Legendary actor Christopher Plummer has died. He was 91.
Plummer, who was known for roles in classic films like “Sound of Music,” passed away in his Connecticut home. Elaine Taylor, his wife of 53 years, was by his side, reports Deadline.
The Oscar winner's longtime friend and manager of 46 years, Lou Pitt, shared a statement following the actor's death.
“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. 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,” Pitt said.
Throughout his seven-decade-plus career, Plummer performed in countless stage productions and films. He is best known for his role in the 1965 Julie Andrews film "The Sound of Music," in which he played Captain von Trapp.
In 2012, Plummer won an Oscar for his role in the film “Beginners,” becoming the oldest actor ever to win the Academy Award for supporting actor.
In 2017, he spoke of his passion for acting to The Associated Press, and why he never wanted to stop.
“I love my work. I love what I do. And I’m so sorry for a majority of people who do not like their jobs, and can’t wait to retire, which of course, is death. I’ll never retire. I hope to drop dead onstage. That’s what I really want to do,” he said.
In 2017, he starred in "All the Money in the World," taking on a role originally intended for Kevin Spacey following Spacey's #MeToo controversy.
Speaking of his role in the film, which is about the ransom demanded in exchange for the release of billionaire J. Paul Getty's kidnapped grandson, Plummer said: “I had a wonderful time! At first, I was just concerned, ‘Am I going to be able to remember all this?’ because I had no time to study my lines. I had one or two days before we hit England. To my great relief, I found that I could manage. Everything was made very comfortable by Ridley, he wanted to make everything as easy as possible, for which I’m very grateful. But he also has a real sense of risk, clearly, and he loves doing things he’s not sure he’ll pull off.”
A Canadian, Plummer was born in Toronto and raised in Montreal. He began his career performing on radio and stage plays in both English and French, before making his New York debut in 1954 and going on to star in production on both Broadway as well as London's West End.
He made his silver-screen premiere in 1958's "Stage Struck" before going on to appear in notable titles such as "The Man Who Would Be King," "Battle of Britain," "Waterloo," "Fall of The Roman Empire," and "Star Trek VI."
He appeared in the Oscar-winning "The Sound of Music" in 1965 alongside Julie Andrews. Of working with Andrews, Plummer told NPR in 2009: "I’m very fond of Julie. That’s the nicest thing that came out of that film for me. We have a true and great friendship. She’s an extraordinary woman, professional. I’m grateful to the film in many ways because it was such a success. It is not my favorite film, of course, because I do think it borders on mockishness."
More recently, Plummer starred in such films as "Malcolm X" (1992), "A Beautiful Mind" (2001), "The New World" (2005), "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" (2011) and "Knives Out" (2019).
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