Christopher Plummer, ‘The Sound of Music’ Star, Dies At 91

Actor Christopher Plummer died Friday at his Connecticut home with his wife Elaine Taylor by his side. He was 91 years old.

Plummer was born on Dec. 13, 2929 in Toronto Canada to Isabella Mary and John Orme Plummer. His parents divorced early in his life and he moved to Quebec with his mother. His first ever role was as Mr.Darcy in Pride and Prejudice in high school.

Plummer began his career in theater after an apprenticeship with the Canadian Repertory Company. He went on to play some of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters including Cyrano, Iago, Othello, Prospero, Henry V, King Lear and Hamlet. His Broadway debut was in the 1954 production of The Starcross Story. Even after becoming a successful movie actor, Plummer continued performing on stage.

He acted in his first movie in the 1958 film Stage Struck and went on to have 60-year-long film career. Some of his film credits include The Return of the Pink Panther, Murder by Decree, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, A Beautiful Mind, Up, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, All the Money in the World, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Knives Out.

To this day, Plummer’s most iconic role is Captain Georg von Trapp from The Sound of Music alongside Julie Andrews. His role in the film helped his career take off. While Captain von Trapp was loved by many, Plummer himself expressed some disdain for the role.

“We tried so hard to put humor into it,” Plummer told The Associated Press in 2007. “It was almost impossible. It was just agony to try to make that guy not a cardboard figure.”

Plummer won an Oscar in 2012 for his role in Beginners as Hal Fields. At age 82, he was the oldest recipient of an Oscar. In his lifetime, he earned two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

He received Canada’s highest civilian honor when he was invested as Companion of the Order of Canada by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968. He was inducted into the American Theatre’s Hall of Fame in 1986.

Plummer also published a memoir titled In Spite of Myself in 2008.

Plummer married three women throughout his life. He married Tammy Grimes in 1956. Together they had a daughter, Amanda Plummer, in 1957. They divorced in 1960. He married Patricia Lewis in 1962 and the couple divorced in 1967. Plummer married Taylor in 1970.

He is survived by Taylor and his daughter.