Ian Carmichael

Active - 1949 - 1989  |   Born - Jun 18, 1920 in East Yorkshire, England  |   Died - Feb 5, 2010   |   Genres - Comedy, Drama, Romance

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Biography by AllMovie

Preparing for a stage career at Scarborough College and RADA, Ian Carmichael made his first theatrical appearance as a non-speaking robot in a 1939 London production of RUR. Beginning with 1940's Nine Sharp, Carmichael spent well over a decade polishing his comic skills in various musical revues, bearing such titles as What Goes On? and At the Lyric. In films from 1948, he hit his stride in the British comedies of the mid- to late '50s, playing Candide-like bumblers in such droll endeavors as Private's Progress (1955), Lucky Jim (1957), The Brothers in Law (1958), I'm All Right Jack (1959), and School for Scoundrels (1960). On television, Carmichael specialized in such fey upper-class types as P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster and Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey; he also served as director on such productions as Mr. Pastry's Progress, It's a Small World, and We Beg to Differ. In 1979, he published his open-ended autobiography, Will the Real Ian Carmichael.... Carmichael died at age 89 in February 2010.

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Factsheet

  • Made his debut on the stage in 1939 playing a robot at the People's Palace in Mile End, East London.
  • Put his acting career on hold to serve during WWII with the Royal Armoured Corps as a commissioned officer in the 22nd Dragoons.
  • Earned the rank of major while serving in WWII, before returning home in 1947.
  • Published his autobiography Will The Real Ian Carmichael... in 1979.
  • In the 2003 Queen’s Honours List, he was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his work in drama.