Another TTT pioneer is gone

Bethelmy was part of the elite few who saw the beginning of Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT), along with the likes of Englishman Ron Goodsman, general manager; Canadian programme director, Barry Gordon, Scotsman Bill Corkhill, Neville Welch, Lloyd Rohlehr, Mervyn Telfer, Raffie Knowles, Holly Betaudier, Bruce Reed, Miley Duke, Clyde Alleyne, Melina Scott, Errol Harrylal, Charlie Moore, Compton Welch, Ethel Bethelmy, Doreen Gilbert, George Tang, Louis Sorzano, Shaffick Mohammed, Joan Cipriani, Bernard Bonsor, Wendell Case, Charles Deighton Paris, Claude Daniel, Ann Winston and George Carghill.

Bethelmy began her stint as secretary to PD Barry Gordon and for the next 25 years served in her capacity as programme controller, then programme director until her sudden departure from the station in 1987.

Wendell Case, one of the station’s first engineers told Newsday yesterday that it was a sad time for him.

“My memory of her is that she was a very upright, dainty and ladylike person. I always felt she would have made a very good general manager.

I felt when they were changing managers they didn’t have to go anywhere to find one because she was right there.” Ann Winston, another of Bethelmy’s colleagues in the programming department and friend said, “She became the backbone of TTT as a local person involved in television, and she was a magnificent PD who gave it her all.

As a person, I found Ethel had a big heart.

And though she was a taskmaster, she had great integrity and reasoning, and did her job to be best of her ability.” Former operations manager Lancelot Sarjeant described Bethelmy as a lovely, small lady, very efficient and a very principled person. However though she fully supported shows produced by her dearest and closest friends, the deceased Holly Betaudier, Hazel Ward, Horace James and the Mohammed brothers, Sham and Moen, Sarjeant said she was not an ardent supporter of local content simply because it never used to attract advertising and because of the opposition she got.

“As programme controller she had a relationship with big foreign programming and it was her job to select the best foreign programmes and airtime positions on the programming schedule to attract advertisisng. Her relationship with the sales department and foreign market was very good. But that aside she agreed, in principle, we should have had dedicated sales representatives to handle local programming only.” But in contrast to Sarjeant, former head of news Jones P Madeira said, “She was a dedicated programme director who wanted to see more efforts at local programming in all spheres of television in the country, from entertainment to news. And she conceptualised morning television which did not fly back then. As good as it was, TTT couldn’t sustain it.” Bethelmy’s funeral service will take place on Thursday next week at the Church of the Nativity, Crystal Stream, Diego Martin from 10 am.

She leaves to mourn her children Marissa and David, and syblings Patricia, Yvonne, Margot and Patrick.