Posted on 02/05/2021 4:11:16 PM PST by nickcarraway
Whenever Christopher Plummer was asked about “The Sound of Music” – and he was asked about it so often it made him dyspeptic – he quoted the actor Doug McClure, who once cracked: “Watching ‘The Sound of Music’ is like being beaten to death by a Hallmark card.”
If the movie popped up on television, Plummer, who died Friday at 91, “reached for the remote,” he once told me. “I avoid television at all costs around the holidays,” he added, with a laugh. Plummer became a movie star at age 36 playing Captain Von Trapp in “The Sound of Music.” But, as he recounts in his deliciously gossipy memoir “In Spite of Myself,” making it was a nightmare, the beauty of the Alps notwithstanding.
A prominent Shakespearean stage actor at the time, Plummer had never sung before when he was offered the role. He took it, he confessed, because he secretly wanted to turn “Cyrano de Bergerac” into a Broadway musical, and thought “The Sound of Music” would be good practice. He was horrified to learn that 20th Century Fox wanted him to start recording tracks with Julie Andrews even before he had his first singing lesson. He wanted to quit the movie, but the threat of a $2 million lawsuit brought him to his senses.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Didn’t know that he died - I’ll miss him, he was a very talented actor. I loved him in National Treasure, even though it was a small role.
Best Klingon ever.
Ingrid Bergman disliked “Casablanca”, and Alec Guinness hated “Star Wars”, but to us they will always be Ilsa Lund and Obi-Wan Kenobe. The audience gets to decide, not the reluctant stars.
One of the most boring actors I have seen. His facial expression seldom changed. And he was fat even in Sound of Music at age 36.
My idea of a great actor is Kirk Douglas. Watch him in Spartacus to observe a real acting dynamo.
Sorry Christopher, your Hollywood roots are showing.
It was and is a great film.
I meant to say the movie VIKINGS.
True dat. I became a fan of musicals after watching Sound of Music.
I don’t care what he thinks. It is a family oriented movie classic.
I never understood why he complained about the sappiness of the movie, because he got to play a no nonsense, non-sappy part. It’s not as if they made him play sugary sweet, because his character was anything but.
Being the stark contrast magnifies that which is contrasted against.
“Watching ‘The Sound of Music’ is like being beaten to death by a Hallmark card.”
I love that movie with all my heart, and was thrilled to run into it this past Christmas. It totally kept me company during one of my marathon gift wrapping sessions.
But, that quote is hilarious!
RIP Christopher Plummer.
It should have been named "Playola"! We called it The Sound of Dog Crap because our parents would've delivered swift justice if we said what we were really thinking!
That said, Chris Plummer was cool! RIP!
One of the most boring actors I have seen. His facial expression seldom changed. And he was fat even in Sound of Music at age 36.
My idea of a great actor is Kirk Douglas. Watch him in Spartacus to observe a real acting dynamo.>>> now that you say that i agree. Like Harrison Ford — same dumb look. And Plummer was in a movie with Cassie Bates whom i think is an excellent actress. In ehe movie, she killed her husband and he plays the prosecuting attorney when she is accused of killing her employer.
And Bryan Cranston, Elijah Wood, Kris Kristofferson, Chuck Norris.....
We all love the movie at our house. The girls, including me, can sing every word to every song. It’s wonderful!
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