Anthony Booth

The Nation's Son-in-Law

Anthony Booth was born in Liverpool in 1931 with the hunger of someone who knows life gives nothing away. Before the general public associated him with the corridors of British power, Booth was already the most recognizable face of the working class on the old tube televisions. His role as Mike Rawlins in the series Till Death Us Do Part made him a star in 1965.

He was no classically trained actor and never relied on measured gestures. His style was dry and somewhat rough. But it worked because he spoke the language of the street at a time when television was still searching for its own identity. During those years, booze and late-night partying began to take up as much space as his lines of dialogue.

Reality always strikes twice.

He appeared in projects as different as The Family Way in 1966 or the comedy Confessions of a Window Cleaner in 1974. They were paycheck jobs that let him keep up a lifestyle that often outran his actual income. His bank account never reflected the fame his name carried in the British tabloids.

The Fire and the Activism

In 1979 he suffered a домашний accident at home that nearly ended his career for good. A fire in his home left him with burns on almost half his body and forced him to spend months in hospitals. Doctors doubted he would ever walk normally again. But Booth returned to the stage with a discipline no one expected from such a chaotic character.

His commitment to the Labour Party was always radical. He never bit his tongue for fear of losing an advertising contract or a supporting role in a major production. For him, politics was personal and bloody. So he used every interview to attack the system, while his daughter Cherie was starting to climb the ranks of London's legal profession.

He didn't care what his words cost him.

During the nineties, his public image became awkwardly out of step with New Labour. His son-in-law Tony Blair came to power in 1997, and Booth became a constant headache for the image advisers at Downing Street. But he kept working at his own pace on television productions such as The Bill and Holby City.

The Weight of Someone Else's Surname

In 2004 he joined the cast of Emmerdale to bring Errol Hurst to life. It was one of his last steady jobs before his health started sending bills he could never pay. His appearances became sporadic and far more limited due to his physical condition.

And then came the silence.

His last appearance on the big screen came in 2010 with The Kings of Mykonos. After that, he withdrew from public life to privately battle Alzheimer's and various heart conditions. Anthony Booth passed away in September 2017 at the age of 85. He left behind four marriages and eight daughters.