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."

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