Sharon Acker, the Canadian actress who portrayed Lee Marvin’s unfaithful wife in the 1967 neo-noir classic Point Blank and the right-hand woman Della Street opposite Monte Markham on a rebooted Perry Mason in the 1970s, has died. She was 87.
Acker died March 16 in a retirement home in her native Toronto, her daughter Kim Everest, a casting director, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Star Trek fans know Acker for her January 1969 turn as Odona, a desperate woman from an overpopulated planet, on the third-season episode “The Mark of Gideon.”
She also starred on a 1976-77 CBS adaptation of Executive Suite, playing the wife of Mitchell Ryan‘s Dan Walling. (Acker and Ryan assumed the parts performed by William Holden and June Allyson in the 1954 MGM film directed by Robert Wise.)
In John Boorman’s Point Blank, Acker’s character takes up with John Vernon’s Mal Reese after he shoots Walker (Marvin...
Acker died March 16 in a retirement home in her native Toronto, her daughter Kim Everest, a casting director, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Star Trek fans know Acker for her January 1969 turn as Odona, a desperate woman from an overpopulated planet, on the third-season episode “The Mark of Gideon.”
She also starred on a 1976-77 CBS adaptation of Executive Suite, playing the wife of Mitchell Ryan‘s Dan Walling. (Acker and Ryan assumed the parts performed by William Holden and June Allyson in the 1954 MGM film directed by Robert Wise.)
In John Boorman’s Point Blank, Acker’s character takes up with John Vernon’s Mal Reese after he shoots Walker (Marvin...
- 4/1/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Staring down his prey with sunken eyes and a sinister smile, Alastair Sim was the fiend Charles Addams never got around to drawing. Sim was a quick-change artist who didn’t need makeup to transform from a grasping monster into your favorite uncle – it’s why he remains the greatest interpreter of Ebenezer Scrooge. Whether playing a cold-blooded assassin in The Green Man or a kindly army chaplain in Folly to be Wise he understood as well as anyone why the masks of tragedy and comedy are intertwined.
Sim is one of those figures who’s been consigned to the history books for decades. But by releasing a Blu ray set of the great man’s comedies in 2020, Film Movement Classics, like Scrooge, hasn’t lost their senses – they’ve come to them.
Alastair Sim’s School for Laughter
Blu ray
Film Movement Classics
1954, ’60, ’51, ’47 / 1.67:1, 1.37:1 / 86, 97, 93, 82 min.
Starring Alastair Sim,...
Sim is one of those figures who’s been consigned to the history books for decades. But by releasing a Blu ray set of the great man’s comedies in 2020, Film Movement Classics, like Scrooge, hasn’t lost their senses – they’ve come to them.
Alastair Sim’s School for Laughter
Blu ray
Film Movement Classics
1954, ’60, ’51, ’47 / 1.67:1, 1.37:1 / 86, 97, 93, 82 min.
Starring Alastair Sim,...
- 4/25/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Peter Cushing in From Beyond The Grave (1974) is now Available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives
Bolt the door, lower the lights and settle in for a stylish five-episode supernatural shocker possessed of a shivery all-star cast and drenched in evil. Welcome to Temptations Ltd., a decrepit antique shop whose unwary customers get more than they bargain for from the wily proprietor (Peter Cushing). Much more. Go to the head of the horror class if you can predict who’ll join the ranks of the doomed from among this role call of distinguished British actors: Ian Bannen, Ian Carmichael, Diana Dors, Lesley-Anne Down, Margaret Leighton, Donald Pleasence, Nyree Dawn Porter, David Warner and more. A mirror. A medal. A snuff box. An ornate door. All unleash novelty surprises for the characters – and you – in these wickedly horrific tales From Beyond the Grave.
Amicus Productions classic horror portmanteau makes its Blu-ray disc...
Bolt the door, lower the lights and settle in for a stylish five-episode supernatural shocker possessed of a shivery all-star cast and drenched in evil. Welcome to Temptations Ltd., a decrepit antique shop whose unwary customers get more than they bargain for from the wily proprietor (Peter Cushing). Much more. Go to the head of the horror class if you can predict who’ll join the ranks of the doomed from among this role call of distinguished British actors: Ian Bannen, Ian Carmichael, Diana Dors, Lesley-Anne Down, Margaret Leighton, Donald Pleasence, Nyree Dawn Porter, David Warner and more. A mirror. A medal. A snuff box. An ornate door. All unleash novelty surprises for the characters – and you – in these wickedly horrific tales From Beyond the Grave.
