Editing Ian Carmichael (section)

===Wooster and Wimsey, 1962–1979===
[[File:Jeeves in the Springtime 01.jpg|thumb|upright=1|alt=Bertie sits smoking a cigarette; Jeeves stands looking on|Carmichael played [[Bertie Wooster]] in ''[[The World of Wooster]]'' between 1965 and 1967]]
Tastes in film changed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with the [[British New Wave|new wave of British films]] moving away from plots centred on the [[upper class]]es and [[The_Establishment#United_Kingdom|the establishment]], to works such as ''[[Look Back in Anger (1959 film)|Look Back in Anger]]'', ''[[Room at the Top (1959 film)|Room at the Top]]'' (both 1959), ''[[Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (film)|Saturday Night and Sunday Morning]]'' (1960) and ''[[The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (film)|The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner]]'' (1962), where [[working class]] drama came to the fore.{{sfn|Wickham|2014}}{{sfn|Harper|Porter|2003|p=267}} One of the effects of the new movement was a downturn in the number of films that wanted a character like those normally played by Carmichael.{{sfn|Jennings|2014}}{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|pp=170–172}} He was still being offered some film roles, but all, he said, "were variations on the same old bumbling, accident-prone clot" with which he was becoming increasingly bored.{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|p=323}}

In August 1964 the BBC approached Carmichael to discuss the possibility of his taking the role of [[Bertie Wooster]]—described by Fairclough as "the misadventuring, 1920s upper-class loafer"—for adaptations of the works of [[P. G. Wodehouse]]. He turned it down, as he had agreed to appear on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], taking the lead in a production of the [[farce]] ''[[Boeing-Boeing (play)|Boeing-Boeing]]''.{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|pp=180, 189, 196}} He appeared at the [[James Earl Jones Theatre|Cort Theatre]] in February 1965, but the run ended after 23 performances, as the farce was not to the taste of New York audiences. Carmichael was delighted by the early close, as he hated his time in the US and said "I found New York a disturbing, violent city and I disliked it instantly". As soon as he heard the production was to close, he sent a telegram to the BBC to note his availability to play Wooster.{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|pp=335–337}}{{sfn|Weber|2010|p=B17}} Carmichael negotiated a fee of 500 [[Guinea (coin)|guineas]] (£525) per half-hour episode, and assisted in finding the right person for [[Jeeves]], eventually selecting [[Dennis Price]].{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|pp=199–200}}{{efn|According to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation, 500 guineas in 1965 is approximately £{{Inflation|UK|525|1965|cursign=£|fmt=c|r=-1}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}, according to calculations based on [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}}

The first series of ''[[The World of Wooster]]'' received the [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|Guild of Television Producers and Directors]] award for [[British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy (Programme or Series)|best comedy series production of 1965]],{{sfn|"Best Comedy Series in 1965". ''BAFTA Awards''}} and the programme ran for three series, broadcast between May 1965 and November 1967, comprising twenty episodes in total.{{sfn|Brooke|2014b}} Reviews for Carmichael were positive,{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=204}} with a reviewer in ''The Times'' declaring "''The World of Wooster'' is also a triumph of casting, for Ian Carmichael and Dennis Price are perfect impersonators of two characters who are by no means lay-figures&nbsp;... They are a priceless pair."{{sfn|"New Lease of Life for the Short Story". ''The Times''}} A different reviewer pointed out one drawback of the 44-year-old Carmichael's performance: "If we have thought of Bertie Wooster as eternally 22, not far in time from enjoyably wasted university days, Mr. Ian Carmichael opposes our view with a Bertie who is older but hopefully fixed in an inescapable mental youth."{{sfn|"A Jeeves to Fit the Picture". ''The Times''}} The best review, as far as Carmichael and the producer [[Michael Mills (British producer)|Michael Mills]] were concerned, was from Wodehouse, who sent a telegram to the BBC:

<blockquote>To the producer and cast of the Jeeves sketches.<br>
Thank you all for the perfectly wonderful performances. I am simply delighted with it. Bertie and Jeeves are just as I have always imagined them, and every part is played just right.<br>
Bless you!<br>
P. G. Wodehouse{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|p=204}}</blockquote>

Wodehouse later reconsidered his opinion and thought Carmichael overacted in the role.{{sfn|Taves|2006|p=114}} Only one of the episodes remains: the others were wiped to reuse the expensive videotape.{{sfn|Taves|2006|p=117}}

