Plummer Admits Why He Couldn't Stand Julie Andrews

Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews are  well-known as the stars of the movie "The   Sound of Music." Released on March second,  nineteen sixty-five, this legendary musical   and its actors won multiple Academy Awards and  Golden Globe Awards. The movie reached number   one at the box office and held the record for the  highest-grossing film for five years, surpassing   "Gone with the Wind." Depicting the story of the  Von Trapp family, there was a complicated harmony   between Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews.  While their on-screen chemistry captivated   audiences, Plummer's off-screen feelings towards  Julie were far from affectionate. In a shocking   revelation, Plummer admits why he couldn’t stand  Julie Andrews. What could be the reason for his   dislike? What might have caused the bad blood  between the co-stars? Join us in this video as   we explore Julie and Plummer’s relationship  and uncover why he couldn’t stand her. But before we dive in, let us explore their  lives and the story behind 'The Sound of Music.' The Iconic Sound Of Music ‘The Sound of Music’ is a 1965 American   musical drama film produced and directed by Robert  Wise, with a screenplay by Ernest Lehman. It stars   Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, along  with Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr,   and Eleanor Parker. The film is an adaptation  of the 1959 stage musical composed by Richard   Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, The  Second, and a book by Lindsay and Crouse. It is   based on the 1949 memoir ‘The Story of the Trapp  Family Singers’ by Maria von Trapp and is set in   Salzburg, Austria. The story is a fictional  retelling of her experiences as governess   to seven children, her eventual marriage  to their father, Captain Georg von Trapp,   and their escape during the Anschluss  in 1938. Filming took place from March   to September 1964 in Los Angeles and Salzburg.  ‘The Sound of Music’ was released on March 2,   1965, in the United States, initially as  a limited roadshow theatrical release.   The initial critical response to the film was  mixed, but it became a major commercial success,   reaching the number-one spot at the box  office after four weeks and becoming the   highest-grossing film of 1965. By November 1966,  ‘The Sound of Music’ had surpassed ‘Gone with   the Wind’ to become the highest-grossing film  of all time, a title it held for five years. The film was popular worldwide, breaking  box-office records in 29 countries. Its   initial theatrical release lasted four and a half  years, followed by two successful re-releases. The   film sold 283 million admissions worldwide and  earned a total worldwide gross of two hundred   and eighty-six million dollars. ‘The Sound of  Music’ received five Academy Awards, including   Best Picture and Best Director. The film also won  Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture and   Best Actress, the Directors Guild of America Award  for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, and the   Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written  American Musical. In 1998, the American Film   Institute (AFI) listed ‘The Sound of Music’ as the  55th greatest American film of all time and the   fourth greatest film musical. In 2001, the United  States Library of Congress selected the film for   preservation in the National Film Registry,  recognizing it as "culturally, historically,   or aesthetically significant." The story of ‘The  Sound of Music’ is captivating, blending themes   of family, romance, and historical elements.  However, not everything shown in the film reflects   reality. What aspects of the film are true and  which are fictional, and what did Christopher   Plummer reveal as the reason he couldn’t stand  Julie Andrews? Keep watching to find out. Reality Vs Fiction: The Sound Of Music’s Tale In the movie, Maria is a nun in training played   by Julie Andrews. She falls in love with Captain  Von Trapp, a widower, while working as a nanny   for his children. Their relationship blossoms  into a happy marriage and family. However,   the real-life story was different. Maria revealed  in her memoir that she was never madly in love   with the captain. She liked him but did not love  him initially; she married him because she loved   the children so much. Eventually, she fell in  love with him and said she never loved anyone   before or after him. In the film, the oldest  Von Trapp child, Liesel, falls in love with a   German soldier who tries to expose her family. In  reality, the oldest child was a boy named Rupert.   