Saturday, February 06, 2021

ululate!

Actor Christopher Plummer, whom I last saw in "Knives Out," has died.  He was 91, and he passed away peacefully at his Connecticut residence after suffering complications from a fall.

Like everyone else, I knew Plummer best for his role as the patriarch of the Von Trapp family in "The Sound of Music."  Plummer apparently despised his role in that film, as well as the movie itself, privately referring to the musical as "The Sound of Mucus."  The man had a sense of humor.

Plummer won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2011, making him the oldest actor ever to win the award.  He also won two Tony Awards and two Emmys.

I haven't seen even a tenth of the man's filmography, but in the films I did see, Plummer came off as a likable, suave, gently authoritative presence.  I remember him as General Chang in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," as Bob Blair in "Dreamscape," and as the evil Reverend Whirley in "Dragnet" with Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd.  That last role showed that Plummer didn't take himself seriously.  He was also a good sport to fill in for the disgraced Kevin Spacey in "All the Money in the World" after Spacey was taken down by a #MeToo scandal.  I haven't seen that film yet, but it's on my list.

RIP, Mr. Plummer, and thanks for the entertainment.



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