Veteran British actor and School for Scoundrels star Ian Carmichael OBE has died at the age of 89.

The star of film and television died peacefully at his Esk Valley home, on the North York Moors, yesterday.

His second wife Kate Carmichael, 55, today confirmed his death, saying that he had fallen ill over the Christmas holidays.

Carmichael’s career covered seven decades, including a series of classic British comedy films in the 1950s and the role of PG Woodhouse’s Bertie Wooster on television in the 1960s.

His most recent appearances were the in popular ITV dramas Heartbeat and The Royal, last year.

Carmichael was born in Hull in 1922 and trained at the RADA drama school before serving the Royal Armoured Corps, as a commissioned officer in the 22nd Dragoons, during World War Two.

After the war he took up acting again and earned his first big role in 1954 film Betrayed, starring Clark Gable and Lana Turner.

He went to appear in a series of Boulting Brothers satires including Private’s Progress (1956), Brothers in Law (1957) and I’m All Right Jack (1959), as well as the classic Terry Thomas film School for Scoundrels (1960).

During the 1960s and 1970s, he moved into television, playing the hapless Bertie Wooster in The World of Wooster and Lord Peter Wimsey in several drama series based on the mystery novels by Dorothy L Sayers.

Carmichael wrote an autobiography, Will The Real Ian Carmichael. . . (please stand up) in 1979 and was appointed an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2003.

He had two daughters, Lee and Sally, with his first wife Pym McLean, who died in 1983.

His last role was as T. J. Middleditch in The Royal in which he appeared from 2007 to 2009.

Typical democrat.   Raise taxes in a bad economy.  Like the buffoon that he is,  Governor Bill Ritter is going to punish the poor to benefit the rich people of Colorado.   The age old question that no one seems to ask,  is how is this punishing the poor?

The answer can be found in the Socialist handbook of France,  whereas,   which group of people consume the most soda,  beer and snack food in America?    THE POOR !!!!    Who smokes the most cigarettes in America?   THE POOR !!!!   Who uses public education that Governor Ritter just cut spending to?    THE POOR!!!

Wealthy people send their kids to private schools.   Next election cycle,  when the liberal democrats run for office,   I would hope that the dopey saps that live up in Boulder and Denver,  which I have been told are Colorado’s equivalent of San Francisco out here is California when it comes to politics, would vote republican.   JD

NY Times Article below

DENVER (AP) — Facing an expected $1 billion shortfall in next year’s budget, Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. is proposing that education spending be cut by $260 million and that Colorado bring in an additional $132 million by charging sales tax on candy and soft drinks as well as online sales.

Under a plan submitted to state lawmakers on Friday, some business-specific tax breaks would also be eliminated or suspended, including a sales tax exemption on agricultural compounds and bull semen, which would be worth $1.5 million a year. Mr. Ritter, a Democrat, also proposed limiting conservation easement credits for three years, raising $13 million annually.

State workers would also take home less money in a move intended to avoid more furloughs. State workers would pick up the state’s share of their pension contribution — 2.5 percent of their salary — for a year to save $20.1 million.

State colleges and universities would receive $56 million less next year but would be given the power to increase tuition by up to 9 percent.

Mr. Ritter said that the budget was fair and that it spread the pain among a variety of groups.

“We are asking everyone to share in this sacrifice,” he said.

His proposal is for the budget year that begins in July, and it still has a long way to go. This week, Mr. Ritter plans to make his case to members of the Joint Budget Committee. Those lawmakers actually write the budget that will be submitted and debated in the Legislature next year, and they can adopt or disregard parts of Mr. Ritter’s proposal.

State Representative Kent Lambert, a Republican committee member, said voters should be asked to weigh in on any tax changes because the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires all new taxes be put to a vote.

The Democrats who control the Legislature, meanwhile, have maintained that they have the right to change existing tax policy, just not impose new taxes, under a recent Colorado Supreme Court ruling.