Betty Astell (23 May 1912 – 26 July 2005), born Betty Julia Hymans, was an English actress, best known for comedy and pantomime productions on stage, screen, and radio with her husband, Cyril Fletcher. She was one of the first performers to appear on television, in experimental broadcasts by the BBC in 1932.
Betty Astell | |
|---|---|
 Bridgewater 3rd Series of Movie Star Trading Cards (1934) | |
| Born | Betty Julia Hymans 23 May 1912 |
| Died | 26 July 2005 (aged 93) Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Early life
editBetty Julia Hymans was born in Brondesbury, Willesden, Middlesex,[1] the daughter of Herbert Hyams and Estella Oppenheimer Hyams.[2]
Career
editRadio
editAstell was a child performer, trained as a dancer.[3] She sang on BBC Radio programmes in the 1920s, and met her husband while making recordings for radio in Bristol during World War II.[2] In 1956 and 1957, they played a married couple in a radio comedy, Mixed Doubles, written by Bob Monkhouse and Denis Goodwin.[4]
Television
editIn 1931 and 1932, Astell sang and danced in John Logie Baird's experimental television programming, on the BBC's 30-line shows,[2] making her one of the first people to perform on television. That same year, she played Alice in Dick Whittington, the first televised pantomime.[4] 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.[5]
Stage and film
editAstell's made her London stage debut in John Galsworthy's Escape (1928). She performed in revues through the 1940s, including Magic Carpet (1943) and Keep Going (1944).[6]
Astell 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.[7] Her last film role came in 1948, when she returned to the screen in A Piece of Cake, co-starring with her husband.[4][8]
Astell also wrote and produced pantomimes at the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon, including Dick Whittington, Mother Goose, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Aladdin.[9][10][11]
Personal life
editAstell 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][12] Astell died in a hospital near her home in Guernsey, aged 93 years, nearly seven months after the death of her husband.[12]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| 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
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | The Cyril Fletcher Show | 6 episodes |
References
edit- ^ a b "Betty Astell | Obituaries". The Stage. 2 August 2005. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ a b c Pointon, Michael (7 March 2013). "Cyril Fletcher". In Goldman, Lawrence (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008. OUP Oxford. p. 382. ISBN 978-0-19-967154-0.
- ^ "Dance scene with Peggy van Praagh and Betty Astell, ca. 1918 [1] [picture]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ a b c Hayward, Anthony (29 July 2005). "Betty Astell". The Independent. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Screen and Radio Revue". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 July 1934. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
- ^ Wearing, J. P. (22 August 2014). The London Stage 1940-1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 112, 158. ISBN 978-0-8108-9306-1.
- ^ "Cyril Fletcher". British Pathé. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Rowan, Terry (2012). World War II Goes to the Movies & Television Guide. Lulu.com. p. 367. ISBN 978-1-105-58602-6.
- ^ "Aladdin (Astell)". Concord Theatricals. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ "Flyer, Panto, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, Jim Dale, Betty Astell". Fairfield Collection, Museum of Croydon. December 1966. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Astell, Betty (1978). The Sleeping Beauty: A Pantomime. Evans Bros. ISBN 978-0-237-75018-3.
- ^ a b "Betty Astell obituary". The Telegraph. 30 July 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
External links
edit- Betty Astell at IMDb
- Betty Astell at the British Film Institute[better source needed]
- Betty Astell at British Comedy Guide
- A 1971 portrait of Betty Astell, at Getty Images
- The Fairfield Collection at the Museum of Croydon includes several flyers for pantomimes starring Fletcher and Astell.