Amicus Productions classic horror portmanteau makes its Blu-ray disc...
- 10/27/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
With October officially in full swing, we have a new crop of horror and sci-fi home media offerings coming out this week which would all make for some prime Halloween season viewings. Warner Bros. is bringing everyone’s favorite demonic doll to both Blu-ray and DVD for Annabelle Comes Home, Rlje Films is releasing the psychological thriller Gwen on Blu and DVD too, and for those of you still looking to bask in the brightly lit horrors of Ari Aster’s imagination, Midsommar hits both formats on Tuesday as well.
We also have a ton of older titles being released this week, From Beyond the Grave, My Boyfriend’s Back, Hercules in the Haunted World, and for those looking to upgrade some recent horror hits, both Jordan Peele’s Us and Get Out hit 4k for a double feature set from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Other titles arriving on October 8th include Ruin Me,...
We also have a ton of older titles being released this week, From Beyond the Grave, My Boyfriend’s Back, Hercules in the Haunted World, and for those looking to upgrade some recent horror hits, both Jordan Peele’s Us and Get Out hit 4k for a double feature set from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Other titles arriving on October 8th include Ruin Me,...
- 10/7/2019
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Stage and screen actor known for playing battle-axe aunts, village gossips and servants
When Mel Brooks visited the film set of Up at the Villa (2000), in which his wife, Anne Bancroft, was starring, he proclaimed Barbara Hicks, who has died aged 89, the funniest woman he had ever met. This stalwart character actor, always lodged some way down any cast list as if to prove the truth of Stanislavski's dictum that there are no small parts, only small actors, was a fund of stories, many of them unprintable. And Hicks, though slight of build, with a long face and asymmetrical features, was certainly not a small actor.
As another admirer, Alan Bennett, once told her wistfully: "When you go, Barbara, there'll be a terrible hole in Spotlight." And so there is, for since first appearing on television in 1962 playing Miss Print, a comedy sidekick to Richard Hearne's popular Mr Pastry,...
When Mel Brooks visited the film set of Up at the Villa (2000), in which his wife, Anne Bancroft, was starring, he proclaimed Barbara Hicks, who has died aged 89, the funniest woman he had ever met. This stalwart character actor, always lodged some way down any cast list as if to prove the truth of Stanislavski's dictum that there are no small parts, only small actors, was a fund of stories, many of them unprintable. And Hicks, though slight of build, with a long face and asymmetrical features, was certainly not a small actor.
As another admirer, Alan Bennett, once told her wistfully: "When you go, Barbara, there'll be a terrible hole in Spotlight." And so there is, for since first appearing on television in 1962 playing Miss Print, a comedy sidekick to Richard Hearne's popular Mr Pastry,...
- 11/7/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
In the 1940s and 50s, the Boulting brothers won over filmgoers and critics with a series of classics – from Brighton Rock to Private's Progress. As the BFI begins a retrospective, Michael Newton explores their version of Britain
The history of the Boulting brothers is the history of British cinema in miniature. The brilliance, the comforts and the disappointments are all there. In the 1940s, they take off from documentary realism to reach the heights of noir extravagance, before falling back into a gently unexciting worthiness. At the start of the 1950s they produce two fascinating oddities, characteristic of the oddity of the times. Later that decade, they turn to cosily satirical farce, the products of an exasperated, grump. The 1960s see them trying to get with it and making a middle-aged effort to "swing", but also creating one work that finds a vulnerable, extraordinary beauty in ordinary lives. And after that comes a petering out,...
The history of the Boulting brothers is the history of British cinema in miniature. The brilliance, the comforts and the disappointments are all there. In the 1940s, they take off from documentary realism to reach the heights of noir extravagance, before falling back into a gently unexciting worthiness. At the start of the 1950s they produce two fascinating oddities, characteristic of the oddity of the times. Later that decade, they turn to cosily satirical farce, the products of an exasperated, grump. The 1960s see them trying to get with it and making a middle-aged effort to "swing", but also creating one work that finds a vulnerable, extraordinary beauty in ordinary lives. And after that comes a petering out,...