In September 1970 Carmichael was the lead role in ''[[Bachelor Father (British TV series)|Bachelor Father]]'', a sitcom loosely based on the true story of a single man who fostered twelve children. There were two series—one in 1970, one the following year—and a total of 22 episodes; he negotiated a salary of £1,500 per episode, making him the best-paid actor at the BBC.{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|pp=214, 220–223}}{{efn|According to calculations based on the [[Consumer Price Index (United Kingdom)|Consumer Price Index]] measure of inflation, £1,500 in 1970 is approximately £{{Inflation|UK|1500|1970|cursign=£|fmt=c|r=-1}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}.{{sfn|Clark|2023}}}} The media historian [[Mark Lewisohn]] thought that the programme, "although ostensibly a middle-of-the-road family sitcom of no great ambition, came over as a polished and professional piece of work that pleased audiences over two extended series".{{sfn|Lewisohn|1998|p=53}}

Carmichael was one of the driving forces behind the BBC's decision to adapt [[Dorothy L. Sayers]]'s [[Lord Peter Wimsey]] stories for television. He first had the idea of appearing as Wimsey in 1966, but various factors—including financing, Carmichael's association with Bertie Wooster in the public's eye and difficulty obtaining the rights—delayed the project. By January 1971, however, they were able to start filming the first programme, ''[[Clouds of Witness]]'', which was broadcast in 1972 in five parts. This was followed by ''[[The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club]]'', ''[[Murder Must Advertise]]'', ''[[The Nine Tailors]]'' and  ''[[The Five Red Herrings]]'' between February 1973 and August 1975.{{sfn|Fairclough|2011|pp=236, 238–256}}{{sfn|Carmichael|1979|pp=379–382}} Richard Last, writing in ''The Daily Telegraph'' thought Carmichael was "an inspired piece of casting.&nbsp;... he has exactly the right outward touch of aristocratic frivolity but more than the ability to suggest the steel underneath".{{sfn|Last|1972|p=12}} [[Clive James]], reviewing for ''[[The Observer]]'', described Carmichael as "an extremely clever actor", and thought he was "turning in one of those thespian efforts which seem easy at the time but which in retrospect are found to have been the ideal embodiment of the written character".{{sfn|James|1973|p=34}} Carmichael went on to play Wimsey on [[BBC Radio 4]], recording nine adaptations with [[Peter Jones (actor)|Peter Jones]] as [[Mervyn Bunter]], Wimsey's [[valet]].{{sfn|"Search: Wimsey". ''BBC Genome''}}

In 1979 Carmichael appeared in ''[[The Lady Vanishes (1979 film)|The Lady Vanishes]]'', which starred [[Elliott Gould]] and [[Cybill Shepherd]]; the film was a remake of [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s [[The Lady Vanishes|1938 film of the same name]]. Carmichael appeared as [[Charters and Caldicott|Caldicott]] alongside [[Arthur Lowe]]'s character [[Charters and Caldicott|Charters]], two cricket-obsessed English gentlemen; the roles were played in the original by [[Naunton Wayne]] and [[Basil Radford]]. The journalist Patrick Humphries, while describing the film as "lamentable", thought that only Carmichael and Lowe "emerge with any credibility".{{sfn|Humphries|1986|p=52}}{{sfn|Maxford|2002|p=59}} Carmichael was interviewed on ''Desert Island Discs'' for a second time in June 1979.{{sfn|"BBC Radio 4 – Desert Island Discs: Ian Carmichael (1979)". BBC}}{{efn|His selection was [[Gustav Holst]], ''[[The Planets]]''; Orchestra of the [[Royal Opera House]], the theme from ''[[Murder on the Orient Express (1974 film)|Murder on the Orient Express]]''; [[Aram Khachaturian]], Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from ''[[Spartacus (ballet)|Spartacus]]''; [[Jimmy Dorsey]] and his orchestra, "[[On the Alamo]]"; [[Neal Hefti]], the theme from the film ''[[Boeing Boeing (1965 film)|Boeing, Boeing]]''; [[Nino Castelnuovo]] and [[Ellen Farner]], the duet of Guy and Madeleine from ''[[The Umbrellas of Cherbourg]]''; and [[Count Basie and His Orchestra]], ''Doin' Basie's Thing''. His book choice was [[Leo Tolstoy]]'s ''[[War and Peace]]'' and his luxury item was paper and pencils.{{sfn|"BBC Radio 4 – Desert Island Discs: Ian Carmichael (1979)". BBC}}}}