Betty Astell
Betty Astell | |
---|---|
Born | Betty Julia Hymans 23 May 1912 |
Died | 26 July 2005 Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK | (aged 93)
Occupation | Actress |
Spouse(s) | Cyril Fletcher (18 May 1941 – 1 January 2005; his death); 1 child |
Betty Astell (23 May 1912 – 26 July 2005), born Betty Julia Hymans, was an English actress.
Early life
Betty Julia Hymans was born in Brondesbury, Willesden, Middlesex.[1]
Career
Radio
Astell was a child performer, trained as a dancer. She sang on BBC Radio programmes in the 1920s, and met her husband while making recordings for radio during World War II. In 1956 and 1957, they playing a married couple in a radio comedy, Mixed Doubles, written by Bob Monkhouse and Denis Goodwin.[2]
Television
In 1932, Astell sang and danced in John Logie Baird's experimental television programming, on the BBC's 30-line shows, making her one of the first people to perform on television. That same year, she played Alice in Dick Whittington, the first televised pantomime.[2] She starred with her husband on an early sketch show for television, Kaleidoscope (1949), and on his eponymous television series, The Cyril Fletcher Show, on ITV beginning in 1959.[3]
Stage and film
Astell's made her London stage debut in John Galsworthy's Escape (1928). She first appeared in film in 1932, in A Tight Corner with Frank Pettingell. She stayed active in film through the 1930s, appearing in two dozen films. In 1942, the Fletchers were familiar enough to a wide audience to make a wartime newsreel clip together, honouring farmers.[4] Her last film role came in 1948, when she returned to the screen in A Piece of Cake, co-starring with her husband.[2]
Personal life
Astell was married to entertainer Cyril Fletcher for more than 60 years, from 18 May 1941 until his death on 1 January 2005. They had a daughter, actress/comedian Jill Fletcher, born in 1945.[1][5] Astell died in a hospital near her home in Guernsey, aged 93 years, nearly seven months after the death of her husband.[5]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1932 | Double Dealing | Flossie | |
1932 | A Tight Corner | Unknown role | |
1933 | The Lost Chord | Madge | |
1933 | Cleaning Up | Marian Brent | |
1933 | Great Stuff | Vera Montgomery | |
1933 | This is the Life | Edna Wynne | |
1933 | The Medicine Man | Patient | |
1933 | That's My Wife | Lillian Harbottle | |
1933 | Strike It Rich | Janet Wells | |
1933 | I'll Stick to You | Pauline Mason | |
1934 | On the Air | Betty | |
1934 | Flat Number Three | Trixie | |
1934 | The Man I Want | Prue Darrell | |
1934 | The Life of the Party | Blanche Hopkins | |
1934 | Josser on the Farm | Betty | |
1935 | That's My Uncle | Maudie | |
1935 | Strictly Illegal | Mrs. Bill | |
1936 | A Wife or Two | Mary Hamilton | |
1936 | The Vandergilt Diamond Mystery | Mary | |
1936 | Jack of All Trades | Dancer | |
1936 | Sunshine Ahead | The Girl | |
1937 | Behind Your Back | Gwen Bingham | |
1939 | The Mind of Mr. Reeder | Gwen Bingham | |
1948 | A Piece of Cake | Betty Clarke |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1959 | The Cyril Fletcher Show | 6 episodes |
References
- ^ a b "Betty Astell | Obituaries". The Stage. 2005-08-02. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Hayward, Anthony (2005-07-29). "Betty Astell". The Independent. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Screen and Radio Revue". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 July 1934. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
- ^ "Cyril Fletcher". British Pathé. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Betty Astell obituary". The Telegraph. 30 July 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2010.