Canada is one of the most egalitarian countries in the world, so Christopher Plummer is about as close to royalty as that nation can produce—perhaps other than Guy LaFleur, the retired hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens. Plummer has just passed away at the age of 91.
He’d been a working actor since the early 1950s when he made his Broadway debut in the 1953 production of The Starcross Story. What’s that you say? You’ve never heard of that play? Well, it did close after opening night. A lesser person might assume that Plummer would’ve considered a different career after that night. But Christopher Plummer would not be that lesser person. Over the next decade, he established himself as a regular on Broadway, appearing in hit after hit. He also appeared in London’s West End and several Shakespeare productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario.
Self-confidence seemed to come naturally to Plummer. He was raised in the Montreal suburb of Senneville, Quebec, where Montreal’s wealthy have fancy second homes. His mother’s family was a prominent one in Canada: Plummer’s great-great-grandfather was John Abbott, the third Prime Minister of Canada.
He did not, however, grow up in great wealth. In fact, after Plummer’s parents’ divorce, his mother immediately had to go to work as a secretary at McGill University. Over the years, the family’s fortunes gradually slid into precariousness. Still, Plummer studied the piano, was a high school theater standout, and attended McGill on scholarship. McGill, it should be noted, is roughly equivalent to Harvard in Canada.
His film career got off to a sputtering start. Plummer appeared in a couple of mostly forgettable movies in the 1950s, such as Wind Across the Everglades (1958). Then, in 1965, he was cast in the biggest movie musical of all time, The Sound of Music.
Plummer would go on to appear in dozens of films over the next several decades. Although he consistently garnered rave reviews for his work over the years, he had to wait until 2010 for his first Academy Award nomination (Best Actor) at the ripe age of 80, earned for his performance as Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station (2009). The next year saw Plummer finally take home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the touching drama Beginners (2011). At 82, he became the oldest person to win an Academy Award for acting. When handed the Oscar, he looked down at the statuette and famously quipped, “You’re only two years older than I am. Where have you been all my life?”
Plummer received another Academy Award nomination in 2018 for his performance as J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World (2017). He was 89 at the time.
Fluent in French and English, Plummer was immensely graceful and witty in his public appearances—and always put together. Once, during an interview with Conan O’Brien, he was asked the secret to his longevity, to which he replied: “A long life of hard drinking... It’s been a very relaxed life.”
Plummer certainly had dozens of amusing stories about his life, including one about the time he and Jason Robards brought a police horse into a bar in Manhattan and fed it tequila. But he’s also been married three times and was estranged for many years from his daughter, actress Amanda Plummer. You don’t live a life as large (or as long) as Christopher Plummer’s without some woes along the way.
Here are seven of my favorite performances by Christopher Plummer. Each is worth a rental, without question.
Plummer wasn’t particularly enamored with this musical when he was offered the role of the persnickety Captain von Trapp, opposite Julie Andrews’s Maria. But he wanted to perform a musical version of Cyrano on Broadway and thus figured he should at least have some experience in an actual musical before taking on a musical role in the theatre. This may not be the most sophisticated of musicals, but every single song is so immensely singable that you can’t help but love it. From the spectacular opening shot of Andrews singing the title song in a mountain meadow to the closing number of Climb Ev’ry Mountain, this is the movie for you to rent and make an evening of viewing with the family. It’s just glorious.
This is a movie you’ve probably never heard of, but it’s worth checking out. Natalie Wood stars as a tomboy in 1930s Santa Monica who submits a recording of herself to studio owner Raymond Swan (Plummer) and gets transformed into a movie and recording star. This is not a sunny tale, however. Daisy’s eccentric mother (the inimitable Ruth Gordon) is put into a mental institution to hide her from the press. Daisy’s suitor and eventual husband, Wade Lewis (Robert Redford), marries her, but it’s implied to be a cover for his homosexuality. Now, you may rightly ask if this is a version of the Judy Garland story, but that’s for you to decide after you watch the movie. Plummer’s character is particularly distasteful, and he seemed to revel in the role after his turn in the sweet-natured The Sound of Music.
