insiderblmThe star of the original West End production of The Sound of Music has died, her family said.
Actress Jean Bayless starred in the role of Maria in the show in 1960, and also played the role of Mrs Cunningham in the soap opera Crossroads.
The 88-year-old died on Friday in Birmingham, after being diagnosed with bone cancer, her nephew Richard Johnson said.
Mrs Bayless’s son Daniel said she was an “amazing woman”.
She married David Johnson while performing in New York in about 1955, taking over from Julie Andrews in the Broadway production of The Boyfriend, her nephew said.
The couple had first met while she was performing at the Theatre Royal in Birmingham.
The pair were living in Edgbaston, Richard Johnson said, when she got the call to fly to New York to audition for the role of Maria, later performed by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film.
“She was auditioned for the Sound of Music by [composer] Richard Rodgers himself,” son Daniel Johnson said.
“He said ‘You’re the girl I want for my new show’ and away she went.
“She continued to work and sing her little heart out all her life.
Mrs Bayless is survived by her sons, Daniel and Adam, and five granddaughters.
“She was a very gregarious and hospitable person, a very cool woman,” Daniel Johnson said.
“If there were more people like her it would make the world a happier place.
Richard Johnson added: “Absolutely everybody that ever met her, even for 10 minutes, will never forget her.
“She was the most gorgeous wonderful person.
“It was an absolute privilege to have her as a wonderful, wonderful member of her family as long as we have.”
