Christopher Plummer, Oscar-Winning Star Of 'The Sound Of Music' And 'Knives Out,' Dead At 91
Christopher Plummer, the Oscar-winning actor who appeared in The Sound of Music, Knives Out, The Insider, Beginners, All the Money in the World, and countless more film and TV projects, has died at the age of 91.
Plummer died peacefully in his home in Connecticut with Elaine Taylor, his wife and best friend of 53 years, by his side, according to his family.
Plummer entered the history books by becoming the oldest person to win an acting award at the Oscars as an 82-year-old for his work in 2010's Beginners, and in 2017, he made headlines for stepping in to replace the disgraced Kevin Spacey in All the Money in the World, and his resulting performance (delivered in a compressed amount of time) was so good, it earned him another Oscar nomination and a BAFTA nomination to boot. Even more recently, he played the Thrombey family patriarch in the whodunit murder mystery Knives Out.
The Canadian actor's career stretches all the way back to the early 1950s, and his subsequent filmography encompassed a dazzling array of real-life figures and dynamic characters. Plummer was one of those actors who elevated every project he was in, and consistently delivered memorable and committed performances, whether it was playing Captain Von Trapp in the classic musical The Sound of Music, or portraying the eye-patch-wearing Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. He did not discriminate when it came to choosing genres: it seemed as if he was equally at home in a Shakespeare production on the stage as he was in a weighty drama or goofy comedy. (I have not seen this one yet myself, but I just heard that he was great in The Silent Partner, in which he plays a psychotic bank robber who wears mascara and dresses like Santa Claus.)
Over the course of his impressive career, he worked with filmmakers like Spike Lee, Ridley Scott, David Fincher, Terry Gilliam, Rian Johnson, Oliver Stone, Mike Nichols, and many more.
"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," his longtime manager Lou Pitt told Deadline. "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."
Plummer also lent his wonderful voice to a variety of eclectic animated projects over the years, including An American Tail, Up, The Velveteen Rabbit, David the Gnome, Madeline, Rock-A-Doodle, and more.
He's the only Canadian to ever win the Triple Crown of Acting (Oscar, Emmy, Tony), and some of his accolades include an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a British Academy Film Award. Rest in peace.