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A Eulogy for Gilbert Blythe

April 18, 2015 By Lorilee - 28 Comments

Gilbert 1

I can’t fathom it.

Jonathan Crombie, the stage and screen actor who brought Gilbert Blythe to life in the near-flawless “Anne of Green Gables” miniseries, is dead at age 48.

A brain hemorrhage, they say. And just like that, about forty years too young, the world loses a gifted actor, and a humble man who didn’t mind answering to the name “Gil” while out and about.

I don’t just speak for myself when I say I feel as if someone I know and care about is gone.

I know. I KNOW. He was an actor.

He wasn’t really Gilbert Blythe, “winker of inexpressible drollery, foeman worthy of Anne’s steel, and prompter of quick, queer little beats in the hearts of us all” (a quote from my forthcoming, Anne-related memoir).

He just played him on TV.

Gilbert 3

So why does it feel as if Gilbert Blythe himself has died?

Interestingly, the fictional Gilbert Blythe would have died in the 1920’s or 1930’s, at a ripe old age, as far as we know.  We part with Gilbert and Anne at the end of “Rilla of Ingleside,” when Anne is 53 and Gilbert is 55 or 56, fully expecting them to grow old together under a PEI sunset. This makes Crombie’s death seem even more appallingly premature.

Yes, this feels like a personal loss, not just to me but to thousands upon thousands of girls of all ages who went weak in the knees (and still do) over Crombie’s portrayal of Gilbert.

He feels like an old friend, and somehow, like a first love.

Gilbert 6 shoes

My friend Laura and her friends, circa in the 1990’s, drove to Stratford to see Jonathan C in a play, only to find out he had dropped out to film another Anne sequel. They had to make do with having a photo taken of their feet upon his star stone. This makes me laugh, even today.

Crombie brought one of literature’s most swoon-worthy leading men to vivid, yearning life. He made manifest the Gilbert of our imaginations in such a way that it was impossible to read the books again (and again) without picturing him as Anne’s one and only.

I love that Crombie didn’t resent Gilbert, like so many actors do of their best-known characters. He was an accomplished actor on the stage as well, appearing under the kliegs in Stratford, Toronto and Broadway. Yet his sister said he was so proud of being Gilbert.

Gilbert is worthy of that.

What is it about Gilbert Blythe? He may seem like a mild-mannered boy-next-door, without a lot of flash and drama, but it’s his stoic devotion that makes him complex and intriguing.

Gilbert 2

Don’t. Say. It.

Sure, he’s plenty cute and flirty (“Hey Carrots, Carrots!”). But there’s so much more.

Gilbert notices Anne for who she is: blazingly bright (never a popular trait for girls in Victorian times), fearsomely clever and decidedly other.

Somehow, he actually likes these idiosyncratic qualities about this freak orphan girl. He likes that she’s not like the other girls (sigh). He sees her vegetable-hued braids, her absurd vocabulary, her dreaminess and featherbrained ways, and he adores her for them.

Who among us doesn’t want to be noticed and adored for exactly who we are—pungent hair color, quirks, flaws and all?

Anne never had to hide her brokenness in front of Gilbert.

Once he has fallen for our Anne, there was no turning back. Gil dug in his heels and vowed to be for Anne, no matter what, no matter her mulish refusal to see the knight before her.

Gilbert 4 Anne

Mulish, wet, and drabbled though she was, Gil still fancied her.

One of my chief pleasures in reentering Anne’s story for my book was to experience again the story of Gilbert. As a grown woman, I had a whole new appreciation for his constancy and sacrificial love.

He’s gallant (his first display was throwing himself under the bus when she whacked him over the head with a  slate).

He’s steadfast, waiting at least five years for Anne to return his feelings. (In book form, he pines for three books–that’s over 1,000 pages of yearning, folks. I believe the movie featured The Kiss after just eight hours, so the payoff was a little more prompt onscreen.)

Gilbert’s finest trait? Hands down, his willingness to put her needs before his, even when it appears Anne will never love him back.

