Wynne Ajello
Wynne Ajello (born Winifred Alice Cutter Gellard; 9 January 1903 – 18 April 1992) was an English soprano singer who made many broadcasts on BBC radio between the 1920s and 1940s.
Wynne Ajello | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Winifred Alice Cutter Gellard 9 January 1903 Fulham, London, England |
| Died | 18 April 1992 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1920s–1940s |
Biography
She was born in Fulham, London, the daughter of a piano teacher who later married into the Ajello family, originally of Italian origin. She developed a talent for singing, and won a children's singing competition. She made her first BBC broadcasts in 1925, singing a selection of coloratura arias, but diversified into also performing songs from musical revues.[1][2]
She made recordings for the Durium label. In 1933, she made her first television broadcasts, singing as part of the White Coons concert party, directed by Harry S. Pepper,[1] but then took a lengthy break after a nervous breakdown.[3]
By 1936, it was reported that she had made over 550 broadcasts for the BBC.[2][4] In 1938, she took the role of Snow White in the radio adaptation of the Disney cartoon feature.[4] She continued to feature in BBC broadcasts through the Second World War, into the late 1940s.[1]
She married her stepbrother, Reginald Ajello, in 1929. She died in Worthing, Sussex, in 1992, aged 89.
References
- Search, Wynne Ajello, Radio Times, BBC Genome. Retrieved 15 March 2021
- "Wynne Ajello", Wills cigarette card, Pages of Ages. Retrieved 15 March 2021
- "Saved by an Ancient Relic", Morning Tribune, Singapore, 19 August 1936, p.13
- Denis Gifford, The Golden Age of Radio, B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1985, ISBN 0-7134-4235-2, p.10