Christopher Plummer, film, stage star dies at 91
Actor won an Oscar and an Emmy
Christopher Plummer, whose iconic role as the debonair Capt. Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music” was one of many acclaimed performances that led him to an Oscar and a pair of Emmy and Tony awards during his 50-year career in film and on stage, has died.
The Canadian leading man and character actor, who also starred in “All the Money in the World,” “Beginners,” “A Beautiful Mind,” “Up” and “Star Trek VI,” died early Friday morning at his home in Connecticut with Elaine Taylor, his wife of 53 years, at his side. He was 91.
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words,” Plummer’s friend and manager of 46 years, said in a statement confirming the death. “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.”
A regal star with exquisite range, Plummer curated scores of theater roles and more than 200 film and television credits during his storied career. The notable actor honed his craft on the New York stage in the 1950s, during the golden era of American drama, and in London in the1960s, when he performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theater, taking on “many of the greatest parts ever written.”
He appeared in everything from Peter Shaffer’s “The Royal Hunt of the Sun” to Terry Gilliam’s “12 Monkeys,” seeming to glide effortlessly from role to role. Though praised for his native skills on the stage and in film, he could be truculent and foul tempered. Though it earned him lasting fame, he often disparaged the “Sound of Music” as being syrupy and his character as being wooden and one-dimensional.
Over time, though, his demeanor and outlook seemed to brighten and he embraced his longevity, if not his legions of fans. Late in his career he earned a Tony Award for “Barrymore” and was awarded his first Academy Award at the age 82 for his 2010 turn in “Beginners.” He was also was nominated for an Oscar gold for playing Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy in 2009’s “The Last Station” and at the last minute stepping into the role of billionaire J. Paul Getty when Kevin Spacey was dropped from the completed film amid sexual misconduct allegations. At the time, and at the age of 88, he became the oldest Oscarnominated actor to date.
“How boring it would be to be just one thing — just a movie actor, or just a stage actor — when you can just keep going from one to the other. I think one also helps the other,” he told The Times in 1998. “I’ll go on doing it until I drop.”
Born in Toronto on Dec. 13 1929, Plummer grew up speaking
French in the nearby province of Quebec. He was the great-grandson of Canadian Prime Minister John Abbott and an only child. His parents divorced when he was young and was raised by his mother and grandparents.
“My parents were divorced and I had a kind of shyness,” he told The Times in 1976. “To combat it, I would show off with skits and mime trying to gain attention.”
He took refuge in literature and the bottle. The long, cold Canadian winters were conducive to both and, without any siblings to play, he said he made friends with the characters in his books he devoured.
“I came from an Anglo family who were well educated and loved to read. And that inspired me. They made me read — thank God,” he said in a 2014 Times interview. “They taught me what fun reading could be. We used to read aloud after dinner — it was a lovely custom that made me want to be an actor because I could perform when it came to be my turn.”
Plummer trained as a concert pianist, but found greater satisfaction in the spoken word. He patronized the theater, and his shyness melted away as he watched actors and musicians command attention from their audiences. He eventually landed a spot on Canadian radio performing in both French and English and by 18 moved to classical roles.