. He became a dairy farmer before retiring in Waitsfield, Vermont.

Personal life

He married the Salzburg born agricultural engineer Erika Klambauer, a childhood friend of his sister Martina, in 1948 and had six children, Barbara, Martin, Bernhard, Elisabeth, Tobias, and Stefan. He was the grandfather of Sofia, Melanie, Amanda, and August, the current incarnation of the Trapp Family Singers.[7]

Werner von Trapp died on 11 October 2007.[2][3] His wife, born 16 January 1922, died on 18 January 2018.[8]

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References
  1. "Werner von Trapp 1915–2007. Werner von Trapp passed away at his home in Waitsfield, Vermont on October 11, 2007. He was 91". Trapp Family Lodge. Retrieved 9 January 2011. Werner von Trapp was born in Zell am See, Austria in 1915, the fourth child and second son of Captain Georg von Trapp and his first wife, Agatha Whitehead. He studied cello at Salzburg's Mozarteum in the 1930's, and became proficient on several other instruments, as well as in the art of composing and arranging. He sang tenor with his family's choir, The Trapp Family Singers, who won great acclaim throughout Europe after their debut in 1935.
  2. "Maria Von Trapp's Stepson Dead at 91". Associated Press in Washington Post. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2009. Werner von Trapp, a member of the family made famous by the stage musical and the 1965 movie 'The Sound of Music', died Thursday at his home in Waitsfield, Vt. He was 91. ... In the movie The Sound of Music, Werner von Trapp was depicted by the character named Kurt.
  3. "Granddaughter of 'Sound of Music' duo to perform". The Topeka Capital-Journal. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2008. Her father, Werner, who was portrayed in the musical as the stoic Kurt, purchased a dairy farm about 35 miles south of the von Trapp family's New World homestead after he left the Trapp Family Singers. ... Werner von Trapp died October 11, 2007, at age 91.
  4. Gearin, Joan. "The Real Story of the von Trapp Family". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  5. According to an article published in 18 July 1949 issue of Time Magazine (see ), the family left Austria prior to the time that Hitler invaded Austria
  6. Childs, Martin (4 January 2011). "Agathe von Trapp: Eldest daughter of the family who inspired 'The Sound of Music'". The Independent Obituaries. London. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  7. "Susan Hoyt, Teacher, Sets July Wedding". New York Times. 23 March 1980. Retrieved 21 July 2007. The engagement of Susan Thatcher Hoyt to Bernhard Rupert von Trapp has been announced by her mother, Mrs. G. Chamberlin Hoyt of Short Hills, New Jersey. Mr. von Trapp is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Werner von Trapp of Waitsfield, Vermont and Salzburg, Austria. A July wedding is planned.
  8. Erika von Trapp, Obituaries, Stowe Reporter. 1 February 2018
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