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Beatrix Lehmann

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Beatrix Lehmann
Photo by John Vickers
Born
Beatrix Alice Lehmann

(1903-07-01)1 July 1903
Died31 July 1979(1979-07-31) (aged 76)
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

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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

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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

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Lehmann died in Camden, London, aged 76.

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

Filmography

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References

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  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.
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