In Salzburg, a visitor is almost an accidental extra in a ‘Sound of Music’ offshoot

I had no intention of making my film debut in Lionsgate’s new movie, “The Von Trapp Family: A Life of Music,� during my trip to Salzburg, Austria, in early June, but it nearly happened.

My partner, Doug, and I were exploring the Cathedral District, and we noticed 1930s-era cars, people in vintage clothing and a camera crew milling around a cordoned-off area by the Salzburg Museum.

We slipped through a café and sidled up to a pile of film equipment to take a peek.

Suddenly, a technician hissed, “Move back. You’re showing up on camera,� gesturing toward my burgundy hoodie.

We retreated, and she pointed out actress Eliza Bennett, who stars as Agathe von Trapp of the Von Trapp family, which gained famed with the 1965 movie, "The Sound of Music."

Julie Andrews in the 1965 musical �The Sound of Music.�

(Handout / TNS)

Johannes Nussbaum plays her childhood sweetheart Sigi, in the new film, based on Agathe’s autobiography, "Memories Before and After the Sound of Music."

"The Von Trapp Family: A Life of Music" is scheduled for release in December.

“The Sound of Music� was released in March 1965; it earned five Academy Awards, including best picture and director (Robert Wise).

Agathe von Trapp was the oldest of the seven children. She was Liesl in the movie, which she did not care for. Her memoir was an effort to set the record straight. She did not care for the portrayal of her father, which she thought very exaggerated.

She spent her life working in education in Vermont and in the Baltimore area. She died at the age of 97 in Towson, Md., in 2010.