Basil Dignam

Basil Dignam
in The Prisoner: Checkmate (1967)
Born	Basil Martin Dignam (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 (24 October 1905 – 31 January 1979) was an English character actor.

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

Personal life

He was married to actress Mona Washbourne from 1940 until his death in 1979. His brother Mark Dignam was also a professional actor. 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

External links

• Basil Dignam at IMDb