Oscar-winning actor Christopher Plummer, who rose to fame for his critically-acclaimed film ‘The Sound of Music’, died at the age of 91 on Friday.
Christopher Plummer died at his home in Connecticut with his wife Elaine Taylor at his side and longtime friend and manager Lou Pitt. His wife, Elaine Taylor, said the cause was a blow to the head as a result of a fall.
The versatile Canadian-born actor was critically lionised as among the pre-eminent Shakespeareans of the past century and has bagged two Tonys and two Emmys, along with the Oscar.
Christopher Plummer starred as the aristocratic widower Captain Georg von Trapp opposite Julie Andrews in “The Sound of Music,” the beloved 1965 cinematic tale of a musical family and their mischievous governess in Austria on the eve of World War II.
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self-deprecating humour and the music of words. He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us,” said Lou Pitt, his manager of 46 years.
Apart from ‘The Sound of Music’, Christopher Plummer is also known for ‘All the Money in the World’ and ‘The Last Station’, in an almost seven-decade-old career.
Born on December 13, 1929, in Toronto, Christopher Plummer began his professional career on stage and radio in both French and English. After his New York debut in 1954, he went on to star in many celebrated productions on Broadway and London’s West End, winning accolades on both sides of the Atlantic, according to Deadline.
He won his Academy Award for the 2010 film ‘Beginners’, becoming the oldest person at that time to win the award at 82. He was also nominated for the Oscar for ‘All the Money in the World’, where he replaced Kevin Spacey due to the sexual misconduct allegations that surfaced against Spacey.
He won a Tony in the title role of “Cyrano,” a 1973 musical version of Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac,” and in 2007 he was nominated for a Tony for the Clarence Darrow-like role of Henry Drummond, opposite Brian Dennehy, in “Inherit the Wind,” his final Broadway appearance, according to New York Times.
Furthermore, Plummer was a former leading member of the Royal National Theatre under Sir Laurence Olivier and the Royal Shakespeare Company under Sir Peter Hall, where he won London’s Evening Standard Award for Best Actor in Becket. Plummer’s first two marriages, to actress Tammy Grimes and British journalist Patricia Lewis, ended in divorce. In addition to Elaine Taylor, he is survived by his daughter with Grimes, the actress Amanda Plummer.
