The Famous faces of Clan Carmichael

Sir John de Carmichael of Meadowflat was the son of the 2nd Baron of Carmichael, William Carmychel, who was the first to build a castle upon the Carmichael estate. Sir John grew up to be a knight and was a part of the Scottish mercenary service sent to aid the French forces in the 100-Year War. In March 1421 during the English invasion of France, the French army was in disarray until the brave and strategic actions of Sir John. Sir John engaged the Duke of Clarence, the brother of King Henry V of England, at the Battle of Bauge, toppling him from his horse during the battle and resulting in his death. With their commander dead, the English army fell into disarray, leading to the Scottish and French victory. For these powerful actions during the battle, the French named him the Bishop of Orleans. A well deserved title we think!

Franklin Carmichael was an original member of the Group of Seven, otherwise known as the Algonquin School, who were a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933. Franklin Carmichael was born on the 4th of May 1890 in Orillia, Ontario, and if you visit the town today the Orillia Museum is hosting an exhibition of his fabulous work. His interest in art was evident from a young age with his mother enrolling him in both music and art lessons throughout his childhood. He continued these studies at the Ontario College of Art and latterly at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Belgium. Due to the outbreak of WW1, Carmichael was forced to return home to Canada. When he returned, he was struggling to find inspiration within the “savage” landscape of Canada compared to the lands of Europe. This led to Carmichael opting to use watercolour rather than his usual oil paints. He used watercolour consistently from this point onwards, painting some of his most famous works using this method. This new form of landscape art led to the Group of Seven who unilaterally strove to give visual form to spiritual value. The group all went on to enjoy great success until on the 24th of October 1945, Carmichael died in his home country of Canada.

Peter Carmichael, the 4th of Balmedie, and son of James Carmichael played a major part in the Scottish reformation. The murder of James Beaton in October 1546 was one of the starting points of the Scottish Reformation, which was led by John Knox and George Wishart. On the 29th of May 1546, a party of sixteen men approached St Andrews castle. They waited for the first shift of masons and builders to begin work on the castle fortifications. When this happened William Kirkcaldy, the Laird of Grange, approached a sentry and asked if the Cardinal was yet awake. The man became suspicious and was stabbed and tossed into the moat. Gruesome stuff! The alarm within the town was set and Beaton barricaded himself within his quarters. The conspirators then threatened to burn the door down and Beaton subsequently allowed them in. Beaton allegedly cried, 'I am a priest, fye, fye' before John Leslie and Peter Carmichael stabbed him to death. The conspirators were then arrested, and the leader George Wishart was willingly burnt alive. Despite Wishart dying Peter Carmichael and other conspirators cunningly escaped dressed as doctors. Carmichael later died in 1556 at his home in Balmedie, Scotland.

Ian Carmichael was an English actor who worked on stage, screen and radio in a career spanning 70 years. He was born on the 18th of June 1920 to Arthur and Kate Carmichael. Ian was always interested in acting during his childhood and he even received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After his first major role in “Julius Caesar,” he gave up acting and went to join the war effort. He served in Europe for many years with the Royal Armoured Corps as a commissioned officer in the 22nd Dragoons. When he returned from war, he began to act again but fame was hard won and it took until the 50s and 60s for his career to take off. Ian then landed the role in the comedy movies of Private's Progress (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). These roles brought him to stardom and from here he had an illustrious career in entertainment. To cap his career off, he was honoured with an OBE in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Hoagy is an American composer, singer, self-taught pianist, and actor who wrote several of the most highly regarded popular standards in American music. Carmichael composed the music for “Stardust,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “The Nearness of You,” and “Heart and Soul”, four of the most-recorded American songs of all time. Hoagy was also critically acclaimed with him earning an Academy Award nomination in 1947 for “Ole Buttermilk Sky,” and winning an Oscar five years later for “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening”. Hoagy Carmichael died on the 27th of December 1981 and was later inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.