Christopher Plummer, the accomplished Shakespearian actor made famous in a role he despised, died yesterday at age 91. Though he considered the movie he called “The Sound of Mucus” sentimental crap, it remains the most popular musical of all time, and Plummer’s scene singing “Edelweiss” to his children is a key moment in the film.
“But wait!” I hear you saying. “Plummer’s voice was dubbed in the movie!” Right you are. But before it was, Plummer sang the tune himself. In fact, in later years he complained about having his voice replaced by “playback singer” Bill Lee, a frequent Disney hired hand — er, throat — saying the only reason he took the role was the chance to sing in a musical.
Fear not, though. Plummer’s original performance was also preserved, and it turns out Lee’s vocals were a careful impersonation of Plummer’s, accent and all. Even the timbre is a near match — Lee’s voice is just a tad smoother, and he’s better able to sustain the long notes. Judge for yourself:
Plummer’s original:
Lee’s overdub:
A lot of people — not smart ones, perhaps, but a lot of people nonetheless — think “Edelweiss” is an actual Austrian folk song. In truth, it was a late addition by Rodgers and Hammerstein to the original stage production. On Broadway, Capt. von Trapp was played by Austrian Theodore Bikel, who played guitar and sang folk songs in 21 languages. Bikel expressed his displeasure at having no song in the show, so “Edelweiss” was added to show off his talents. It became the last song Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers ever wrote; Hammerstein died of stomach cancer 9 months later.
Plummer, by the way, did sing in a few of his later films — all but once as an animated character.