Jonathan Crombie is remembered by his Anne of Green Gables co-star, producer


Jonathan Crombie, famous for playing Gilbert Blythe in the popular Anne of Green Gables movies, died April 15 in New York City from a brain hemorrhage. He was 48.
Crombie was the son of David Crombie, who served as mayor of Toronto in the 1970s and as a federal Progressive Conservative cabinet member in the 1980s. Jonanthan Crobie rose to fame when he starred in 1984's Anne of Green Gables and its sequels in 1987 and 2000. His sister, Carrie Crombie, said he enjoyed meeting fans of the series, and would answer to the name "Gil" when they stopped him on the street. "I think he was really proud of being Gilbert Blythe and was happy to answer any questions," she told CBC News.
Megan Follows, who played Anne Shirley, remembered her former co-star as being "incredibly funny," and said they had a natural chemistry. "He had that beautiful face," she said. "He was a lot of fun, he was very open." Although he was part of a sketch comedy troupe and played the lead in The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway, he made the most impact as Gilbert, says Anne of Green Gables producer Kevin Sullivan: "I think for legions of young women around the world who fell in love with the Anne of Green Gables films, Jonathan literally represented the quintessential boy next door, and there were literally thousands of women who wrote to him over the years who saw him as a perfect mate. In reality, Jonathan was as generous, as kind, as sensitive, and as ambitious, in some ways, as the character he came to be identified with."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Music reviews: Chance the Rapper, Cass McCombs, and Molly Tuttle
Feature "Star Line," "Interior Live Oak," and "So Long Little Miss Sunshine"
-
Film reviews: Eden and Honey Don't!
Feature Seekers of a new utopia spiral into savagery and a queer private eye prowls a high-desert town
-
Critics' choice: Three chefs fulfilling their ambitions
Feature Kwame Onwuachi's grand second act, Travis Lett makes a comeback, and Jeff Watson's new Korean restaurant
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play