Rupert von Trapp

Rupert Georg von Trapp
Born 1 November 1911(1911-11-01)
Pola, Istria, Austria-Hungary
Died 22 February 1992(1992-02-22) (aged 80)
Stowe, Vermont
Nationality Austrian
Occupation singer
Children Francoise von Trapp
George von Trapp
Monique von Trapp
Elizabeth "Tizzy" von Trapp
Christopher von Trapp[1]
Stephanie von Trapp
Parents Georg Ludwig von Trapp

Rupert Georg von Trapp (1 November 1911 – 22 February 1992) was a member of the Trapp Family Singers, whose lives were the inspiration for the play and film The Sound of Music. He was portrayed as the character "Friedrich".

Biography

He was born on November 1, 1911. His parents married either in January 1911 or January 1912.[2][3] His father was Georg Ludwig von Trapp, his mother Agathe Whitehead (1891–1922). Von Trapp grew up in Zell am See during World War I with his siblings, Agathe von Trapp (1913–2010), Maria Franziska von Trapp (1914), Werner von Trapp (1915–2007), Hedwig von Trapp (1917–1972), and Johanna von Trapp (1919–1994).

The youngest sister, Martina von Trapp (1921–1951), was born in Klosterneuburg (Austria), whither the Trapp Family had moved from Zell-am-See because their home (a "lake hotel" called "Kitzsteinhorn") had been flooded. Before living in the hotel, the von Trapp Family lived on a farm called "Erlhof" near Agathe Whitehead, von Trapp's mother, and her sisters.

In 1922, von Trapp's mother died of scarlet fever and was buried in Klosterneuburg. Von Trapp was nearly eleven years old. In 1925, the von Trapp family moved to Salzburg-Aigen. Von Trapp entered a public school, together with Werner; his sisters went to the Ursuline covent.

In 1927, his father, Georg Ludwig von Trapp, married Maria Augusta Kutschera, the teacher of von Trapp's sisters Maria Franziska and Johanna. Georg and Maria Augusta had three children together: Rosemarie von Trapp (1928),[3] Eleonore von Trapp (1931), and Johannes von Trapp (1939). Rupert studied medicine and became an Austrian citizen. His hobby was to play the accordion and the piano. Later, in the family chorus, he sang bass. In 1938 he had a possibility of a job in Vienna but refused because the job was being taken away from a Jewish doctor by the Nazis. The family left Austria in summer of this year and went to America. Rupert was now in his middle-twenties. He went on tour with his siblings and his stepmother, and entered the army, together with Werner in 1942. Rupert and Werner eventually served in Italy with the renowned 10th Mountain Division.

In 1947 he married Henriette Lajoie, with whom he later had six children, and left the family chorus. In the same year, he graduated from The University of Vermont.[4] Von Trapp became a naturalized United States citizen in 1948.

For a period of time circa 1980, he practiced medicine in Hadley, Massachusetts.

Von Trapp died in 1992 at the age of 80 and was buried at the Lodge in Vermont, next to his father, his stepmother, and his siblings: Werner, Hedwig, and Martina.

References

  1. ^ Nash, Margo (July 17, 2005). "'The Sound of Music' Never Ends". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E4DE1330F934A25754C0A9639C8B63. Retrieved 2009-01-21. "Besides Ms. Karath, Greenwich has another Sound of Music connection. Sara Jane von Trapp, an administrator at Greenwich Academy, was once married to Christopher von Trapp, the son of the late Rupert von Trapp, one of the original brood. Kate von Trapp, 23, her daughter, grew up in Vermont, but in the 2003–04 school year was a teaching intern at the Greenwich Academy. She is now an account executive for Clear Channel Communications and lives in Burlington, Vt." 
  2. ^ von Trapp, Georg. To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander. ISBN 0803246676. http://books.google.com/books?id=dOHuFPfh4uwC&pg=PR14&lpg=PR14&dq=January+10,+1911+von+trapp&source=bl&ots=56IPxINzk2&sig=lIYbGd7QFM8yjVvXWdVLdN2i72Q&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result. "Not long after that Agathe, the oldest daughter, came down with scarlet fever. Her siblings also contracted the disease, and their mother nursed them. ... They were married on January 10, 1911, and lived in the Trapp villa in Pola, Austria. Their first child, Rupert Georg von Trapp, was born November 1, 1911, ..." 
  3. ^ a b Gearin, Joan. "The Real Story of the von Trapp Family". National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/winter/von-trapps.html. Retrieved 2009-01-05. "Georg married Agathe Whitehead, the granddaughter of Robert Whitehead, the inventor of the torpedo, in 1912." 
  4. ^ Catalogue. The University of Vermont. 1946. http://books.google.com/books?id=3aE4AAAAMAAJ&dq. "Rupert Von Trapp, '47" 

External links