Fred & Pat CarmichaelBy Susanne Washburn
Photography by Hubert Schriebl
"I think our wives are seeing too much of each other," says Fred Carmichael, on meeting an acquaintance in Manchester. "It's all about the Dorset Historical Society, isn't it?" replies the interlocutor. "That's what they s-a-y," is Fred's rejoinder. He's a bottomless source of such impromptu lines-this author of forty published plays, most of them in the comedy-mystery genre. He delivers his characteristic banter in the local supermarket, on the Northshire's marble sidewalks, and to Meals On Wheels clients. At a late afternoon reading of verse by an historic Dorset poet, he announces to those assembling in the large circle of chairs: "I want you all to know: We are free for dinner."
Pat, his wife of 55 years, may seem the straight man to his comic antics, but she can deliver a good laugh line just as well. Actress, songstress, stage director (both in Dorset and on tour), she is equally of the essence of theatre. Recalling one early aspect of her career-a stint as a cabaret chanteuse-Fred reports, "I married a nightclub singer." » read more