(Remember how he asked the school board to place him in the far-away, inconvenient Carmody school so Anne could teach in Avonlea and stay on at Green Gables with Marilla after Matthew’s death?)

Knightly, devoted, un-selfish and droll? Okay, and really, really cute? No wonder we all lost our hearts.

Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne’s author, never found her own Gilbert—not by a long shot.

I believe in writing him she created her ideal, and ours too. She gave Gilbert all those stellar qualities, and Jonathan Crombie lived into them and up to them–indelibly.

In watching his portrayal, we realized that we shared Gil’s unpretentious dream of a home with a hearth fire, a cat, a dog, and the footsteps of friends. We realized, like Anne, that our happiness was not to be found in diamonds and sunburst marble halls, but in true, abiding love. That became our dream, too. We wanted to find our own Gilbert Blythe.

Gilbert 5 Jonathan

Jonathan Crombie, 1966-2015

 So rest in peace, dear old friend. We’ve never met, but you mean more to us than we knew.

Thank you for bringing Anne’s kindred mate to life with sparks, grace and depth. Thank you for being Gilbert in a way we will never forget.

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Filed Under: Anne of Green Gables Tagged With: Anne of Green Gables, Gilbert Blythe, Jonathan Crombie

Comments

  1. Chandy Colley says

    April 18, 2015 at 4:45 pm

    You captured all we feel about this loss beautifully. Gil, sigh…:(

    Reply
    • Lorilee says

      April 19, 2015 at 12:00 pm

      Thanks, Chandy. He was one of a kind.

      Reply
  2. Jenna says

    April 18, 2015 at 6:03 pm

    This is so beautiful. Thank you for this. I have felt silly for feeling so sad about his death but your words capture it so well.

    Reply
    • Lorilee says

      April 19, 2015 at 12:01 pm

      Jenna, I get that. I too felt silly crying over a man I never met. Thanks for confessing that! I think many of us felt that way. Obviously, it’s not silly at all. He meant so much.

      Reply
  3. Kim says

    April 18, 2015 at 6:33 pm

    yes, sigh, Glibert/Jonathan was my first big screen crush. I got giddy when I purchased the AoGG novel series for my daughter knowing full well that once she read the books she would be discovering Gilbert via the CBC as did I at her age. Thank you for summing up the feelings so well!

    Reply
    • Lorilee says

      April 19, 2015 at 12:13 pm

      It’s an incredible thing to pass on an AOGG love to one’s daughter! My girl loves Gilbert, too. Who wouldn’t?

      Reply
  4. Karin says

    April 18, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    Beautifully written.

    Reply
    • Lorilee says

      April 21, 2015 at 8:33 am

      Thanks, Karin. It just poured out of me like love.

      Reply
  5. Rachel Watson says

    April 18, 2015 at 8:13 pm

    Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes. I am so thankful you wrote this; it’s everything I could have wanted to say and more.

    Reply
    • Lorilee says

      April 21, 2015 at 8:33 am

      Thanks, Rachel. It’s a great honour (CDN spelling!) to help people say goodbye.

      Reply
  6. Alysa Clark says

    April 19, 2015 at 11:59 am

    Perfectly written! Oh dear Gilbert, how you’ll be missed!

    Reply
    • Lorilee says

      April 21, 2015 at 8:34 am

      So. missed.

      Reply
  7. Joy Edwards says

    April 19, 2015 at 12:40 pm

    Thank you for expressing what so many of us feel. The character of Gilbert could have only been played by someone of like admirable qualities.

    Reply
    • Lorilee says

      April 22, 2015 at 9:38 am

      Joy, you are onto something. Jonthan Crombie’s qualities in real life made him perfect to play our Gil. Lovely.

      Reply
  8. Alexandra Kuykendall says

    April 19, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    Lorilee, Gilbert taught me how love felt. As I watched him on screen and read ALL of the books over and over as a girl, I wanted what he and Anne had: chemistry, devotion and mutual respect. Thanks for loving Gilbert like I do.