The writers invented Liesel to add more depth to  the story. When ‘The Sound of Music’ was released,   Rupert was 54, living in Vermont, and working as  a doctor. He often told his patients he was the   real-life Liesel, but most did not believe him.  Christopher Plummer played Captain Von Trapp in   the film, and Charmian Carr played his daughter  Liesel. Allegedly, the two had an off-screen   romance despite a 13-year age difference and  Plummer being married. This rumored relationship   attracted much attention from fans and the media,  but they were never seen being affectionate in   public. Julie Andrews and the actors who played  the children appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show,   where Charmian Carr addressed the rumors.  She admitted to having a crush on Plummer,   admired his perfection, and praised his British  accent but denied any physical relationship. There was a lot of singing and dancing in  ‘The Sound of Music’, but not everyone could   dance. Charmian Carr, a fan favorite who  appeared graceful and beautiful on screen,   wasn't actually a dancer. She had very basic  dancing skills and nearly broke her ankle   during the "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" dance  scene. In early versions of the film, you can   see a bandage on her leg, but it was removed in  the 2005 remake. When asked about the injury,   Carr explained the situation, but many people  found it hard to believe she got injured during   such a simple dance routine. The family's trip to  the United States was also different in real life.   Both in the film and in reality, the family  were World War Two refugees. In the movie,   they fled their home in Austria, traveled on  foot through the Alps to reach Switzerland,   and then moved to the United States where they  performed as a traveling singing group. However,   according to the real Maria von Trapp, the journey  was quite different. The family didn't climb   mountains with their suitcases and instruments;  instead, they took a train and traveled to Italy,   not Switzerland. They went to Italy because Georg  von Trapp was born in Zadar, a city that became   part of Italy in 1920, making him an Italian  citizen, as well as his wife and children.   As the lines blur between reality and fiction in  ‘Sound of Music.’ Let us now turn to the real-life   inspiration behind the tale. Who is Maria, and  what secrets does her story hold? Let’s find out. The Tale Of Maria von Trapp ‘The Sound of Music’ was based on Maria   von Trapp's memoir, ‘The Story of the Von Trapp  Family Singers’. Despite this, she wasn't allowed   to attend the film's premiere. Maria, who even  appeared as an extra with her daughter Rosemarie,   was invited to the premiere of Rodgers and  Hammerstein's Broadway musical but didn't receive   an invitation to the film's premiere. Producers  told her there weren't enough seats because   they were reserved for celebrities, effectively  shunning her. Without Maria, there wouldn't have   been a movie, and it was wrong of the producers  not to reserve a seat for her. The film portrays   Maria as an angel who saved the children from  their strict military life under the German   regime. Captain von Trapp is depicted as a stern  man who whistled to call his children, and they   lined up at attention. Maria's arrival changed  things, transforming the family dynamic. However,   in real life, Maria was the head of the household,  managing finances and other family matters. Georg   was not strict; he was a gentle, loving man who  supported his wife and enjoyed spending time with   his family and playing music. While making Georg  strict helped the film's storyline, this fictional   portrayal upset the real-life family. The real  Maria's life was far more intriguing than the   movie depiction. Born in Vienna, she was orphaned  as a child and placed with her violent uncle,   who tried to impose his atheist beliefs on her.  During a Sunday service at a Catholic church,   which she initially thought was a Bach concert,  Maria felt drawn to religion. Despite her uncle's   insistence that Bible stories were mere  legends, the priests' words captivated her,   leading her to embrace faith. After graduating  from college, Maria entered the Benedictine   Abbey of Nonnberg in Salzburg. Maria's life  changed forever when Georg von Trapp sought a   governess for one of his daughters at the convent.  Chosen for her education and teaching skills,   Maria had no idea that leaving the convent to  work for the von Trapp family would transform her   life. Unlike the seven children depicted in the  film, the real von Trapp family had ten children.   