Beatrix Lehmann

Beatrix Lehmann
Photo by John Vickers
Born
Beatrix Alice Lehmann

(1903-07-01)1 July 1903
Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England
Died31 July 1979(1979-07-31) (aged 76)
Camden, London, England
Occupation(s)Actress, theatre director, author
Years active1924–1979
PartnerHenrietta Bingham
Parent(s)Rudolph Chambers Lehmann (father)
Alice Mary Davis (mother)
RelativesRosamond Lehmann (sister)
John Lehmann (brother)
Henri Lehmann (great-uncle)

Beatrix Alice Lehmann (1 July 1903 – 31 July 1979) was a British actress, theatre director, writer and novelist.[1][2]

Early life and family

Lehmann was born in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire. She came from a family of notable achievers: the third of four children of author and publisher Rudolph Chambers Lehmann. Her great-uncle was Henri Lehmann the artist.[3] Her brother was publisher John Lehmann and one of her two elder sisters was the novelist Rosamond Lehmann.[4]

Career

Lehmann trained at RADA and made her stage debut as Peggy in a 1924 production The Way of the World at the Lyric Hammersmith.[5] She also appeared in films and on television.[6] She wrote short stories and two novels, including Rumour of Heaven, first published in 1934 (ISBN 014016166X).[2] In 1946 Lehmann became director and producer of the Arts Council Midland Theatre Company.[5]

She was awarded Britain's Radio Actress of the Year in 1977.[7] In 1962 she played the matriarch Bernadette Amorelle in a Maigret episode, The Dirty House. She played Susan Calvin in "The Prophet" (1967), a now lost episode of the British science fiction television series Out of the Unknown, and appeared in the Doctor Who serial The Stones of Blood (1978) as Professor Emilia Rumford.[8] In 1978 she played Mrs Pleasant in a film version of The Cat and The Canary.[9] Other roles include Z-Cars, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, War and Peace, Love for Lydia, Staircase, Armchair Thriller and Crime and Punishment.

Death

Lehmann died in Camden, London, aged 76.

There are 12 portraits of Lehmann in the British National Portrait Gallery Collection.[5]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "Beatrix Lehmann". Oxfordreference.com.
  2. ^ a b "Rumour of Heaven". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  3. ^ Guppy, Shusha (11 August 1985). "Rosamond Lehmann, The Art of Fiction No. 88". The Paris Review. Vol. Summer 1985, no. 96 – via www.theparisreview.org.
  4. ^ "Lehmann Family Papers - Rare Books and Special Collections". rbsc.princeton.edu.
  5. ^ a b c "Beatrix Lehmann – Person – National Portrait Gallery". Npg.org.uk. 22 September 1970. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Beatrix Lehmann – Movies and Filmography – AllMovie". AllMovie.
  7. ^ "Beatrix Lehmann, British Actress of Stage, Screen, TV and Radio". The New York Times. 2 August 1979. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – The Stones of Blood – Details". BBC. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  9. ^ "The Cat and the Canary (1981)". Bfi.org. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.