# RIP Christopher Plummer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [February 5, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277 "2021-02-05T18:24:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/1 "2021-02-05T18:24:30Z")
He died at 91 [https://twitter.com/i/events/1357750763783548928](https://twitter.com/i/events/1357750763783548928) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/2 "2021-02-05T18:29:46Z")
Dang! First I’ve heard of this. He had a long and varied career, with incredible highs and lows. He may have hated his role as Captain von Trapp in _The Sound of Mucous_ (his version of the title), but he still went on to play the Emperor of the _Galaxy in Starcrash: The Adventures of Stella Starr_ ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/3 "2021-02-05T19:14:12Z")
So long general Chang :’(, enjoy Sto’Vo’Kor. ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/4 "2021-02-05T19:16:47Z")
I have not watched Star Trek VI in a while, might have to this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/5 "2021-02-05T19:17:47Z")
Great Idea!, I think we will too. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/6 "2021-02-05T19:50:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > He may have hated his role as Captain von Trapp in _The Sound of Mucous_ “To do a lousy part like von Trapp, you have to use every trick you know to fill the empty carcass of the role. That damn movie follows me around like an albatross.” - Plummer 😂 ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/7 "2021-02-05T20:31:40Z")
My family moved to L.A. when I was a kid, and my parents enjoyed spotting Hollywood celebs. Once, walking down a shady street in Beverly Hills, we saw Mr. Plummer coming towards us on the sidewalk. My parents were all set to say hello to him, but as we approached, his resolute eyes-forward “ignore” mode utterly daunted them, and they kept their hello to themselves. It was masterful. Really just came in here to post this. I don’t care if he hates the movie. RIP. [![](https://i.gifer.com/7lY3.gif) ](https://i.gifer.com/7lY3.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/8 "2021-02-05T20:34:36Z")
pretty sure Sound of Music was first movie I saw in a theater at age 5. Theater was brand new too. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/9 "2021-02-05T20:45:30Z")
I remember Plummer best for his portrayal of Cyrano de Bergerac in the 1973 musical _Cyrano._ He won a Tony for that. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/10 "2021-02-05T20:48:42Z")
If you look closely on the big screen, you can see that the Nazi flag was scored just a tiny bit at the top to help him tear it. My favorites roles of his were _Sound of Music, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country_ and _The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_. A very talented actor - he improved practically any movie just by being in it. May he rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/11 "2021-02-05T20:54:50Z")
Agree about Star Trek VI but also recommend you see the 2002 version of Nicholas Nickleby, in which he plays the villain, Ralph Nickleby. More recently, he was in Knives Out. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/12 "2021-02-05T21:57:31Z")
Gotta throw in a recommendation for his wonderfully over-the-top performance in the Tom Hanks/Dan Aykroyd [Dragnet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f2NVHInoUc) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/13 "2021-02-05T22:00:54Z")
> [@Scoobysnax](#): > > have not watched Star Trek VI in a while, might have to this weekend. An edit of some of Plummer’s best scenery-chewing moments from _The Undiscovered Country_: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XSqCJ-UGYns/maxresdefault.jpg "Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country - Khitomer Battle in 720p HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSqCJ-UGYns) As with _Wrath of Khan_ (the original, not the execrable J.J. Abrams ‘remake’), the villain makes the film specifically by being so over the top. Without General Chang’s arrogance and pretension (“You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon,”) combined with the understated menace Plummer brings to the role, it wouldn’t have been half as good. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/14 "2021-02-06T01:07:52Z")
Meaning no disrespect to Mr. Plummer, I have always found him generally second-rate as a thespian. Yet his pretense of being a distinguished actor is what made him so perfect for _Starcrash_ (1978), lending second-rate “credibility” to a very cheesy (but fun) Italian-made _Star Wars_ knock-off (he also had the best line: “Imperial battle ship: halt the flow of time!”) Mr. Plummer was okay in _Triple Cross_ (1966), but his character was a prick. He was seriously miscast as Atahuallpa in _The Royal Hunt for the Sun_ (1969), good as Kipling – though without much to do - in _The Man Who Would be King_ (1975), better than average as a psychotic thief in a Santa suit in _The Silent Partner_ (1978) and, I must admit, excellent as General Chang. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/15 "2021-02-06T01:16:51Z")
Well, that’s a shame. Pretty soon after Diana Rigg, too, which means two of the half-dozen or so most famous actors I’ve ever seen on stage are gone. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/16 "2021-02-06T01:19:20Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Gotta throw in a recommendation for his wonderfully over-the-top performance in the Tom Hanks/Dan Aykroyd [Dragnet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f2NVHInoUc) I feel somewhat shameful for immediately coming up with this whenever I think of him, as opposed to _any_ of the much better work he did just about any other time in his career. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/17 "2021-02-06T01:36:47Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Yet his pretense of being a distinguished actor is what made him so perfect for _Starcrash_ (1978), lending second-rate “credibility” to a very cheesy (but fun) Italian-made _Star Wars_ knock-off (he also had the best line: “Imperial battle ship: halt the flow of time!”) It was a cheesy, low-budget knock-off, and he was obviously phoning it in for a quick paycheck. And he still gave a better performance than the rest of the cast combined. from imdb: > [Christopher Plummer](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001626) was paid $10,000 per day. > > [Christopher Plummer](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001626) admitted that he did the film so he could visit Italy for free. In an interview, he said “Give me Rome any day. I’ll do porno in Rome, as long as I can get to Rome. Getting to Rome was the greatest thing that happened in that for me.” > > Most of [Christopher Plummer](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001626)’s scenes as the Emperor of the Galaxy were shot in a single day. As a capitalist, I heartily approve. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/O-wIW47kes8/maxresdefault.jpg "The Emperor's Speech - Starcrash (1978)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-wIW47kes8) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/18 "2021-02-06T02:30:19Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > It was a cheesy, low-budget knock-off, and he was obviously phoning it in for a quick paycheck. And he still gave a better performance than the rest of the cast combined. > “Somebody said, ‘Have you ever seen Jaws 4?’ I said, ‘No. But I’ve seen the house it bought for my mum. It’s fantastic!’” – Sir Michael Caine on _Jaws: The Revenge_ Do not mistake a bad film for bad acting. Plenty of actors, especially of that generation, were willing to take inferior roles for a superior paycheck, especially if it allowed them to continue doing poorly paid stage acting. Alec Guinness famously derided the “awful, banal lines” of his character in _Star Wars_, but taking points on the film was by far the best financial decision of his acting career. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/19 "2021-02-06T04:19:40Z")
He was awesome in Silent Partner and The Return of the Pink Panther. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TiberiusNeroClaudius)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/20 "2021-02-06T04:27:08Z")
That great Shakespearean actor, William Shatner, pays tribute to his friend Christopher Plummer [https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner](https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277.md?page=2)