# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/21 "2021-02-06T04:43:35Z")
Sorry to hear he died. I never saw him in any of his better roles, but I don’t doubt that he had them. He was badly miscast in The Sound of Music. I was always puzzled by why he was chosen. It was obvious he felt the role was beneath him and didn’t know how to wrap himself around it. Watching it as a child, he creeped me out, even after he fell for Maria and became nicer. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/22 "2021-02-06T12:45:18Z")
His great-grandfather was a Prime Minster of Canada (1891-92) - John Abbott (1821-93). ---
**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 6, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/23 "2021-02-06T14:54:35Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > He was seriously miscast as Atahuallpa in _The Royal Hunt for the Sun_ (1969), Agree wholeheartedly with this On Broadway, he played the part of Pizarro onstage, with David Carradine as Atahualpa – who looks _perfect_ for the part – he looks like an Incan. I gather that Plummer wanted that part for himself, despite the fact that he looks more like a Canadian, with Robert Shaw playing Pizarro. It’s a great movie (It’s written by Peter Shaffer, author of _Equus_ and who would go on to do _Amadeus_. It’s another in his series of “God vs. Man” plays) Weird fact I just learned – Plummer was second cousin of Nigel Bruce, who famously played Watson to Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes. Plummer himself played Holmes twice -in the movie **Murder by Decree** and on TV in **Silver Blaze** ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/24 "2021-02-06T16:12:04Z")
He could do polite arrogance so well: > [@](#): > > **Captain von Trapp** : If the Nazis take over Austria, I have no doubt, Herr Zeller, that you will be the entire trumpet section. > > **Herr Zeller** : You flatter me, Captain. > > **Captain von Trapp** : Oh, how clumsy of me - I meant to accuse you. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/25 "2021-02-06T16:16:06Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > His great-grandfather was a Prime Minster of Canada (1891-92) - John Abbott (1821-93). Side trivia: Hume Cronyn, another Canadian actor of the same period, was the great-nephew of Edward Blake, Liberal Leader of the Opposition, and an opponent of Abbott. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/26 "2021-02-06T16:20:17Z")
> [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](#): > > That great Shakespearean actor, William Shatner, pays tribute to his friend Christopher Plummer Shatner got his start playing Shakespeare at Stratford. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/27 "2021-02-06T16:58:56Z")
What was it that he hated about The Sound of Music? It’s widely considered a great film, no? ---
**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, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/28 "2021-02-06T19:17:57Z")
By people who like that sort of film, sure. As someone who generally dislikes musicals but makes a lot of exceptions for ones that offer other elements that I like … _The Sound of Music_ is really, really not one that tempts me to make an exception. It’s got all the stuff I don’t like about musicals, only _more_ so. Dunno if those were Christopher Plummer’s reasons for disliking it, but I think you really have to be a fan of the genre. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/29 "2021-02-06T20:22:41Z")
He shot to fame filling in for Plummer one night when he was ill. The next day, reviewers were lauding him for his “fresh, new” interpretation of _ **Hamlet** _. _“To BE … or … NOT to be … that … IS … the QUESTION!”_ To me, Christoper will always be Rudyard Kipling. RIP! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/30 "2021-02-06T20:49:25Z")
_Lightning and thunder, and danger that hovers;_ _Scared little children who hide under covers._ _When I start singing, then happiness springs—_ _These are just some of the corniest things!_ _One little kiddie who lisps out a sentence;_ _Makes his stern daddy so full of repentance!_ _Movie fans love all the tears that it brings—_ _These are just some of the corniest things!_ _._ _See how the children all love one another;_ _You know that’s nonsense if you have a brother!_ _Who can believe that such harmony rings?_ _These are just some of the the corniest things!_ _When a storm comes, and we’re frightened_ _by the things we dread,_ _we put on our nightclothes and jump up and down,_ _and break hearts—but not_ _the bed!_ ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/31 "2021-02-06T20:57:13Z")
He made a good pirate in a TV movie called Desperate Voyage. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HOEeQ1JJKRI/hqdefault.jpg "Desperate Voyage (1980)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOEeQ1JJKRI) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/32 "2021-02-07T17:17:51Z")
“Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!” ---
**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 7, 2021, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/33 "2021-02-07T17:31:47Z")
In his memory, we picked a movie of his to watch the other night. It was “Murder By Decree”, wherein he plays Sherlock Holmes fairly well. James Mason bails the film out with his Watson portrayal, and a late appearance by John Gielgud helps, but the film’s ending is a mess, relying on last minute exposition to explain everything, which I hate. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/34 "2021-02-07T22:46:53Z")
He famously disliked “The Sound of Music” but it brought him fame he hadn’t seen before, which he was able to parlay into roles more to his liking. Prior to TSOM his biggest movie role was in the 1963 costume drama “The Fall of the Roman Empire,” in which he played a character named “Commodus.” I would think TSOM was a step up after 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 8, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/35 "2021-02-08T18:55:20Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > …Prior to TSOM his biggest movie role was in the 1963 costume drama “The Fall of the Roman Empire,” in which he played a character named “Commodus.”… “A character”? He was an emperor - not a minor part, I presume! Joaquin Phoenix played him in _Gladiator_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/36 "2021-02-08T19:05:51Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > [@XOldiesJock](#): > > > > …Prior to TSOM his biggest movie role was in the 1963 costume drama “The Fall of the Roman Empire,” in which he played a character named “Commodus.”… > > “A character”? He was an emperor - not a minor part, I presume! And he was thoroughly creepy in it, too! ---
**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 8, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/37 "2021-02-08T19:14:30Z")
Just like Joaquin Phoenix! ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/38 "2021-02-08T19:37:36Z")
Probably not the best tribute to him, but I remember watching “The Boss’ Wife” and his portrayal of a mentally unstable stockbroker with a quick temper. Haven’t seen it in decades, but I remember laughing hard at a scene in which he throws a temper tantrum over some petty detail. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/39 "2021-02-08T20:19:16Z")
I was lucky enough to see one of his most celebrated stage performances, as Iago opposite James Earl Jones’s Othello (with Kelsey Grammer as Cassio!) The New York Times theater critic said it was “quite possibly the best single Shakespearean performance to have originated on this continent in our time.” In my memory, the performance of James Earl Jones pretty much overshadows everything else, but I am happy to have had the chance to see him on stage. Like so many other fans, I loved his Captain Von Trapp even if he did not. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277/40 "2021-02-08T20:52:26Z")
You should have seen him roll his eyes at another TSOM question on Sunday’s CBS Sunday Morning program (from an earlier interview). He brightened up when the question turned out to be what he thought of Julie Andrews - he had only nice things to say about her. The discussion starts at 1:00 at [Christopher Plummer Interview](https://www.cbsnews.com/video/passage-christopher-plummer/) (once you get past the commercials). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-christopher-plummer/932277.md?page=3)