Christopher Plummer, best known for his role as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, has passed away at the age of 91.
With his wife and best friend of 53 years by his side, Christopher Plummer died peacefully in his home in Connecticut overnight. The actor starred alongside Julie Andrews in his most iconic role in The Sound of Music in 1965.
Plummer had an extensive six decades in cinema and TV, starring in over 100 films.
In 2012, at the age of 82, Plummer became the eldest actor to receive an Academy Award for his role in Beginners. In the film he played an elderly, widowed man that comes out as gay.
Born in December 1929 in Toronto, Canada, Plummer started his professional career on stage. After moving to New York in the early ’50s, the talented actor embraced his love for Broadway. However, it wasn’t until The Sound of Music that Plummer debuted his angelic voice in the song Eidelweiss. In his memoir In Spite Of, he confesses he had never sung before, “not even in the shower”.
The Canadian actor had a great love for Shakespeare and was often seen attending Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival. His most iconic Shakespearian roles include Hamlet, Henry V, Othello, Iago, Prospero, and Cyrano.
Julie Andrews on the passing of her "The Sound of Music" co-star Christopher Plummer: "I treasure the memories of our work together and all the humor and fun we shared through the years." https://t.co/5MZhZwufIW pic.twitter.com/EDAxBxSKhY
— ABC News (@ABC) February 5, 2021
As a young drama student I went to see Christopher Plummer in the late 60s at Stratford upon Avon play Shakespeare’s Coriolanus.His vitality and technique I never forgot. Those virtues remained with him throughout his entire, magnificent career. RIP pic.twitter.com/fKcxE4TyDs
— Michael Des Barres (@MDesbarres) February 5, 2021
Rest in peace Christopher Plummer, we will all be singing ourselves to sleep to Eidelweiss tonight.