- 7/26/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Lord Peter Wimsey solved his first murder in 1923, made his debut on live television in 1947 and his television series debut on Masterpiece Theatre in 1972, and has just bounded into the 21st century in an Acorn Media DVD of that 1972-1975 television series starring Ian Carmichael. Dorothy L. Sayers wrote 11 novels and several short stories starring the First World War-wounded aristocrat, first class cricketer, and elegant pianist with lingering shell shock and a taste for cocktails. Sayers once described Lord Peter as a mixture of Fred Astaire and Bertie Wooster, the blissfully unaware protagonist of a series of comic novels who has to be guided through life by his butler, Jeeves. Although Wimsey calls himself “an ass” quite often, Bunter, his valvet, doesn’t need to point him in the right direction, although Bunter does save his life several times, including pulling him out of a bog in the first DVD episode,...
- 5/5/2013
- by Aljean Harmetz
- Thompson on Hollywood
Timothy Spall in The Syndicate. BBC
Kieran Kinsella
The Syndicate Series 1
The Syndicate, Series One is the pick of Acorn Media’s late April DVD releases. The show is a fascinating character study involving the mundane staff members of a humdrum low-end British supermarket. In the normal course of events, there is nothing particularly intriguing about this group but that all changes when they win the national lottery. When millions of pounds are involved, personal relationships, work rivalries and previously undetected misdeeds suddenly become a lot more important. While the show doesn’t exactly portray the lottery as a bad thing, let’s just say that Kay Mellor’s scripts show us that every silver lining has a massive dark cloud attached to it.
The cast for The Syndicate is top notch and the biggest star among the talented ensemble is Harry Potter actor Timothy Spall. He plays the store manager Bob.
Kieran Kinsella
The Syndicate Series 1
The Syndicate, Series One is the pick of Acorn Media’s late April DVD releases. The show is a fascinating character study involving the mundane staff members of a humdrum low-end British supermarket. In the normal course of events, there is nothing particularly intriguing about this group but that all changes when they win the national lottery. When millions of pounds are involved, personal relationships, work rivalries and previously undetected misdeeds suddenly become a lot more important. While the show doesn’t exactly portray the lottery as a bad thing, let’s just say that Kay Mellor’s scripts show us that every silver lining has a massive dark cloud attached to it.
The cast for The Syndicate is top notch and the biggest star among the talented ensemble is Harry Potter actor Timothy Spall. He plays the store manager Bob.
- 4/30/2013
- by Edited by K Kinsella
The novelist relishes Hitch's prewar comedy adapted by Gilliat and Launder because it both satirises and celebrates the English stiff upper lip
It might not be his best film, but Hitchcock never made anything warmer or more lovable than this. I must have seen it 20 or 30 times and can't imagine ever growing tired of it.
Kudos to his collaborators, first of all. Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat's screenplay is sharper than anything written for Hitchcock's other British films (or his American films, come to that – except possibly for North by Northwest) and you could make a strong case for regarding it as a Launder and Gilliat film rather than a Hitchcock one, if authorship has to be decided. That sometimes endearing indifference to nuances of dialogue and characterisation that marks even some of Hitchcock's best films is nowhere to be found here: the edgy banter between Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood really sparkles.
It might not be his best film, but Hitchcock never made anything warmer or more lovable than this. I must have seen it 20 or 30 times and can't imagine ever growing tired of it.
Kudos to his collaborators, first of all. Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat's screenplay is sharper than anything written for Hitchcock's other British films (or his American films, come to that – except possibly for North by Northwest) and you could make a strong case for regarding it as a Launder and Gilliat film rather than a Hitchcock one, if authorship has to be decided. That sometimes endearing indifference to nuances of dialogue and characterisation that marks even some of Hitchcock's best films is nowhere to be found here: the edgy banter between Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood really sparkles.
- 6/16/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
Sketches at ateliers, private fittings at Buckingham Palace - it's all in a days work for the Queen's loyal team of couturiers. So what's it really like dressing the ultimate British style icon? "It's kind of old-hat now," Stewart Parvin tells People about his 11-year stint as the Queen's dressmaker. "She is possibly the most charming woman you could ever meet, and she has this amazing ability to put you at ease." Rachel Trevor-Morgan, who has made more than 60 hats for Her Majesty since taking over from milliner Frederick Fox in 2006, couldn't agree more. "She can be very chatty at fittings.
