Basil Dignam

Basil Dignam (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor.^[2]

Basil Dignam
in The Prisoner: Checkmate (1967)
Born	Basil Martin Dignam[1] (1905-10-24)24 October 1905 Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	31 January 1979(1979-01-31) (aged 73) Westminster, London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1938–1978
Spouse	Mona Washbourne (1940–1979) (his death)

Basil Dignam was born in Sheffield, 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.^[2] He often appeared as an authority figure, such as Mr Justice Poynter in Crown Court, as a police officer, army general or peer.^[3] Television appearances include The Prisoner: Checkmate (1967) and The Champions (1968), as Sir Frederick in episode 2 "The Invisible Man".

He appeared in three episodes of the classic spy-fi series Department S in 1968 and 1969. In the two episodes The Perfect Operation and The Duplicated Man he plays the machiavellian spy chief Henry Smith and in One of Our Aircraft is Empty is the duped finance officer of a multinational corporation. ^[4]

Personal life

He was married to actress Mona Washbourne from 1940 until his death in 1979.^[5] His brother Mark Dignam was also a professional actor.^[5] Basil Dignam died, aged 73, in Westminster, 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 (1952) – Security Officer
• Hammer the Toff (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 (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 (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 (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
• 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 (1969) – Tactical Records Officer (uncredited)
• The Great White Hope (1970) – English Official (uncredited)
• 10 Rillington Place (1971) – Medical Board
• Persuasion (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