Canadian actor Jonathan Crombie died on Wednesday night in New York after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 48 ears old . Anne of Green Gables actor Jonathan Crombie died of a brain hemorrhage, aged 48. The actor is best known for his role as Gilbert Blythe in the Canadian television drama film Anne of Green Gables and two sequels. Toronto-born Crombie died on Wednesday in New York, his sister Carrie Crombie told CBC on Saturday. 'He was funny, he was sweet, he loved acting, he loved comedy and singing and dancing. As a little kid, he just loved Broadway shows and all of that kind of stuff and would sing and dance in the living room,' Carrie Crombie said. She said that her brother was always proud of playing Gilbert, the school rival, boyfriend and eventual husband of the leading heroine in Anne of Green Gables. He really enjoyed the series, she said, adding that he was 'very proud of it'. Crombie, who was the son for former Toronto mayor and Canadian Cabinet minister David Crombie, was never screen-tested for the show. He was discovered at 17 when he was performing in a high-school production of The Wizard of Oz, according to E!. 'We met him and he was cast. It was a perfect storm. ... It just all worked perfectly,' Green Gables producer Kevin Sullivan told CBC. He continued: '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 . Crombie was best known for his role as GilbertBlythe in the Canadian television drama film Anne of Green Gables and two sequels . He was discovered as an actor when he was 17 years old in a high-school production of The Wizard of Oz . He was given the role of Gilbert - who was the school rival, boyfriend and eventual husband of Green Gables' leading heroine - without being screen-tested for the role . 'I think there will be hundreds of people who will be floored that this has happened. It's such a devastating tragedy. '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.' Carrie Crombie said that her brother's proudest moment, however, was what came after Green Gables. '[But] I think his proudest part was when he played the lead in The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway. That was just an amazing thing for him to be able to do,' she said. Crombie's organs were donated, and his family plans to take his ashed back to Toronto by bus, because that's how the actor liked to travel. 'We felt that it was an ode to Jonathan. He would never go on a plane, so we're going to make the trek from New York to Toronto on a bus with his ashes,' Carrie Crombie told CBC. Crombie, pictured here at seven years old, was the son of former Toronto Mayor and Canadian Cabinet minister David Crombie (right) After Anne of Green Gables, Crombie went on to star in a Broadway production of The Drowsy Chaperone .
Jonathan Crombie died of a brain hemorrhage on Wednesday in New York . He played Gilbert Blythe in the Anne of Green Gables films . The Toronto actor went on to star in The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway .