Five things to know about ‘The Sound of Music’ on TV
Julie Andrews as Maria in "The Sound of Music." Credit: 20th Century Fox
TV screens again will be alive with “The Sound of Music” when the classic 1965 movie musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer airs Sunday at 7 p.m. on ABC/7. Here are five things to know about the film’s history on the small screen:
The first American TV broadcast was on Feb. 29, 1976, on ABC, which paid $15 million for a one-time airing and was rewarded with high ratings.
In 1979, NBC acquired the broadcast rights and aired the film annually for the next 20 years. To fit the three-hour time slot, 30 minutes were edited out of the film.
On April 9, 1995, NBC aired the entire film in a four-hour broadcast hosted by Julie Andrews.
After NBC let its contract expire in 2001, the movie aired once that year on Fox.
Since 2002, the movie has aired on ABC, mostly in its entirety, as it will be shown Sunday.
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