Looking for a schmaltzy tearjerker? Of course you are, and this is one of the best of all time. The tricky part may be convincing your partner to join you on the couch for this one. Two tips: a bottle of wine and two glasses often can be quite convincing. Christopher Reeves plays a playwright who tries to break his writer’s block by spending a weekend at a majestic old hotel on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan. There, he comes across an old photo of a young woman from 80 years earlier and becomes obsessed with her. He later finds an eccentric old professor (Plummer) who believes in time travel and guides him into journeying back in time to meet and woo the love of, well, I guess his previous life. It’s so hokey, I know. Composer John Barry’s dynamic musical score will have you pulling out a crate of Kleenex boxes.
This drama is about the final months of Leo Tolstoy’s life. Both Plummer and Helen Mirren (Sofya, Tolstoy’s wife) received Academy Award nominations for their roles in this film; Mirren for Best Actress and Plummer for Best Supporting Actor. Despite its seemingly gloomy topic, this is a lighthearted and lively picture. Plummer’s Tolstoy is cantankerous and prudish, except when he doesn’t want to be. If you don’t know much about Tolstoy and want to sound like a smart person at your next party, I highly recommend this movie.
This is a lovely and compassionate movie, one not to be missed. Ewan McGregor plays Oliver, a graphic artist in Los Angeles who can’t ever seem to make a relationship work. His dying father (Plummer) comes out at the age of 75 after his wife’s death. He becomes more open to life and love, gets active within the gay community in Los Angeles, and ultimately falls in love with a much younger man.
Plummer’s portrayal of a man who is finally happy and free with his life is positively inspiring—especially to his son Oliver, who watches his father enjoy every moment of his life right up until his death from cancer. And then, finally, Oliver falls in love. It’s just a profoundly moving and humane movie, one I recommend highly. Plummer won an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor) for his work on this film. It was most certainly well-deserved.
As 2017 wound down, this film was supposed to be one of the late-in-the-year releases coming out just in time for Oscar season. It originally starred Kevin Spacey as the miserly billionaire J. Paul Getty (the man had a payphone in his mansion) in the story of his grandson’s 1973 kidnapping in Rome. One problem: Just before the film’s release, shocking sexual assault and harassment allegations came out against Spacey. What is a studio to do? Well, call the reliable Christopher Plummer and have him reshoot all the scenes that had Spacey in them. Then, recut the movie, create all-new advertising and marketing materials, and get the film into theaters before the end of the year to meet the Oscar deadline—which they did!
This is a nasty story about a mean, cold-hearted man, and Plummer played him with restrained glee. The film also stars Michelle Williams as the mother of the Getty grandson and Mark Wahlberg as the private investigator and former CIA agent called in to help the family resolve the kidnapping. The screenplay is by David Scarpa. This is a true story, including the part where the grandson’s ear is cut off as proof of the abduction. It’s a riveting story, directed by Ridley Scott with his typical bravura.
Easily one of the most enjoyable and entertaining mysteries of the past 20 years. No kidding. I just loved this movie, and so does virtually everyone else who sees it. Plummer’s role here is relatively brief—he’s the murder victim! He plays Harlan Thrombey, a world-famous mystery novelist who invites his eccentric and unhappy family to his 85th birthday party, hosted at his mansion in the Berkshires in Massachusetts.
Plummer revels in this role as the deeply outrageous and exceptionally unpleasant writer. On the morning following his birthday celebration, Thrombey is found dead with his throat slit. Guess what? Everyone’s a suspect! Of course, they all are. It’s a tried and true murder mystery novel trope. A famous detective named Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is brought in to help solve the case. Blanc, with his exaggerated Louisiana accent, has been hired anonymously to solve the crime. This movie is just so much fun. The enormous and outstanding cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson (yes, the Don Johnson from Miami Vice!), Ana de Armas, Toni Collette, and so many more. The film was directed by Rian Johnson, who’s also responsible for the ornate plot and well-written screenplay. Don’t miss this one.
David Raether is a veteran TV writer and essayist. He worked for 12 years as a television sitcom writer/producer, including a 111-episode run on the ground-breaking ABC comedy “Roseanne.” His essays have been published by Salon.com, The Times of London, and Longforms.org, and have been lauded by The Atlantic Magazine and the BBC World Service. His memoir, Homeless: A Picaresque Memoir from Our Times, is awaiting publication.