- 6/6/2012
- by Monique Jessen
- PEOPLE.com
Cinema Retro has received the following press release:
The leading ‘Best British TV’ streaming service Acorn TV is now streaming full seasons of several popular British mystery and drama series, along with two critically acclaimed Canadian series. This week Acorn TV also has a special Memorial Day Weekend Midsomer Marathon with the first 22 episodes of its best-selling series,Midsomer Murders, and the U.S. debut of John Nettles final episodes.
Acorn TV is currently streaming a full season of Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect; the final seasons of the universally acclaimed Canadian dramedy Slings & ARROWSand Derek Jacobi’s mystery series Cadfael; the U.S. debut of the newest season of Murdoch Mysteries; Lynda La Plante’s Trial & Retribution; John Mortimer’s Under The Hammer; the final episodes of WWII drama Wish Me Luck; Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter) in Pie In The Sky; and John Nettles final episodes with Midsomer Murders,...
The leading ‘Best British TV’ streaming service Acorn TV is now streaming full seasons of several popular British mystery and drama series, along with two critically acclaimed Canadian series. This week Acorn TV also has a special Memorial Day Weekend Midsomer Marathon with the first 22 episodes of its best-selling series,Midsomer Murders, and the U.S. debut of John Nettles final episodes.
Acorn TV is currently streaming a full season of Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect; the final seasons of the universally acclaimed Canadian dramedy Slings & ARROWSand Derek Jacobi’s mystery series Cadfael; the U.S. debut of the newest season of Murdoch Mysteries; Lynda La Plante’s Trial & Retribution; John Mortimer’s Under The Hammer; the final episodes of WWII drama Wish Me Luck; Richard Griffiths (Harry Potter) in Pie In The Sky; and John Nettles final episodes with Midsomer Murders,...
- 5/24/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Shrewd film producer behind School for Scoundrels and Night of the Demon
Hal E Chester, who has died aged 91, was a juvenile actor, then a producer of low-budget movies in Hollywood, before he moved in 1955 to Britain, where he set up his own production company to take advantage of the lower costs of filming. Over the next 15 years he turned out a wide range of pictures, which often featured American stars such as Mickey Rooney, Dana Andrews, Yul Brynner and Paul Newman. For a period he specialised in British comedies. The first and best of these was School for Scoundrels (1960), loosely based on the popular Gamesmanship books of Stephen Potter. The impressive cast included Alastair Sim, Terry-Thomas and Dennis Price, with Ian Carmichael as the intrepid hero trying to impress Janette Scott.
Small, dynamic and fast-talking, Chester was perhaps a typical example of the shrewd and ambitious Hollywood producer. He...
Hal E Chester, who has died aged 91, was a juvenile actor, then a producer of low-budget movies in Hollywood, before he moved in 1955 to Britain, where he set up his own production company to take advantage of the lower costs of filming. Over the next 15 years he turned out a wide range of pictures, which often featured American stars such as Mickey Rooney, Dana Andrews, Yul Brynner and Paul Newman. For a period he specialised in British comedies. The first and best of these was School for Scoundrels (1960), loosely based on the popular Gamesmanship books of Stephen Potter. The impressive cast included Alastair Sim, Terry-Thomas and Dennis Price, with Ian Carmichael as the intrepid hero trying to impress Janette Scott.
Small, dynamic and fast-talking, Chester was perhaps a typical example of the shrewd and ambitious Hollywood producer. He...
- 4/16/2012
- by Joel Finler
- The Guardian - Film News
It might be the accent, or maybe just his grandfatherly nature, but I don’t know if I’ve been so effortlessly charmed by someone as Terence Davies, the writer/director of the new release The Deep Blue Sea. Come to think of it, it could have been the answers to these questions, as it seems many of the ones I posited were…off the mark. But the Liverpudlian gave patient, calculated responses to all, amidst being shuffled room to room, TV interview to roundtable session, with grace. Have I mentioned I liked the man yet?
We discuss how no one in Jane Austen’s time went to the bathroom, no one in the 1950s could have possibly procreated, when the happiest points of Mr. Davies life were, the sensuality (not erotica) that skin has, and how he learned what true love is and how that affected this film. The...
We discuss how no one in Jane Austen’s time went to the bathroom, no one in the 1950s could have possibly procreated, when the happiest points of Mr. Davies life were, the sensuality (not erotica) that skin has, and how he learned what true love is and how that affected this film. The...
