Julie Andrews And Christopher Plummer Say "The Sound Of Music" Was The Start Of A 50-Year Friendship

Mar 03, 2020 by apost team

2020 marks the 55th anniversary of "The Sound of Music", the hit musical drama starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Released on March 2 back in 1965, the movie went on to become one of the greatest films of all time. 55 years later, the two stars still remain close friends after forming a decade and career lasting friendship on set.

"The Sound of Music" is a film adaption of the book and stage musical of the same name. It became one of the legendary classics of US film making. It became the highest grossing film of its release year and one year later the highest grossing film of all time, even surpassing "Gone With The Wind". It remained in this top spot for five years. Among the many prizes it received were five Oscars and two Golden Globes. It is without a doubt one of the most famous movies and achieved international acclaim. What is even more astonishing is the fact that the film originally received horribly negative reviews by critics.

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For the two main stars, it was also the beginning of a decades-long friendship. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer met on the set for the first time. Plummer was already an accomplished stage actor and Andrews already had several Broadway appearances and smaller jobs on her resume. Despite this, she felt intimidated by the older Plummer at first, as Vanity Fair reports. However, the interview makes it clear that the two of them quickly overcame any reservations, settling into a friendship defined by friendly teasing:

“He was such a hugely great actor that when he was cast in Sound of Music all I could think was, How will I ever live up to that? But we had a very good time. We never had a cross word, nothing.”
“No,” he agreed. “She may be a terrible martinet, but she’s not an unpleasant one.”
“Who was it that called me a nun with a switchblade?” she asked.
He chortled. “That’s right. Nun with a switchblade.”

After their great success with "The Sound of Music", the two kept up their friendship, even though their careers went different ways. Plummer went back to acting on stage, vastly preferring this to movie appearances. He was also cast as a "character actor", meaning an actor who is usually cast for an eccentric or unusual supporting role that serves as a counter to the leading actor. Plummer was reportedly quite happy with this:

“Yes,” he said, laughing. “It’s extraordinary, isn’t it? But I’m thrilled that I turned into a character actor quite early on. I hated being a poncey leading man."

Andrews meanwhile went on to appear in several more successful films, establishing a career as a movie star and singer. Sadly, her singing days were over in 1997, after a few non-cancerous nodules had to be surgically removed from her vocal chords. Vanity Fair reports:

In the aftermath, she sought out grief counseling at the Sierra Tucson rehab center. “It was devastating,” she said. “I thought maybe I would get it back. That was before I realized that he [the doctor] had actually taken tissue away."

Despite this, Andrews kept going strong and started a book-publishing business together with her daughter Emma. The two have published more than 20 children's books over the years.

Are you a fan of Julie Andrews or Christopher Plummer? Did you see one of them during one of their live performances or do you have fond memories associated with "The Sound of Music"? Tell us all about it and pass this story along to your friends!