On Feb. 5, the world lost award-winning Canadian actor Christopher Plummer. The 91-year-old star of stage and screen died Friday morning at his home in Connecticut, Variety reported. Plummer was known for his roles in films like The Sound of Music, Beginners, and Knives Out, along with several Shakespeare plays.
Plummer was a multi-hyphenate performer whose career spanned decades, earning him awards across multiple mediums—with only a Grammy standing between him and an EGOT. Plummer received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 2010's Beginners. He was nominated for seven Emmys and won two: one for Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers and another for his voiceover work on Madeline. His first Tony arrived for his leading role in Cyrano, and he received a second for his performance in Barrymore.
Plummer's agent and longtime friend Lou Pitt described him as a "national treasure," which his fans would certainly agree with. "Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self-deprecating humor, and the music of words," Pitt said in a statement to Variety. "Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts, and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us."
Read on for a look back at Plummer's decades-long career through photos. And to recall another star we lost recently, revisit Cicely Tyson's Life in Photos.
1955
Pix/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesHere, Plummer prepares in his dressing room before taking the stage to perform The Lark, his second Broadway play after The Starcross Story in 1954.
1958
Mondadori/Getty ImagesAfter appearances on several TV shows, Plummer made his film debut with Stage Struck. Here, he can be seen wrapping co-star Susan Strasberg in his coat in a scene from the movie.
1961
Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty ImagesPlummer made his London theatrical debut in the role of Henry II in Becket. He received the London Evening Standard Award for his performance.
1963
Victor Crawshaw/Mirrorpix/Getty ImagesPlummer took on the role of Hamlet in an acclaimed British TV production titled Hamlet at Elsinore. Here, the actor is seen rehearsing a fight scene with Dyson Lovell, who played Laertes. And to honor another recently departed star, peruse Cloris Leachman's Life in Photos.
1965
Silver Screen Collection/Getty ImagesPlummer was perhaps best known for playing Captain von Trapp beside Julie Andrews in the Oscar-winning film adaptation of The Sound of Music.
1971
Dove/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesPlummer wed his third wife, Elaine Taylor, in 1970. The two remained married until his death. Here, the couple is posed in Plummer's 40-year-old Invicta.
1973
Ron Galella/Getty ImagesHere, Plummer is pictured on the opening night of Cyrano at the Plaza Theater in New York. Plummer won his first Tony for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his work in this show. And for more celebrity news, sign up for our daily newsletter.
1979
Silver Screen Collection/Getty ImagesPlummer played the iconic role of Sherlock Holmes in the movie Murder by Decree, directed by Bob Clark.
1982
Bettmann/Getty ImagesPlummer starred in Othello on Broadway as Iago opposite James Earl Jones in the title role. Here, Plummer is seen cleaning the dagger he used onstage. Plummer was nominated for a Tony for his performance.
1991
Ronald Siemoneit/Sygma/Sygma via Getty ImagesIn 1991, Plummer played the role of Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Plummer was a big fan of the films before starring in one.
"I was a serious Trekkie when it first came out. I was living in England all through the 1960s, but I watched you on television over and over again," Plummer told co-star William Shatner in the 2011 documentary The Captains.
1997
Timothy Clary/AFP/Getty ImagesHere, Plummer poses with his fellow 1997 Tony Award winners James Naughton, Bebe Neuwirth, and Janet McTeer. Plummer received the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his role in Barrymore, based on the life of actor John Barrymore. And for more memorable stars of yesteryear, discover The Biggest Male Icon Every Year Since You Were Born.
2012
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesPlummer won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Beginners. Per Variety, Plummer was the oldest actor to win an Academy Award for Supporting Actor.
2015
Mark Davis/WireImage/Getty ImagesPlummer is pictured with longtime friend and former co-star Andrews at the Opening Night Gala and screening of The Sound of Music during the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival.
2017
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesHere, Plummer is seen chatting with director Ridley Scott at the after-party for the premiere of All the Money in the World. Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey after Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct. According to Variety, Scott reshot all of Spacey's scenes with Plummer just one month out from the movie's release. Plummer earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance.
2019
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Audi CanadaPlummer is seen attending a post-screening event for the hit film Knives Out. In one of his final film roles, the actor appeared alongside an all-star ensemble. And for more tributes to departed icons, Stars Are Posting the Sweetest Carrie Fisher Tributes on Her Birthday.
