Beryl Measor

Beryl Measor was a British actress born in Shanghai, China, on 22 April 1908, the daughter of Ernest Anthony Measor and his wife, Mary, née Humphreys. She was educated at St Margaret's School in Bushey before training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she won the RADA Silver Medal in 1931.

Measor made her professional stage debut at the Whitehall Theatre on 28 July 1931, walking on in Take a Chance. She subsequently toured in 1931–32 as Luella Carmody in Late Night Final, and between 1932 and 1934 worked with repertory companies in Worthing, Croydon, and Hull. From 1934 onward she appeared regularly in West End productions, including the role of Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing at the Old Vic that same year. In 1942 she created two roles in Noël Coward plays during a wartime provincial tour that later transferred to the West End: Monica Reed in Present Laughter and Edie in This Happy Breed. She also took over from Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati in the original London production of Coward's Blithe Spirit during its record-breaking run, and performed the role on tour alongside the author, who played Charles Condomine. Between 1946 and 1954 she appeared in eight further West End productions.

Her most prominent stage role came in Terence Rattigan's double-bill Separate Tables, in which she played Miss Cooper, the proprietor of the hotel central to both plays. Her performance in the London production earned her the Clarence Derwent Award. In October 1956 she brought the role to Broadway, marking her first appearance on the New York stage in the production listed in her credits as Table by the Window. That performance earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 1957.

Her final West End appearances included Cornelia Scott in Something Unspoken and Mrs Holly in Suddenly Last Summer, both part of the Tennessee Williams double bill Garden District at the Arts Theatre in 1958. In 1959 she played Lady Saill in Eric Linklater's Breakspear in Gascony at the Edinburgh Festival.

From 1941 to 1961 Measor was a frequent presence on BBC radio and television. Her television work included playing Madame Arcati in the first live televised production of Blithe Spirit in 1948, Lady Fallowfield in the thirteen-part series Family Affairs in 1950, and Mrs Proudie in a six-part adaptation of Barchester Towers in 1959. On radio she was a regular cast member of Navy Mixture from 1946 to 1947, alongside Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warriss. Her film appearances spanned from 1938 to 1960 and included roles in Odd Man Out, Esther Waters, and The Mark of Cain, among others.

In 1945 Measor married the actor Terence De Marney; the couple had no children. She died in London on 8 February 1965 at the age of 56, survived by her husband.