    Reply
    • Lorilee says

      April 22, 2015 at 9:40 am

      Alex, I know how you feel about Gilbert, because I feel that way too. It’s a terrible tragedy that he died, but comforting to know how JC and his portrayal of Gilbert have shaped people’s very lives. I love your insight and comment: “chemistry, devotion, and mutual respect.” YES.

      Reply
  9. Rebekah @ Surviving Toddlerhood says

    April 19, 2015 at 2:49 pm

    How beautiful!!! Gilbert was totally my first movie crush. I love the movie series and books, I’m hoping to turn my boys into book fans as well. 🙂 My four year old thinks the movies are great.
    Sharing!!

    Reply
  10. Nessie says

    April 19, 2015 at 3:27 pm

    He was my first movie crush too. I saw AOGG on Pbs Wonderworks, fell in love with Gilbert immediately. Had to rush as fast as I could to my nearest library to find out how his story would continue! I have been fortunate to find my own Gil…(he’s absolutely amazing,although blond)! I love him so. I didn’t realize until now how J’s portrayal had stayed with me all these years, and how sad I am at his passing.

    Reply
  11. Kris says

    April 19, 2015 at 4:27 pm

    I think many of us blogged about how much Jonathan meant to us. I wonder if it was a subconscious reaching out to Gilbert when I chose the name Jonathan for my youngest (who is now 21)? Thank you for your absolutely perfect eulogy.

    Reply
  12. Nathan says

    April 19, 2015 at 8:51 pm

    Well said. My wife and I are both very sad about his passing. He is her “beloved Gilbert”. For men who are fans – who wouldn’t have wanted a best friend like him? Someone who encourages, has integrity, and doesn’t resort to making others look bad to feel better about himself.

    Reply
  13. Erika says

    April 20, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    I posted several time yesterday about Gil. I said, the reason everyone loved him so much was his undying devotion to Anne. Through it all, his eyes always longed for Anne and only Anne. This is the type of love we all dream about.

    Reply
  14. Rachel says

    April 20, 2015 at 3:25 pm

    Thank you for putting all of our feelings into one article. This is wonderful.

    Reply
  15. Angela Blycker says

    April 28, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    Oh Gilbert…my first real crush. I had no idea. I don’t know what moved me more: your tribute to Gil or your writing. What a master of words and rhythm you are my friend, as I read from a distance in true admiration. Much love Lorilee!

    Reply
  16. Melody Yang says

    January 6, 2016 at 9:28 am

    I just saw this eulogy and I wanna say thank you for your beautiful words.As an 19-year-old girl I also have a crush on Gilbert/Jonathan cuz I watched the AOGG films and I’ve been crushing on him ever since.He was the perfect Gilbert and he’ll always have a special place in my heart.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 7 Reasons Why This Anne of Green Gables Superfan Welcomes the New Miniseries says:
    January 13, 2016 at 7:21 pm

    […] hours–near flawlessly executed. When I picture Anne and Gilbert, I picture Megan Followes and Jonathan Crombie (upon his death in April, it felt like I had lost my first love, a feeling shared by hundreds of […]

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  2. 5 Pros & 5 Cons to the New “Anne of Green Gables” movie says:
    November 23, 2016 at 3:23 pm

    […] been well established here that I am crazy, wild, nuts for that rendition, as millions are. But I’m also a firm believer […]

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  3. Review of “Anne” Episode 3: Meet the New Gilbert Blythe! (Gulp) says:
    April 3, 2017 at 6:20 pm

    […] NO ONE will ever replace the irreplaceable Jonathan Crombie for me. And that’s true of many of you, as well. So I was on edge in anticipation for last night’s new episode of “Anne,” because I knew we’d meet the new Gil. R.H. Thompson had already passed my strenuous though subjective Matthew Cuthbert test, so I wondered, would Lucas Jade […]

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  4. Review of “Anne” Episode 4: Fire-Haired Dreamer says:
    April 10, 2017 at 5:21 pm

    […] as Lucas Jade Zumann had massive shoes to fill (the late, great Jonathan Crombie, no less, whose “eulogy” crashed my site almost two years ago at the time of his death at 48), this was pretty […]

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