Betty Baskcomb

{{Short description|British actress (1914–2003)}}

{{EngvarB|date=November 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2013}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Betty Baskcomb

| image = Actress_Betty_Baskcomb.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Publicity still for It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)

| birth_name = Betty Violet Marie Baskcomb

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1914|05|30}}

| birth_place = St John's Wood, London
United Kingdom

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2003|04|15|1914|05|30}}

| death_place = West Wratting, Cambridgeshire
United Kingdom

| othername =

| alma_mater = RADA

| spouse = {{plainlist|

• {{marriage|Anthony Lehmann|1940|1944|end=died}}
• {{marriage|Ronald Ward|1948|1978|end=died}}

}}

| children = One daughter

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 1931–1975

| homepage =

}}

Betty Violet Marie Baskcomb (30 May 1914 – 15 April 2003) was a British actress who appeared in roles for theatre, film, television and radio productions.{{cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/person/33e/betty-baskcomb|title=Betty Baskcomb - Theatricalia|website=theatricalia.com}}{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/349868|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124112746/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/349868|url-status=dead|archive-date=2009-01-24|title=Betty Baskcomb|publisher=}} She was born in London in 1914 and made her stage debut as a stooge opposite her father, the comedian A.W. Baskcomb, in 1931.{{cite news|last=Adrian|first=Jack|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/betty-baskcomb-36478.html|title=Betty Baskcomb|work=The Independent|date=28 April 2003|access-date=17 May 2019}} Her screen debut was in the Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). Hitchcock insisted she played a part in the remake (released in 1956), and she was flown over to Hollywood for the role, although she was uncredited in both versions. On the radio, she was a member of the BBC Drama Repertory Company from the 1940s through to the 1970s.{{cite book|last=Lentz|first=Harris M. III|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jHrGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture|location=Jefferson, North Carolina & London|publisher=McFarland|year=2004|page=23|isbn=9780786417568}} In 1956 she appeared on stage in Ring For Catty at the Lyric Theatre in London.{{cite book|last=Wearing|first=J. P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5g2PBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA414|title=The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel|location=Plymouth, UK|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2014|page=414|isbn=9780810893085}}

Baskcomb was widowed twice, she was married to Anthony Lehmann (1940–1944) and the actor Ronald Ward (1948–1978). She made her last television appearance in 1975, and died in 2003.