Christopher Plummer, Oscar-winning actor and CT resident, dies at 91

Christopher Plummer, whose acting career on stage and film spanned seven decades, died Friday at his home in Weston. He was 91.

He died after striking his head in a fall, his wife Elaine Taylor told The New York Times.

Anne Keefe, associate artist at the Westport Country Playhouse, which Plummer had been associated with since 1953, said the organization “is deeply saddened at the loss of one of our staunchest supporters.”

Plummer played roles in “The Starcross Story” at the playhouse in 1953, “Home Is the Hero” in 1954 and also appeared in “What About Maisie” in 1953, Keefe said. He served on the Playhouse’s initial Artistic Advisory Board, appeared in a tribute after the Sept. 11 attacks and was the first actor to perform on the Playhouse’s renovated stage in 2005.

“He went on to be an active board member and an ardent supporter of everything Playhouse,” Griffin said. “We send our love to his wonderful wife Elaine and his daughter Amanda. He will always be center stage in our hearts.”

The Toronto-born actor gained international household fame with his role as Captain Von Trapp in 1965’s “The Sound of Music.” For years, Plummer disparaged his role in the film, referring to it as “the sound of mucus,” or “S&M,” the Associated Press reported.

“I think he just thought that that part, Captain Von Trapp was not one of the best ones that he did,” said Joe Meyers, a former arts writer and critic for Hearst Connecticut Media, who interviewed Plummer several times as a local reporter. Later in his life, Plummer appeared to grow more comfortable with the film’s acclaim.

“I liked him enormously,” Meyers said Friday evening. “You really knew you were in the presence of a great actor. He is sort of old school in that he presented himself like that.”

“There was nothing offputting or arrogant or frosty but ... you sort of rose to his level,” he added.

More recent entries in Plummer’s filmography include credits in the Rian Johnson whodunnit “Knives Out” in 2019, and David Fincher’s American version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” in 2011.

Plummer’s role in the 2012 film “Beginners” won him an Oscar for best supporting actor at the age of 82 — the oldest person to win the award in an acting category.

As Plummer opened his acceptance speech at the award ceremony, he held up the golden statue and spoke to it. “You’re only two years older than me darling, where have you been all my life?” he asked.

Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer was born in Toronto, the Associated Press reported. After getting his start as a stage and radio performer in Canada, he performed on Broadway in 1954 with “The Starcross Story.”

Meyers, the former Hearst art critic, recalled Plummer speaking candidly about his time as a Broadway star, when he would regularly go out drinking after performances. He said that even after his success in film, Plummer regularly appeared on stage.

“Even though the movies paid him well … that’s one of the things I admire about him was he always came back to the stage,” Meyers said. “Stage was his real home.”

Al Seib / TNS Christopher Plummer with his award backstage at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards show at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 15, 2012. Plummer died Friday morning at his home in Connecticut with his wife, Elaine Taylor, by his side, said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager. He was 91.