Eleanor Parker, actress who played baroness in 'Sound of Music,' dies at 91   
       
   Dec 10, 2013 Susan King and Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times   
       
   LOS ANGELES -- Eleanor Parker, a versatile leading lady of the 1940s, '50s and   
   '60s who earned three Oscar nominations -- none of which were for her   
   best-known role as the baroness in "The Sound of Music" -- died Monday in Palm   
   Springs of complications of pneumonia. She was 91.   
       
   Her death was confirmed by her son, actor Paul Clemens.   
       
   Parker brought a coolness, reserve and elegance to her portrayal of the   
   baroness who is determined to marry the handsome captain played by Christopher   
   Plummer, only to lose him to his children's governess, Maria, portrayed by   
   Julie Andrews.   
       
   "Eleanor Parker was and is one of the most beautiful ladies I have ever   
   known," said Plummer in a statement Monday. "I hardly believe the sad news for   
   I was sure she was enchanted and would live forever."   
       
   The fame accompanying Parker's supporting but pivotal role in the enduring   
   1965 musical about the Von Trapp family was "something she came to make peace   
   with" after many years, her son said Monday.   
       
   "It was a lovely role, and she was terrific in it," Clemens said, "but it was   
   hardly her greatest role. It was only in the last 10 years of her life that   
   she became glad she had done the film. People of all ages know it."   
       
   Her death came just four days after NBC aired its live version of "The Sound   
   of Music," with Carrie Underwood as Maria, Stephen Moyer as Captain Von Trapp   
   and Broadway musical comedy star Laura Benanti as the baroness.   
       
   The striking redhead appeared in more than three dozen movies, acting opposite   
   many of Hollywood's most sought-after leading men, including Clark Gable,   
   William Holden and Glenn Ford.   
       
   Born in Cedarville, Ohio, on June 26, 1922, she caught the acting bug as a   
   youngster. At 15, she joined the Rice Summer Theatre on Martha's Vineyard in   
   Massachusetts, where she was offered a screen test by a 20th Century Fox   
   talent scout.   
       
   Believing she would profit from professional stage experience, she turned down   
   the test and continued her studies at the Pasadena Playhouse in California,   
   where she was quickly offered another chance at Hollywood exposure, this time   
   by a Warner Bros. scout. She did not agree to a test until she had finished   
   her first year at the playhouse. She made her film debut in 1942 in a   
   forgettable B movie, "Busses Roar."   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.96   
    * Origin: NCS BBS -Houma, LoUiSiAna- (1:3828/7)