- 3/23/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
'I had Ricky in mind for this role from the inception of the project,' says director behind new take on Kenneth Grahame's classic
Ricky Gervais is to voice the character of Mole in a new live-action/animatronic version of The Wind in the Willows. Directed by Ray Griggs, whose previous credits include a superhero comedy called Super Capers and a documentary titled I Want Your Money (both unreleased in the UK), the latest adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's pastoral classic will be penned by Bill Marsilii, who wrote time-travelling crime-solving Denzel Washington vehicle Deja Vu.
"It's a natural fit to have an iconic British actor star in an iconic British tale," Griggs said. "I had Ricky in mind for this role from the inception of this project." Mole is the peaceable home-lover whose boredom with his spring cleaning triggers an adventure with Badger, Ratty and Toad. Other casting has yet to be announced.
Ricky Gervais is to voice the character of Mole in a new live-action/animatronic version of The Wind in the Willows. Directed by Ray Griggs, whose previous credits include a superhero comedy called Super Capers and a documentary titled I Want Your Money (both unreleased in the UK), the latest adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's pastoral classic will be penned by Bill Marsilii, who wrote time-travelling crime-solving Denzel Washington vehicle Deja Vu.
"It's a natural fit to have an iconic British actor star in an iconic British tale," Griggs said. "I had Ricky in mind for this role from the inception of this project." Mole is the peaceable home-lover whose boredom with his spring cleaning triggers an adventure with Badger, Ratty and Toad. Other casting has yet to be announced.
- 1/7/2011
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
DVD Playhouse—August 2010
By
Allen Gardner
Black Orpheus (Criterion) Winner of the 1959 Best Foreign Film Oscar and that same year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes, Black Orpheus is a modern-day update of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice reset in 20th century Brazil during Carnival in Rio. Director Marcel Camus offers up a visual feast with some of the decade’s most ravishing color cinematography. A classic. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Archival interviews with Camus and actress Marpessa Dawn; Interviews with Brazilian cinema scholar Robert Stam, jazz historian Gary Giddins, and Brazilian author Ruy Castro; Documentary on the film; Trailer. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
The Last Song (Touchstone) Sentimental adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ (by Sparks and Jeff Van Wie) sentimental novel about a father and daughter attempting to repair their damaged relationship. Greg Kinnear, as the dad in question, comes off best, while tween sensation Miley Cyrus...
By
Allen Gardner
Black Orpheus (Criterion) Winner of the 1959 Best Foreign Film Oscar and that same year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes, Black Orpheus is a modern-day update of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice reset in 20th century Brazil during Carnival in Rio. Director Marcel Camus offers up a visual feast with some of the decade’s most ravishing color cinematography. A classic. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Archival interviews with Camus and actress Marpessa Dawn; Interviews with Brazilian cinema scholar Robert Stam, jazz historian Gary Giddins, and Brazilian author Ruy Castro; Documentary on the film; Trailer. Full screen. Dolby 1.0 mono.
The Last Song (Touchstone) Sentimental adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ (by Sparks and Jeff Van Wie) sentimental novel about a father and daughter attempting to repair their damaged relationship. Greg Kinnear, as the dad in question, comes off best, while tween sensation Miley Cyrus...
- 8/29/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
For many, Lord Peter Wimsey the sleuth created by author Dorothy Sayers for her detective novels is the representative of life between the two world wars. An intelligent, sensitive, younger son of the nobility, the first war left him with a nervousness and drive that he turns to the pursuit of solving crimes. The recent death of Sir Ian Carmichael makes this a doubly treasured series, as his portrayal of Lord Peter Wimsey is dear to the hearts of many Dorothy Sayers.s fans. Sir Ian.s Lord Peter is good humored, knowledgeable, and enjoys life, but serious about his investigations and bringing criminals to justice. Plagued by the remnants of his war experience, Lord Peter is a flawed hero...
- 4/24/2010
- by June L.
- Monsters and Critics
DVD Playhouse—February 2010
By
Allen Gardner
Hunger (Criterion) Harrowing true story of imprisoned Ira member Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) and his 1981 hunger strike protesting the British government’s refusal to recognize him, and other Ira members as political prisoners. Director Steve McQueen delivers the story with true filmmaking panache, mixing startling imagery that blends both stunning beauty and stomach-churning horror. Fassbender is absolutely brilliant in the lead. Not for the faint-of-heart, but not to be missed or, particularly, ignored. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with McQueen and Fassbender; Short documentary; 1981 episode of BBC series “Panorama” that covers the Ira hunger strike; Trailer. Widescreen. DTS-hd audio on Blu-ray.
