Tony Booth

Anthony George Booth (9 October 1931 – 25 September 2017) was an English actor, often known for his role as Mike Rawlins in the BBC series Till Death Us Do Part. He would become the father-in-law of the prime minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair from 1997 until 2007 and the widower of Coronation Street star Pat Phoenix, having married her a few days before her death in 1986.

Early life Booth was born into a working-class family in Jubilee Road, Liverpool, in 1931 and raised Catholic. His mother was a Roman Catholic of Irish descent; his father, who worked as a merchant seaman during the Second World War, was a Catholic convert. Tony Booth attended St Edmund's Infants School and spent a year in hospital as a child with diphtheria. He then passed the Eleven-plus examination and attended St Mary's College, Crosby, where he was awarded a bursary to cover the cost of his books.

Acting Booth developed a taste for acting when posted in the Army to SHAPE in Paris. He spent five years in repertory theatre, before appearing in films and television during the 1960s. These were Confessions of a Window Cleaner, Confessions of a Pop Performer, Confessions of a Driving Instructor and Confessions from a Holiday Camp. Cherie, a King's Counsel, is married to the former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair. While Booth was a long-standing supporter of the Labour Party, his politics differed from those of his daughter and her husband.

With his third wife, Nancy Jaeger, he had a daughter, Joanna. His relationship with Pamela Smith, which began in the 1960s, lasted 13 years; the couple had Booth's other two daughters, Emma and Lauren Booth, a broadcaster and journalist. In 2006 he said he was the victim of anti-English bias while living in Ireland.

Booth was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2004. He suffered a stroke in 2010. He also had chronic heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Booth died on 25 September 2017 at home, aged 85.

In March 2019, Booth's widow Steph published the book Married to Alzheimer's: A Life Less Ordinary with Tony Booth, a memoir about her time caring for her husband.

Filmography Suspect (1960) – Parkin Pit of Darkness (1961) – Ted The Valiant (1962) Mix Me a Person (1962) – at 'La Paloma' / Gravy The L-Shaped Room (1962) – Youth in Street The Partner (1963) – Buddy Forrester The Hi-Jackers (1963) – Terry McKinley Of Human Bondage (1964) – Martin (uncredited) The Saint (1965) - Hans The Return of Mr. Moto (1965) – Hovath The Saint (1966) - Pyotr The Girl with the Pistol (1968) – John Corruption (1968) – Mike Orme Till Death Us Do Part (1969) – Mike Rawlins (the boyfriend) Neither the Sea nor the Sand (1972) – Delamare Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973) – Tommy Brettell Montreal Main (1974) Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1974) – Sidney Noggett Brannigan (1975) – Freddy Confessions of a Pop Performer (1975) – Sidney Noggett Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976) – Sidney Noggett Confessions from a Holiday Camp (1977) – Sidney Noggett Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair (1979) – Steve Priest (1994) – Tommy Owd Bob (1998) – Tammas The Duke (1998) Treasure Island (1999) – Chief Revenue Officer Revengers Tragedy (2002) – Lord Antonio Upstaged (2005) – Candidate – Leggings Gone to the Dogs (2006) – Jack Sources:

Memoirs Tony Booth, Stroll On (1989) Tony Booth, A Labour of Love (1997) Tony Booth, What's Left? (2002)