Though Maria wasn't initially responsible for  all of them, she grew attached to each one. After a challenging early life, she found a  true family and a place where she belonged. In   the movie, Georg and Maria fall in love quickly,  but this is not the case in real life. When they   first met, Maria wasn't attracted to Georg  and felt love only for the children. Georg   proposed to Maria, asking her to marry him  and become the stepmother to his children,   which led to a gradual development of love between  them. Maria von Trapp revealed that if Georg had   proposed marriage without mentioning his children,  she would have declined. Initially unsure about   marriage, Maria was persuaded by the nuns, who  convinced her it was God's will. The real-life   couple married in 1927. In the movie, Maria is  depicted as helping the children discover their   musical talent and channel their energy into  music. In reality, the von Trapp children were   already skilled singers and musicians when Maria  arrived, but they viewed it as just a hobby. Georg   von Trapp initially did not want his children to  pursue music professionally or perform on stage,   despite his belief that singing for others was  God's will. He wasn't opposed to performing itself   but wanted to support his children in other ways.  Georg changed his stance on his family performing   after they won first place at the Salzburg Music  Festival in 1936. When Georg and Maria von Trapp   married in the nineteen thirties, the Great  Depression severely impacted their finances,   leading to significant financial struggles.  To ease the family's financial burden,   Maria took several measures. She dismissed the  household servants, rented out rooms to lodgers,   and implemented stricter financial controls.  She also transformed their singing hobby into   a source of income. As the von Trapp family  gained fame, the German government wanted them   to stay in Austria to promote propaganda. Georg  was offered the opportunity to rejoin the Navy,   and his son Rupert was offered a job as  a doctor. Despite these tempting offers,   Georg chose to leave Austria with his family  to avoid worsening conditions. In contrast to   the film’s depiction of the family crossing  the Alps on foot, the real von Trapps took   a train to escape Austria and eventually  settled in the United States. Initially,   they were granted six-month visas but  returned to Europe when these expired,   going on a Scandinavian tour to avoid German  territories. Upon their return to the U.S.,   they were briefly detained on Ellis Island due  to an issue with their immigration status. Maria   had inadvertently suggested they wanted to stay  indefinitely, but after a few days, the situation   was resolved, and the family was allowed to enter  the U.S. and continue their tour. Initially,   before the final casting decisions were made,  several actors were considered for the lead roles.   What initial casting options were explored before  the final choices were made? Let’s find out. Actors Initially Considered  For Roles In The Sound Of Music  Richard Dreyfuss, known for his breakthrough  role in ‘Jaws’ in 1975, was initially considered   for a role in ‘The Sound of Music’. He  auditioned for the part of Frederick,   one of the von Trapp children, and impressed the  casting director with his acting skills. However,   his inability to dance ultimately disqualified  him from the role, which went to Nicholas Hammond.   Several well-known actors were considered  for the lead roles in the film. Doris Day,   at the height of her fame in the nineteen fifties  and sixties, was a candidate for Maria, along with   Audrey Hepburn, Shirley Jones, Leslie Caron, and  Anne Bancroft. For the role of Captain von Trapp,   Yul Brynner and Sean Connery were among  those considered. Despite initial plans   to cast Doris Day and Sean Connery, the  roles ultimately went to Julie Andrews   and Christopher Plummer. Today, it's hard to  imagine anyone else in these iconic roles. Christopher Plummer’s performance in ‘The  Sound of Music’ was highly professional,   but he struggled with alcohol throughout the  production. Despite being around children on set,   Plummer admitted to being drunk much of the time,  particularly during the filming of the music   festival scene. He often took Charmian Carr, who  played Liesel, out for drinks at Austrian bars,   despite their 13-year age difference.  During an interview with Oprah Winfrey,   Carr revealed that she learned to drink from  Plummer. His alcohol issues led to weight gain,   causing problems with his costumes, which  eventually became too small for him. Now,   let’s delve into the life and  career of Christopher Plummer. Christopher Plummer: Life And Career Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer was born   in Toronto, Ontario on December 13, 1929.  