ABOVE: A current picture of Debbie Turner. Show business hasn't been a major part of her life in recent years. Courtesy of BROOKE LARSON View More Images from this story View and ORDER more photos.

For 'The Sound of Music's' Marta, life is still a search for pink parasols

Date published: 10/11/2006

SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Debbie Turner was having such a jolly time on the 20th Century-Fox sound stage back in 1964 that she started mouthing a song she wasn't supposed to know.

Purists of "The Sound of Music" (and there are many) like to point out that endearing little flub in the scene where the seven von Trapp children, including Marta (played by Turner), were cavorting with Julie Andrews in her bedroom, singing about "My Favorite Things."

Watch really carefully and you'll see Marta simultaneously mouth a couple of syllables with Maria (played by Andrews), even though at that point Maria is supposed to be teaching the children the lyrics.

Think that's picky? Forty-one years after the release of "The Sound of Music," legions of fans still focus on every microsecond of its screen time, along with the lives of its stars and crew members.

Last week, I wrote about my personal affinity for the film, formed when I was 17 (going on 18).

It turns out I'm not alone. Indeed, the Lake of the Woods Players in Orange County open their stage version of "The Sound of Music" tomorrow in the new Community Center in Sweetbriar Park. The auditions attracted so much local talent that the director was able to have two casts of children for the von Trapp family.

Today, in the context of that ardent interest, I offer the first (and, I hope, not the last) interview with the people who brought to life the most beloved film of all time. I begin with the actress who played Marta, the next-to-youngest von Trapp daughter, who included pink parasols among her favorite things.

As a toddler, Debbie Turner had appeared in a number of TV shows and commercials before landing the role of Marta. But show business has not been a big part of her life in recent years.

For the past two decades, Turner has lived in the suburbs of Minneapolis with her husband, an aircraft mechanical engineer. They have four daughters.

She has become a successful floral designer, as well as a designer of collectible Santa Clauses.

Here are some excerpts from my recent e-mail interview with her:

QWhen did you begin to realize that "The Sound of Music" would be cherished by so many generations of fans ?

Date published: 10/11/2006