Betty Astell was a british entertainer who was married to Cyril Fletcher. Her and Fletcher were married for more than 60 years. She apppeared in the hit tv series with him'The Cyril Fletcher Show' and was one of the first people on Television when she appeared on John Logie Baird's experimental television on the BBC's 30 line shows. Cyril Fletcher, (June 25, 1913–January 2, 2005), was an English comedian. ... John Logie Baird (August 14, 1888 – June 14, 1946) was a Scottish engineer, who is best known for being the first person to demonstrate a working television. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was formed in 1927 by means of a royal charter. ...
Betty Astell died aged 93 in a hospital near her home in Guernsey on the 26th July 2005, just 7 months after the death of her husband Cyril Fletcher. Cyril Fletcher, (June 25, 1913–January 2, 2005), was an English comedian. ...
BettyAstell, who has died aged 93, was a variety artist in every sense of the word; an actress, dancer, singer, lyricist, writer of pantomimes, and the wife and co-star of the comedian Cyril Fletcher, she was also one of the first performers to appear in John Logie Baird's early experimental television broadcasts.
Lyrics and music were written by Betty, who also designed and made the costumes, and who played principal boy opposite her husband as the dame.
BettyAstell and her husband were much in demand as speakers themselves, as were guest lecturers They included theatre producers, war heroes and Rear-Admiral R E Portlock, who provided a popular talk entitled "Nelson and Emma - Her Ladyship was Never a Lady".
During the early days of television, BettyAstell was one of those whose face flickered on the screen as the pioneering John Logie Baird conducted experiments in the new medium.
Astell, who had taken part in Baird's tests at his cramped studio in Long Acre over the previous three years, became a regular performer before the cameras when the BBC launched the world's first regular television service in 1936, with studios at Alexandra Palace and a definition of at least 240 lines.
Born in London in 1912, Astell trained as a dancer and first sang on BBC radio at the age of 12.
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