Heather Menzies-Urich, who starred in Joe Dante’s B-movie classic Piranha, passed away on Christmas Eve, aged just 68. She had brain cancer.
The Canadian-born actor began her film career as a teenager, playing Louisa in The Sound of Music and appeared in numerous TV series’ and a handful of films throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s before retiring as the 90s dawned.
Menzies-Urich played absent-minded skiptracer Maggie McKeown in Piranha, having entered the horror world five years earlier in nutty monster movie Sssssss (aka SSSSnake).
Upon hearing the news, Dante tweeted the following:
“A lovely person who was immensely helpful and supportive as the star of PIRANHA, my first solo directing job. She and Brad Dillman made an amusing mismatched couple and carried the John Sayles script to a level of success that surprised even me.”
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
