Biography
Heather Menzies, a beautiful and sunny blonde actress, was born on December 3, 1949, in Toronto, Canada. Her family relocated to the United States when she was eleven. She graduated from Hollywood High School and later attended Falcon Studio's University of the Arts in Hollywood. Heather made a memorable film debut as Louisa von Trapp in the beloved classic musical The Sound of Music (1965). She also starred alongside Julie Andrews in the epic drama Hawaii (1966). Initially known as an innocent ingénue in the 1960s, Heather transformed her image to a sexier persona in the 1970s, including a nude pictorial for the August 1973 issue of Playboy. She delivered a charming performance as the devoted daughter of mad scientist Strother Martin in the quirky horror film Sssssss (1973) and showcased a spirited, feisty role as a skip tracer in the cult horror favorite Piranha (1978).
On television, Heather gained significant recognition as the scantily clad fugitive Jessica in the short-lived but popular Logan's Run (1977) sci-fi series. She made guest appearances on numerous shows such as The Farmer's Daughter (1963), Dragnet 1967 (1967), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969), The Love Boat (1977), T.J. Hooker (1982), Bonanza (1959), S.W.A.T. (1975), and Love, American Style (1969). Heather also appeared alongside her late husband, Robert Urich, in several projects, including three episodes of Vega$ (1978), one episode of Spenser: For Hire (1985), and a small role in the sci-fi mystery thriller Endangered Species (1982). The couple first met while filming a TV commercial together. A survivor of ovarian cancer, Heather lived in Los Angeles with her three children and dedicated work to the Urich Fund for Sarcoma Research at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Heather Menzies passed away from brain cancer at the age of 68 on December 24, 2017.