He was the only child of John Orme Plummer,   a seller of stocks and securities, and Isabella  Mary Abbott, who worked as a secretary to the Dean   of Sciences at McGill University and was the  granddaughter of Canadian Prime Minister Sir   John Abbott. On his father's side, Plummer's  great-uncle was patent lawyer and agent F. B.   Fetherstonhaugh. He was also a cousin of Canadian  classical pianist Janina Fialkowska and a second   cousin of British actor Nigel Bruce, known for  playing Doctor Watson in Basil Rathbone's Sherlock   Holmes. Plummer's parents separated shortly  after his birth, and he was mainly raised   by his mother in the Abbott family home in  Senneville, Quebec, on the western tip of the   Island of Montreal. He was fluent in both English  and French. As a schoolboy, he initially studied   to be a concert pianist but developed a love for  theater early on and began acting while attending   the High School of Montreal. After watching  Laurence Olivier's film ‘Henry V’ in 1944,   he was inspired to pursue acting. He learned  the basics of acting as an apprentice with   the Montreal Repertory Theatre, where fellow  Montrealer William Shatner also performed.   Plummer never attended university, something  he regretted throughout his life. Despite his   mother and father's family having ties with McGill  University, he was never a student there. In 1946,   he caught the attention of the Montreal  Gazette's theatre critic Herbert Whittaker   with his performance as Mr. Darcy in a Montreal  High School production of ‘Pride and Prejudice’.   Whittaker, who was also an amateur stage director  of the Montreal Repertory Theatre, cast Plummer   at age 18 as Oedipus in Jean Cocteau's ‘La  Machine Infernal’. His career spanned seven   decades, earning him acclaim in film, stage, and  television. His awards included an Academy Award,   two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy  Awards, making him the only Canadian to   achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting." He also  received a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award,   a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Grammy Award  nomination. Plummer made his Broadway debut in   the 1954 play ‘The Starcross Story’. He won two  Tony Awards: one for Best Actor in a Musical for   playing Cyrano de Bergerac in ‘Cyrano’ in 1974 and  the other for Best Actor in a Play for portraying   John Barrymore in ‘Barrymore’ in 1997. His other  Tony-nominated roles include ‘J.B.’ in 1959,   ‘Othello’ in 1982, ‘No Man's Land’ in 1994, ‘King  Lear’ in 2004, and ‘Inherit the Wind’ in 2007.   Plummer made his film debut in ‘Stage Struck’  in 1958 and landed his first starring role that   same year in ‘Wind Across the Everglades’. He  became widely known for his role as Captain   Georg von Trapp in the musical film ‘The Sound  of Music’ in 1965 alongside Julie Andrews. During this time, he also starred in ‘The Fall  of the Roman Empire’ in 1964, ‘Waterloo’ in 1970,   and ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ in 1975. Plummer  won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor   for ‘Beginners’ in 2011 and was nominated for the  same award for his roles in ‘The Last Station’ in   2009 and ‘All the Money in the World’ in 2017.  His other notable films include ‘The Return of   the Pink Panther’ in 1975, ‘Somewhere in Time’ in  1980, ‘Malcolm X’ in 1992, ‘The Insider’ in 1999,   ‘A Beautiful Mind’ in 2001, ‘The New World’ in  2005, ‘Syriana’ in 2005, ‘Inside Man’ in 2006,   ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ in 2011, and  ‘Knives Out’ in 2019. Christopher Plummer was   married three times. His first marriage was to  actress Tammy Grimes in 1956; the marriage lasted   four years and produced a daughter, actress  Amanda Plummer. His second marriage was to   British entertainment journalist Patricia Lewis.  Before their marriage, they were involved in a   serious car accident outside Buckingham Palace  after leaving The Establishment club in Soho,   owned by comedian Peter Cook. While Plummer was  unharmed, Lewis was in a coma for several weeks.   