Plummer was born into an affluent, socially
prominent Montreal family. His mother, Isabella, was the granddaughter
of Prime Minister John Abbott. Young Christopher's life took
a dramatic turn right from the start - when he was just a
year old, his parents divorced. An only child, he was raised
by the women in the family, who exposed him to a rich cultural
life of plays, operas, and concerts. Except for one dramatic
meeting later in life, he would never know his father. By
the time he was 14, he had a passion for acting and when a
High School performance garnered a rave review, it was all
the encouragement he needed to drop out and pursue his dream.
Christopher Plummer as Cyrano de Bergerac
The biography traces his career from his professional stage
debut at age 17 to Broadway triumphs and Hollywood stardom.
Co-star Julie Andrews reminisces about his role as Captain
Georg Von Trapp in the smash hit The Sound of Music (1965).
Director Ron Howard discusses Plummer’s bravura performance
in A Beautiful Mind and the documentary also highlights his
portrayal of 60 Minutes anchor Mike Wallace in The Insider.
An inspired raconteur, Plummer spins hilarious yarns about
his years of partying and hard drinking with other show biz
legends. But as interviews with first wife Tammy Grimes and
daughter Amanda Plummer reveal, alcohol would exact a heavy
toll on his personal life. Now 73, he lives on a sprawling
Connecticut estate with third wife Elaine Taylor. But he shows
no signs of slowing down - there is always a new role to play,
a new stage to conquer.
Original Air Date - November 12, 2002
Links
The
Stratford Festival of Canada
Christoper
Plummer: CBC's Arts Canada
The
Christopher Plummer page (an unoffical fan site)
Christopher
Plummer (from the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia)
Christopher
Plummer (from Northern Stars.ca)
(Note: CBC does not endorse the content of external
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