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Former child star Debbie Turnerbest known for her role as Marta von Trapp in The sound of musictalks about his decision to leave Hollywood shortly after his hit film.
“I was a floral designer for many years. I designed weddings,” Turner, 69, said. People in an interview published on Monday, December 22, while discussing the career path she chose after leaving acting. “I even designed one at the Leopoldskron Palace in Salzburg many years ago. I have had some very beautiful weddings.”
Turner said she even worked as a “decorator for the White House for Christmas.”
“It was a really cool experience — probably one of the most physically exhausting and coolest things I’ve ever done,” she told the outlet before detailing her work at the White House in 2017.
Mrs. Doubtfire star Mara Wilson left a promising career as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable child stars when she was 13 years old. Wilson was just 6 years old when she made her big screen debut in Robin Williams’ comedy Mrs. Doubtfire in 1993, and it didn’t take long for her to become one of the most in-demand kids. […]
“It was a one-week contract. It was me and 149 other designers who were tasked with doing all these things to make the magic of Christmas at the White House happen. So I was excited to be a part of it,” Turner said.
She also recalled a “pretty amazing” but scary experience she had during the project.
“The proudest moment of this house was making the largest tree, which is in the Blue Room. They call it the People’s Tree. And I got to decorate the People’s Tree, which was kind of the centerpiece or centerpiece of the whole White House,” the former actress explained. “I had to go up on a scaffold. I almost fell and killed myself. It was really cool.”
Turner was 7 when she played Marta, the second youngest daughter of the von Trapp family, in The sound of musicreleased in 1965. More than 10 years later, she appeared in the 1979 film North Dallas Fortywhich marked his only other acting credit to date.
Turner has previously spoken about his post-The sound of music career in a September interview with Peoplerevealing that she had difficulty landing other roles after the musical film.
“Angela [Cartwright] was already an established actress before. I wasn’t. I was a TV commercial actress,” Turner told the outlet, explaining that many of her The sound of music the partners already had an acting career before joining the film. Cartwright, now 73, made her screen debut at age 3 in Someone up there loves me before her interpretation of Brigitta von Trapp.
“I would go to interviews and they would say, ‘Oh, so you were in The sound of music?’” Turner continued. “And then it’s like, I don’t know if I was put on a pedestal or if I was thrown to the side – I don’t know. I just didn’t get a job.
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After leaving Hollywood, Turner settled down with her husband Rick Larsonwhom she married in 1980. The couple shares four daughters.
Although Turner said People in her December interview that she would like to work in the White House again, she is essentially “kind of retired.”
“My husband retired last year and I thought, ‘Well, I don’t need to keep doing this.’ I’ve been doing weddings for a long time, and as a wedding florist, it’s a very grueling job. And so, I mean, physically difficult to do it. I love design, but I just turned 69 and it’s like I’m getting too old for this stuff,” she said. “So I’m kind of stepping back. I mean, if something happened that was really amazing, I would probably go back. But for all intents and purposes, I’m retired. So now it’s grandkid time!”