They married on May 4, 1962, after her recovery,  but divorced in 1967. Three years after his second   divorce, Plummer married actress Elaine Taylor  on October 2, 1970. They resided in Weston,   Connecticut. Plummer had no children with either  his second or third wife. Plummer's memoir,   ‘In Spite of Myself’, was released by  Alfred A. Knopf in November 2008. He   was a patron of Theatre Museum Canada and  a member of The Players Social Club in New   York City. Christopher Plummer passed away  at his home in Weston on February 5, 2021,   at the age of 91. According to his wife, Elaine  Taylor, his death occurred two and a half weeks   after he suffered a fall that resulted in a  head injury. The family issued a statement   saying that Plummer died peacefully with Taylor  by his side. After his death was announced,   Julie Andrews, his co-star from ‘The Sound  of Music’, paid tribute: "The world has lost   a consummate actor today and I have lost a  cherished friend. I treasure the memories of   our work together and all the humor and fun we  shared through the years." Recent revelations   say that Christopher Plummer didn’t like the  sound of music. So, What were Christopher’s   true feelings about “The Sound of Music” that  might shock you? Keep watching to find out. Why Christopher Plummer  Didn’t Like The Sound Of Music  Despite the widespread acclaim for his role  as Captain Von Trapp in ‘The Sound of Music’,   Christopher Plummer's feelings toward both the  character and the film were not as positive.   The New York Times reported in 1966 that Plummer  humorously dubbed the movie "The Sound of Mucus"   on several occasions. In a 2010 interview with the  ‘Boston Globe’, he admitted to feeling somewhat   bored with his character, describing the effort  to make Captain Von Trapp interesting as "a bit   like flogging a dead horse." He also noted that  the film's subject matter did not resonate with   him and that it "can't appeal to every person  in the world." Plummer's criticism of the film   grew stronger over time; by 2011, he labeled  ‘The Sound of Music’ as "awful, sentimental,   and gooey," expressing frustration about the  challenge of injecting any humor into what   he considered a deeply sentimental film.  Now we know all about Christopher Plummer,   let’s also delve into the life and  career of the legendary Julie Andrews. Julie Andrews: Life And Career Julia Elizabeth Wells was born on October 1,   1935, in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England. Her  mother, Barbara Ward Wells, was born in Chertsey   and married Edward Charles "Ted" Wells, a teacher  of metalwork and woodwork, in 1932. Andrews was   conceived as a result of an affair her mother had  with a family friend. Andrews learned of her true   parentage from her mother in 1950, but it was not  publicly disclosed until her 2008 autobiography.   With the outbreak of World War Two, her parents  separated and soon divorced. Each remarried:   Barbara to Ted Andrews in 1943, and Ted Wells  to Winifred Maud Hyde Birkhead, a war widow   and former hairstylist at a war work factory, in  1944. Wells helped evacuate children to Surrey   during the Blitz, while Andrews's mother joined  her husband in entertaining the troops through   the Entertainments National Service Association.  Andrews briefly lived with Wells and her brother,   John, in Surrey. In 1940, Wells sent her to live  with her mother and stepfather, who he thought   would be better able to provide for his talented  daughter's artistic training. While Andrews had   been used to calling her stepfather "Uncle Ted,"  her mother suggested it would be more appropriate   to refer to her stepfather as "Pop," while her  father remained "Dad" or "Daddy," a change she   disliked. The Andrews family was very poor and  lived in a bad slum area of London at the time,   stating that the war was a very black period in  her life. According to Andrews, her stepfather   was violent and an alcoholic. He twice tried to  get into bed with his stepdaughter while drunk,   resulting in Andrews fitting a lock on  her door. As her mother and stepfather's   stage careers improved, they could afford better  surroundings, first moving to Beckenham and then,   as the war ended, back to Hersham, their hometown.  The family lived at the Old Meuse in West Grove,   Hersham, a house where Andrews's maternal  grandmother had served as a maid. Andrews's   stepfather sponsored her lessons, first at the  independent arts school Cone-Ripman School now   Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, and  then with concert soprano and voice instructor   Madame Lilian Stiles-Allen. Andrews said of  Stiles-Allen, "She had an enormous influence   on me," adding, "She was my third mother, I've  got more mothers and fathers than anyone in   the world." In her memoir, ‘Julie Andrews: My  Star Pupil,’ Stiles-Allen wrote, "The range,   accuracy, and tone of Julie's voice amazed me,  she had the rare gift of absolute pitch," though   Andrews herself refuted this in her 2008  autobiography ‘Home.’ According to Andrews,   "Madame was sure that I could do Mozart and  Rossini, but, to be honest, I never was."   