Beryl Measor

[1] She was educated at St Margaret's School, Bushey, before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

[1] In 1942 she created two roles in Noël Coward plays: Monica Reed in Present Laughter and Edie in This Happy Breed, first during a long wartime provincial tour and then in the West End.

She took over from Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati in the original production of Coward's Blithe Spirit during its record-breaking London run,[4] and played the part on tour, with the author as Charles Condomine.

In addition to playing Madame Arcati in the first televised version of Blithe Spirit (performed live, 1948), her roles included Lady Fallowfield in Eric Maschwitz's 13-part series Family Affairs (1950) and Mrs Proudie in a six-part adaptation of Barchester Towers (1959).

[1][8] Her final West End roles were Cornelia Scott in Something Unspoken and Mrs Holly in Suddenly Last Summer in the Tennessee Williams double bill Garden District at the Arts Theatre in 1958.