Basil Dignam (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor. Basil Dignam was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, West Riding of Yorkshire. Before the acting, he tried many jobs, from a company clerk to a journalist. He acted on film and television between 1948 and 1978. He often appeared as an authority figure, such as Mr Justice Poynter in ''

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

,'' as a police officer, army general or peer. Television appearances include ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

'': ''

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

'' (1967) and ''

The Champions ''The Champions'' is a British espionage thriller/science fiction/occult detective fiction adventure television series. It was produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment production company, and consists of 30 episodes broadcast in the UK on ...

'' (1968), as Sir Frederick in episode 2 "The Invisible Man".

Personal life

He was married to actress

Mona Washbourne Mona Lee Washbourne (27 November 1903 – 15 November 1988) was an English people, English actress of stage, film, and television. Her most critically acclaimed role was in the film ''Stevie (1978 film), Stevie'' (1978), late in her career, for ...

from 1940 until his death in 1979. His brother Mark Dignam was also a professional actor. Basil Dignam died, aged 73, in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, London.

Selected filmography

* '' Maytime in Mayfair'' (1949) – Commissionaire (uncredited) * '' Smart Alec'' (1951) – Defending Counsel * '' Two on the Tiles'' (1951) – Ship's Captain * '' The Lady with a Lamp'' (1951) * '' Appointment with Venus'' (1951) – R.A.M.C. Captain * ''

His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...

'' (1952) – Security Officer * ''

Hammer the Toff ''Hammer the Toff'' is a 1952 British B movie, second feature crime film directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley (actor), John Bentley and Patricia Dainton. The film was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the ...

'' (1952) – Superintendent * '' There Was a Young Lady'' (1953) * '' Carrington V.C.'' (1954) * '' The Quatermass Xperiment'' (1955) – Sir Lionel Dean (uncredited) * '' They Can't Hang Me'' (1955) – Wing Commander Riddle * '' Touch and Go'' (1955) – Stevens * '' The Narrowing Circle'' (1956) – George Pacey * ''

Private's Progress ''Private's Progress'' is a 1956 British comedy film directed by John Boulting and starring Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price, Terry-Thomas and Ian Carmichael. The script was by John Boulting and Frank Harvey, based on the novel of the same ...

'' (1956) – Col. Martin (uncredited) * '' Port of Escape'' (1956) – Det. Insp. Crawford * '' The Intimate Stranger'' (1956) – Dr. Gray * '' Reach for the Sky'' (1956) – Air Ministry Doctor (uncredited) * '' The Weapon'' (1956) – (uncredited) * '' The Counterfeit Plan'' (1957) – Police Commissioner * '' You Pay Your Money'' (1957) – Currie * '' Brothers in Law'' (1957) – Mr. Justice Emery * '' Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst'' (1957) – Sir Lionel Henry Lamb, British Ambassador at Nanking * '' Man in the Shadow'' (1957) – Bit Part (uncredited) * '' Three Sundays to Live'' (1957) – Davitt * '' The Depraved'' (1957) – Tom Wilton * '' Son of a Stranger'' (1957) – Dr. Delaney * '' The Safecracker'' (1958) – Air Vice Marshal * '' Them Nice Americans'' – Inspector Adams * '' Innocent Sinners'' (1958) – Mr. Dyson – Olivia's Solicitor (uncredited) * '' Up the Creek'' (1958) – Coombes * '' The Spaniard's Curse'' (1958) – Guy Stevenson (uncredited) * '' A Cry from the Streets'' (1958) – Police Inspector (uncredited) * '' Carry On Sergeant'' (1958) – Third Specialist * '' Further Up the Creek'' (1958) – Flagship Commander * '' I Only Arsked!'' (1958) – (uncredited) * '' Corridors of Blood'' (1958) – Chairman * '' Room at the Top'' (1959) – Priest (uncredited) * '' Carlton-Browne of the F.O.'' (1959) – Security Officer * ''

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

'' (1959) – Doctor Burgess (uncredited) * '' I'm All Right Jack'' (1959) – Minister of Labour * '' A Touch of Larceny'' (1959) – Lt. Cmdr. Evans at P.R.O. (uncredited) * '' The Spider's Web'' (1960) – Hugo * ''

Suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U. ...

'' (1960) – Dr Childs * '' The Pure Hell of St Trinian's'' (1960) – Army Officer * '' Sentenced for Life'' (1960) – Ralph Thompson * '' Gorgo'' (1961) – Admiral Brooks * '' The Secret Partner'' (1961) – Lyle * '' The Fourth Square'' (1961) - Inspector Forbes * '' The Court Martial of Major Keller'' (1961) – Morrell * '' Fate Takes a Hand'' (1961) – Wheeler * '' Life for Ruth'' (1962) – Lawyer Mapleton * '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962) – Cavalry General at Field Briefing (uncredited) * '' Seven Seas to Calais'' (1962) – Sir

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

* '' Master Spy'' (1963) – Richard Horton * '' Heavens Above!'' (1963) – Prison Governor * '' 80,000 Suspects'' (1963) – Medical Officer Boswell * '' Ring of Spies'' (1964) – 2nd Member at Lord's (uncredited) * '' Joey Boy'' (1965) – General * '' The Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders'' (1965) – Lawyer * '' Rotten to the Core'' (1965) – The General * '' Where the Spies Are'' (1965) – Major Harding * '' Naked Evil'' (1966) – Jim Benson * '' The Jokers'' (1967) – Bank Manager * '' Cuckoo Patrol'' (1967) – Snodgrass * '' I'll Never Forget What's'isname'' (1967) * '' Assignment K'' (1968) – Howlett * '' Twisted Nerve'' (1968) – Doctor * '' Laughter in the Dark'' (1969) – Dealer * ''

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

'' (1969) – Tactical Records Officer (uncredited) * '' The Great White Hope'' (1970) – English Official (uncredited) * '' 10 Rillington Place'' (1971) – Medical Board * ''

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours. Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persuasi ...

'' (1971) - Sir Walter Elliot * '' A Lizard in a Woman's Skin'' (1971) – The Commissioner (uncredited) * '' Young Winston'' (1972) – Joseph Chamberlain * '' Soft Beds, Hard Battles'' (1974) – Brigadier * '' Edward the Seventh'' (1975) - Prime Minister Asquith

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dignam, Basil 1905 births 1979 deaths English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Sheffield 20th-century English male actors