Adam (20th Century Fox) Quirky romantic comedy about an eccentric, borderline Asperger’s Syndrome, astronomy buff (Hugh Dancy) who is drawn out of his self-imposed shell by a beautiful and sympathetic neighbor (Rose Byrne). Charming film with engaging performances by the two leads,...
By
Allen Gardner
Hunger (Criterion) Harrowing true story of imprisoned Ira member Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) and his 1981 hunger strike protesting the British government’s refusal to recognize him, and other Ira members as political prisoners. Director Steve McQueen delivers the story with true filmmaking panache, mixing startling imagery that blends both stunning beauty and stomach-churning horror. Fassbender is absolutely brilliant in the lead. Not for the faint-of-heart, but not to be missed or, particularly, ignored. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Interviews with McQueen and Fassbender; Short documentary; 1981 episode of BBC series “Panorama” that covers the Ira hunger strike; Trailer. Widescreen. DTS-hd audio on Blu-ray.
Adam (20th Century Fox) Quirky romantic comedy about an eccentric, borderline Asperger’s Syndrome, astronomy buff (Hugh Dancy) who is drawn out of his self-imposed shell by a beautiful and sympathetic neighbor (Rose Byrne). Charming film with engaging performances by the two leads,...
- 2/15/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
The School for Scoundrels actor Ian Carmichael, who has died aged 89, elevated muddled decency and likability to an art form
Ian Carmichael, who has died at the age of 89, was an actor with an incredible work ethic and appetite for the acting life: he filmed his last episodes of the period TV hospital drama The Royal just last year.
Before he became a TV regular with his performances as Bertie Wooster and Lord Peter Wimsey, he had been established as one of Britain's biggest post-war box office stars with innocent, guileless roles in classic Boulting Brothers films such as Private's Progress (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). My favourite Carmichael film is also one of my favourite British films, and perhaps favourite films full stop. It is that tremendous 1960 comedy School for Scoundrels, the last film by the great, troubled director Robert Hamer (who made Kind Hearts And Coronets).
Based on the Stephen Potter Lifemanship books,...
Ian Carmichael, who has died at the age of 89, was an actor with an incredible work ethic and appetite for the acting life: he filmed his last episodes of the period TV hospital drama The Royal just last year.
Before he became a TV regular with his performances as Bertie Wooster and Lord Peter Wimsey, he had been established as one of Britain's biggest post-war box office stars with innocent, guileless roles in classic Boulting Brothers films such as Private's Progress (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). My favourite Carmichael film is also one of my favourite British films, and perhaps favourite films full stop. It is that tremendous 1960 comedy School for Scoundrels, the last film by the great, troubled director Robert Hamer (who made Kind Hearts And Coronets).
Based on the Stephen Potter Lifemanship books,...
- 2/8/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
British actor Ian Carmichael died on Friday, February 5 at the age of 89. Carmichael passed away at his home in the Esk Valley in North Yorkshire, England after falling ill over Christmas and New Year, according to his wife, novelist Kate Fenton.
The star trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before making a name for himself in film, landing parts in 1954's "Betrayed" with Clark Gable and "The Colditz Story" in 1955. He also performed on TV, including a stint as Bertie Wooster in the U.K. drama "The World of Wooster". Carmichael is survived by Fenton, two daughters, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Ian Carmichael began his acting career at the age of 19, when he hit stage as a robot at the People's Palace in Mile End, East London. His latest appearance was in spin-off "The Royal" where he played T.J. Middleditch, the Hospital secretary.
The star trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before making a name for himself in film, landing parts in 1954's "Betrayed" with Clark Gable and "The Colditz Story" in 1955. He also performed on TV, including a stint as Bertie Wooster in the U.K. drama "The World of Wooster". Carmichael is survived by Fenton, two daughters, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Ian Carmichael began his acting career at the age of 19, when he hit stage as a robot at the People's Palace in Mile End, East London. His latest appearance was in spin-off "The Royal" where he played T.J. Middleditch, the Hospital secretary.
