RIP. Like I said in another thread, it makes me want to watch The Sound of Music more than ever now. It's what he's most famous for, but I've never actually seen it.
Here are his best scenes from KA (unlinked to preserve time codes): How he lost his eye youtu.be/BJ99SmAX3os?t=75 What the Klingon symbol means youtube.com/watch?v=Ni9ky1ewqiY Gorkon and Chang youtube.com/watch?v=UW8OB8O2khI And that end is really powerful today! youtu.be/FYH0DYbHets?t=494
"I go to the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns." That was the last day I ever saw General Chang. And despite what came afterwards, I have never forgotten what he taught me. Today, when I am asked what became of him, I gladly sit upon the ground, and tell sad tales... of the death of kings. (Klingon Academy)
That was fun. I've never seen those. Thanks for posting. Although, I must admit that I don't like their explanation for the eyepatch. I thought that was supposed to be something that showed how hard a life Chang had lived, and how impervious to pain he was to have it screwed into his skull. It kind of takes the wind out of the sails by saying he got the patch immediately prior to TUC, in some minor "honor" scuffle with an unknown Klingon captain.
I loved his portrayal of Chang in Undiscovered. But his scene at the Klingon Academy game, however, seemed a bit flippant and casual - I would have preferred him to be more rigid and not wave his hands. Still, I loved his work, and I hope he continues to act in the great theatre in the sky.
And the story of Plummer, Shatner, and Henry V is awesome, if you've not heard it. Plummer was a bit notorious with the ladies, and a vigorous one-night stand somehow dislodged a kidney stone in Plummer, leaving him in excruciating pain so intense that he was hospitalized and doped to the gills with morphine. When people from the Stratford Festival let Plummer know that his understudy Shatner would be performing in his stead, Plummer was determined to escape the hospital but he didn't even reach the door before 1) even more excruciating pain and 2) more morphine. Shatner's performance was considered a triumph. Whatever Plummer had done, Shatner did the opposite. If Plummer had delivered a speech standing up, Shatner delivered it while sitting. If Plummer shouted, Shatner whispered. Shatner felt that this was the moment when he became an actor, and Plummer said, paraphrasing from memory, "I knew that son of a bitch was going to be a star."
Having had a kidney stone recently, I can confirm the pain. In my case, it went past the hydromorphone and it took a few doses of fentanyl before the pain dropped to a 7 from a 10! I can hear Mr. Plummer saying, "I must simply get to the stage... OH BLOODY HELL!" Kidney stones are no joke.
I can imagine that working to a certain extent, intentionally playing Henry differently, but I struggle to picture a rousing speech like Harfleur or St. Crispin's Day being delivered effectively from a seated position.
On a humorous note, I recall Plummer had to fight really hard for Chang to get to be bald. Then, almost 30 years later in Discovery, all Klingons were bald! The man was ahead of his time.
Willian Shatner,Chris Plummer and Glen Ford all lived on the same street same block in the NDG neighborhood in Montreal