We're gifted with so many great characters and roles, but one of my very favorite performances of all-time, forever and ever, is Eleanor Parker as the Baroness in "The Sound of Music."
I mean, I was a little obsessed with the Baroness growing up (and I was a lot obsessed with the entire movie, and still am).
And do I sometimes do Baroness impressions at family dinners? You bet. Pulling back my shoulders, I gimlet my eyes and purr "Darling, haven't you ever heard of a delightful little thing called boarding school?"
So I pause to bid farewell to Eleanor Parker, the actress who brought the Baroness to delightful, pearl-sporting, Maria-envying, Captain Von Trapp-wanting life. She died on Dec. 9 at age 91.
There's so many things I adore about the Baroness, but mostly this: She sets her scenes on fire, even though she doesn't have a ton of screen time. A little bit villain, a little bit of a schemer, and the sad-eyed person who ultimately tells Captain Von Trapp "somewhere out there is a lady who I think will never be a nun. Auf wiedersehen, darling."
I wanted her to go away, as a teen obsessed with this film, so the Captain and Maria could be together, and yet, every time she spoke that line, my heart broke for her, too. And I admired her for being big, in the moment.
Tying whatever I write about here back to the Wilfair world is something I like doing, and I can only say that "The Sound of Music" is a movie I'm a million-percent enamored with and always have been. My cousin and I watched it every day the summer my family got its first VCR, and played all the parts, Rocky Horror-style, in front of the television.
By the way, in case you're wondering? I'm an excellent Captain Von Trapp. Sorry to brag.
There's a cheerfulness, too, that I love in "The Sound of Music," a cheerfulness and optimism that I try to bring to what I write. And am I interested in mild villains who have a chance at redemption? Yes. Am I interested in people with money and people without money falling in love? Hell yes. And am I interested in marionettes? Hell yes!
Oh, wait. No marionettes in Wilfair. Somehow, someway, I need to correct that oversight.
Goodbye, Baroness, and thank you.
