| Antony Booth | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anthony George Booth 9 October 1931 Liverpool, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Spouse | Gale Smith (divorced) Patricia Phoenix (1986) Nancy Jaeger (1988–96) Stephanie Buckley (1998–present) |
Antony George Booth (born 9 October 1931) is an English actor, best known for his role as Mike Rawlins in the BBC series Till Death Us Do Part. His daughter, Cherie, a prominent Queen's Counsel, is married to former Prime Minister Tony Blair. He is a cousin to the Booth family of 19th-century American actors.[1]
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Booth was born into a working class family in Jubilee Road, Liverpool. His father was a merchant seaman during World War II, his mother was of Irish descent. He attended St Edmunds Infant's School and spent a year in hospital as a child with diphtheria. He then passed the 11 plus examination and attended St. Mary's College, Crosby where he was awarded a bursary to cover the cost of his books. Hopes that he could progress to university were dashed when he had to leave school and get a job after his father was badly injured in an industrial accident. He then worked as a clerk in a docklands warehouse and at the United States Consulate in Liverpool, before being called up for national service with the Royal Corps of Signals.[2]
Booth developed a taste for acting when posted in the army to SHAPE in Paris. He spent five years honing his acting skills in repertory theatre, before venturing into films and television in the 1960s. Since then he has worked in all three media. He has played roles in over twenty films, including Priest (1994), Owd Bob (1997) and Treasure Island (1999). He appeared in the popular British television series Coronation Street in 1960 and in an episode of The Avengers, but it was his role as the left-wing son-in-law in Til Death Us Do Part (1965) that brought him recognition. He has made guest appearances in many other television series. He starred alongside Robin Askwith in the Confessions of... series as Sidney Noggett between 1974 and 1977. Some of the titles included Confessions of a Driving Instructor, Confessions of a Pop Performer and Confessions from a Holiday Camp. Also appearing were Bill Maynard and Doris Hare. From 1985-1986, Booth appeared as pub landlord Ted Pilkington in the short-lived ITV soap Albion Market. In 2001, Booth appeared in several episodes of Family Affairs playing Barry Hurst, Sadie Hargreaves' brother-in-law. One of his most recent television appearances was playing a tramp named Nobby Stuart in a special two-hander episode of EastEnders. In 2007, he also played a tramp called Errol Michaels in Emmerdale in 2007. Both of these characters have played the purpose of a spiritual guide to a down-and-out character, in EastEnders, Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) and in Emmerdale, Bob Hope (Tony Audenshaw).
From a working-class background, he is a strong supporter of the Labour Party. He served as president of Equity, the actors' union.
He has been married four times. Booth nearly burned to death in 1979 when, during a drunken attempt to get into his locked flat, he fell into a drum of paraffin. He spent six months in hospital and needed 26 skin graft operations. Shortly after his release from hospital, he went to visit an 'old flame', Coronation Street actress Pat Phoenix. She took him in and nursed him back to full health, and they lived together for 6 years, but eventually, Pat Phoenix's own health was failing; they were married in 1986, just days before her death from lung cancer.
In a rebuke to the British government's treatment of pensioners, Booth retired to Blacklion, County Cavan, in the Republic of Ireland but has since returned and lived in Broadbottom, 10 miles east of Manchester. He currently resides in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. He suffered a stroke in 2010.