Christopher Plummer, the distinguished Canadian actor best known for his role as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, has died at the age of 91.

He won an Oscar in 2012 for the film Beginners and was also nominated for The Last Station in 2010 and All the Money in the World in 2018.

In the latter film he replaced Kevin Spacey, whose complete performance as billionaire J Paul Getty was excised.

His many other films included The Man Who Would Be King and Knives Out.

According to reports, Plummer passed away peacefully at his home in Connecticut with his wife Elaine Taylor at his side.

Lou Pitt, his long-time friend and manager of 46 years, remembered him as “an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession”.

“He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots,” he continued. “Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come.

“He will forever be with us.”

Plummer had a varied career across film, television and theatre, starring in productions on Broadway and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Yet he will be forever known and loved for The Sound of Music, adapted from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, in which he appeared alongside Dame Julie Andrews.

Plummer had ambivalent feelings towards his best-known film, which he famously renamed The Sound of Mucus in interviews.

He also likened working with Andrews to “being hit over the head with a big Valentine’s Day card, every day”, though they later became great friends.

US country singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly, best known for writing 1970s hit Midnight Train to Georgia, has died aged 77, his family say.

Weatherly passed away at his home near Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday.

Music publisher and friend Charlie Monk said the family attributed his death to natural causes, the Tennessean website reports.

Weatherly released nearly a dozen studio albums during his five-decade career.

In his student years, the singer was a gifted quarterback for the University of Mississippi’s American football team.

But later in the 1960s he decided to leave sport and focus on music in Los Angeles.

Midnight Train to Georgia – a number one hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1973 – went on to win a Grammy Award, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

A number of American artists, including Aretha Franklin, later recorded their own versions of the popular song.

Weatherly’s biggest solo success was I’ll Still Love You, but he also penned more Gladys Knight hits, including Neither One of Us Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye, and You’re the Best Thing (That Ever Happened to Me).

He recorded with a range of high-profile stars, including Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney.

“I’m missing him already,” Gladys Knight told the Jackson Clarion Ledger. “I love him and always will. He was about life and love and he wrote it so simply, he grew my love for country music. When we were with him it was like we’d always been together, we fit together. He started playing his guitar, and I started humming and it was magic.

“His music propelled us to a whole different level. I loved him and his music, he was a sweetheart and so gentle.”

Donald Trump has quit America’s Screen Actors Guild after it launched a disciplinary hearing into him, citing the US Capitol attack.

“Who cares!” the former US president wrote in a letter, adding that the union had “done nothing for me”.

“Thank you,” was the Guild’s brief response.

Mr Trump has appeared in a number of films, including Home Alone 2 and Zoolander. He also hosted the US version of The Apprentice TV show.

Last month, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) said its disciplinary committee would meet to decide what action should be taken regarding Mr Trump’s role in the Capitol riot in Washington DC on 6 January.

Five people died and dozens were injured during the pro-Trump siege.

“Donald Trump attacked the values that this union holds most sacred – democracy, truth, respect for our fellow Americans of all races and faiths, and the sanctity of the free press,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris.

“There’s a straight line from his wanton disregard for the truth to the attacks on journalists perpetrated by his followers,” she said.

SAG-AFTRA represents about 160,000 actors, journalists and other media professionals in the US.

Mr Trump, a Guild member for more than 30 years, was expected to be expelled at a forthcoming disciplinary meeting.

The union shared his resignation letter, which was addressed to its president, a former star of Beverly Hills, 90210, on its website.

“I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership. Who cares!” Mr Trump wrote.

“While I’m not familiar with your work, I’m very proud of my work on movies such as Home Alone 2, Zoolander and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; and television shows including The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Saturday Night Live, and of course, one of the most successful shows in television history, The Apprentice – to name just a few!”

Mr Trump added that he had “greatly helped” the cable news business, which he described as a “dying platform with not much time left” before he took to politics. He then branded the disciplinary action a “blatant attempt at free media attention to distract from your dismal record”.

On 13 January, Mr Trump became the first president in US history to be impeached twice, after the US House of Representatives accused him of encouraging violence with false claims of election fraud.