She described her own voice as "very pure,  white, thin, with a four-octave range   dogs would come from miles around." After  Cone-Ripman School, Andrews continued her   academic education at the nearby Woodbrook  School, a local state school in Beckenham. Now an actress, singer, and author, Julie  has earned numerous accolades over her   career spanning more than eight decades,  including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award,   two Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and six  Golden Globe Awards, as well as nominations   for three Tony Awards. One of the biggest  box office draws of the nineteen sixties,   Andrews was honored with the Kennedy Center  Honors in 2001, the Screen Actors Guild Life   Achievement Award in 2007, and the AFI Life  Achievement Award in 2022. She was made a   Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth The Second in  2000. As a child actress and singer, Andrews   appeared in the West End in 1948 and made her  Broadway debut in ‘The Boyfriend’ in 1954.   Billed as "Britain's youngest prima donna,"  she rose to prominence in Broadway musicals,   starring as Eliza Doolittle in ‘My Fair Lady’ in  1956 and Queen Guinevere in ‘Camelot’ in 1960.   She also starred in the Rodgers and Hammerstein  television musical ‘Cinderella’ in 1957. Andrews   made her feature film debut as the title character  in Walt Disney's ‘Mary Poppins’ in 1964 and won   the Academy Award for Best Actress. The following  year, she starred in the musical film ‘The Sound   of Music’ in 1965, playing Maria von Trapp and  winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress:   Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Andrews starred  in various films, working with directors including   her husband Blake Edwards, George Roy Hill,  and Alfred Hitchcock. Some of her notable   films include ‘The Americanization of Emily’ in  1964, ‘Hawaii’ in 1966, ‘Torn Curtain’ in 1966,   ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ in 1967, ‘Star!’ in  1968, ‘The Tamarind Seed’ in 1974, ‘10’ in 1979,   ‘S.O.B.’ in 1981, ‘Victor/Victoria’ in 1982,  ‘That's Life!’ in 1986, and ‘Duet for One’ in   1986. She later returned to film, acting in ‘The  Princess Diaries’ in 2001, ‘The Princess Diaries   2: Royal Engagement’ in 2004, as well as ‘Eloise  at the Plaza’ and ‘Eloise at Christmastime’ both   in 2003. She also lent her voice to the ‘Shrek’  franchise from 2001 to 2010 as Queen Lillian and   the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise from 2010 to  present as Felonious Gru's mother Marlena.   Andrews is also known for her collaborations with  Carol Burnett, including the specials ‘Julie and   Carol at Carnegie Hall’ in 1962, ‘Julie and Carol  at Lincoln Center’ in 1971, and ‘Julie and Carol:   Together Again’ in 1989. She starred in her own  variety special, ‘The Julie Andrews Hour’ in 1973,   for which she received the Emmy Award for  Outstanding Variety Musical Series. Recently,   she co-created and hosted ‘Julie's Greenroom’ in  2017 and voiced Lady Whistledown in the Netflix   series ‘Bridgerton’ from 2020 to the present.  Andrews has co-authored numerous children's books   with her daughter and written two autobiographies,  ‘Home: A Memoir of My Early Years’ in 2008 and   ‘Homework: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years’ in  2019. So what was Julie Andrews and Christopher   Plummer’s relationship like and What did Plummer  admit to? Stay tuned as we unveil these details. Christopher Plummer Admits Why  He Couldn’t Stand Julie Andrews  Despite the widespread success and  praise for ‘The Sound of Music’,   the set experienced its share of tensions,  with Christopher Plummer's attitude toward   Julie Andrews being a notable example. While most  cast and crew members viewed Andrews as an angel,   Plummer had a different take. He admitted  that Andrews' constant kindness and gentle   nature irritated him, likening it to being  hit over the head with a Valentine's Day card   daily. Plummer's discomfort with Andrews was  evident in his interactions on set; he even   referred to her as "Ms. Disney," a subtle jab  possibly related to her recent role in Disney’s   ‘Mary Poppins’ and her interactions with the  child actors. Despite these initial tensions,   Plummer later acknowledged his immaturity and  recognized Andrews as a talented actress and   a consummate professional. Over time, their  relationship evolved into a lasting friendship   that continued long after the film was completed.  What do you think about Christopher Plummer and   Julie Andrews's bittersweet relationship?  Let us know in the comments section below. Thank you for watching this video;  we hope you found it interesting.   Don’t forget to like and subscribe.  Click the next video shown on your   screen to catch up on your favorite  celebrity stories. See you there.