Is a defendant entitled to desist from the witness stand?

Defendant contends that he was deprived of a fair trial in violation of his constitutional rights to not testify because his prior conviction of a felony was improperly brought to the jury's attention. He asserts that he was entitled to desist from taking the witness stand; that inasmuch as he admitted the prior conviction and did not testify, there was no basis for injecting the prior conviction into the trial and that he was prejudiced by its presentation to the jury. He cites section 1025 of the Penal Code ¹ and People v. Beal, 108 Cal.App.2d 200, 239 P.2d 84, and People v. Cordero, 92 Cal.App.2d 196, 206 P.2d 665.