- 2/8/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Actor who brought sympathetic dimensions to the comic twerp Bertie Wooster and the shrewd detective Lord Peter Wimsey
Actor known for his roles as the archetypal blithering Englishman
Playing the archetypal silly ass was the sometimes reluctant business of the stage, film and television actor Ian Carmichael, who has died aged 89. In the public mind he became the best-known postwar example of a characteristic British type - the personally appealing blithering idiot who somehow survives, and sometimes even gets the girl. One of his most characteristic and memorable sorties in this field was his portrayal of Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim – the anti-hero James Dixon, who savaged the pretensions of academia, as Amis had himself sometimes clashed with academia when he was a lecturer at Swansea. Appearing in John and Roy Boulting's 1957 film, he was able to suggest an unruly but amiable spirit at the end of its tether,...
Actor known for his roles as the archetypal blithering Englishman
Playing the archetypal silly ass was the sometimes reluctant business of the stage, film and television actor Ian Carmichael, who has died aged 89. In the public mind he became the best-known postwar example of a characteristic British type - the personally appealing blithering idiot who somehow survives, and sometimes even gets the girl. One of his most characteristic and memorable sorties in this field was his portrayal of Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim – the anti-hero James Dixon, who savaged the pretensions of academia, as Amis had himself sometimes clashed with academia when he was a lecturer at Swansea. Appearing in John and Roy Boulting's 1957 film, he was able to suggest an unruly but amiable spirit at the end of its tether,...
- 2/7/2010
- by Dennis Barker
- The Guardian - Film News
British actor Ian Carmichael died on Friday at the age of 89.
Carmichael passed away at his home in the Esk Valley in North Yorkshire, England after falling ill over Christmas and New Year, according to his wife, novelist Kate Fenton.
The star trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before making a name for himself in film, landing parts in 1954's Betrayed with Clark Gable and The Colditz Story in 1955.
He also performed on TV, including a stint as Bertie Wooster in the U.K. drama The World of Wooster.
Carmichael is survived by Fenton, two daughters, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Carmichael passed away at his home in the Esk Valley in North Yorkshire, England after falling ill over Christmas and New Year, according to his wife, novelist Kate Fenton.
The star trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before making a name for himself in film, landing parts in 1954's Betrayed with Clark Gable and The Colditz Story in 1955.
He also performed on TV, including a stint as Bertie Wooster in the U.K. drama The World of Wooster.
Carmichael is survived by Fenton, two daughters, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
- 2/7/2010
- WENN
Film and TV star, best known for role as Bertie Wooster, dies aged 89
The British actor Ian Carmichael has died at the age of 89.
The star of film and TV from the 1950s to the 1970s fell ill over Christmas and New Year, his wife Kate Carmichael said.
He died peacefully on at his home yesterday in the Esk Valley on the North Yorkshire moors.
Carmichael made his name in films for the Boulting Brothers including Private's Progress (1956), Brothers in Law (1957) and I'm All Right Jack (1959).
During the 1960s and 70s he enjoyed a successful television career, most notably as Bertie Wooster in the BBC drama series The World of Wooster.
Carmichael followed this with another popular role as Lord Peter Wimsey in several of the BBC drama series' based on the mystery novels by Dorothy L Sayers.
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The British actor Ian Carmichael has died at the age of 89.
The star of film and TV from the 1950s to the 1970s fell ill over Christmas and New Year, his wife Kate Carmichael said.
He died peacefully on at his home yesterday in the Esk Valley on the North Yorkshire moors.
Carmichael made his name in films for the Boulting Brothers including Private's Progress (1956), Brothers in Law (1957) and I'm All Right Jack (1959).
During the 1960s and 70s he enjoyed a successful television career, most notably as Bertie Wooster in the BBC drama series The World of Wooster.
Carmichael followed this with another popular role as Lord Peter Wimsey in several of the BBC drama series' based on the mystery novels by Dorothy L Sayers.
The news on TVTelevisionBBCDavid Batty
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited...
- 2/6/2010
- by David Batty
- The Guardian - Film News
Ian Carmichael has died peacefully at his Yorkshire home at the age of 89. The veteran actor, who was well-known for playing the title role in the BBC's World Of Wooster, fell ill over Christmas, his wife told the corporation. Carmichael's film and TV career spanned three decades and included films such as the Boulting Brothers's Private's Progress (1956), Brothers in Law (1957) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). His (more)...
- 2/6/2010
- by By Sarah Rollo
- Digital Spy
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