Tony Booth dead at 85 – Cherie Blair’s Till Death Us Do Part actor dad passes away
TILL Death Us Do Part actor Tony Booth has died aged 85.
The actor and campaigner — whose daughter Cherie is married to ex-PM Tony Blair — passed away last night, his family said in a statement.
A statement released on behalf of his wife Steph Booth said: "It is with sadness we announce the death of Antony Booth, actor and political campaigner.
"Tony passed away late last night with close family members in attendance.
"The family ask for their privacy to be respected at this time."
The Liverpudlian was born in 1931 to a working class family and developed his love of acting when he was enrolled in his National Service.
He was posted to Paris and stayed there for five years in repertory theatre before moving onto TV in the 1960s.
He married Royal Academy of Dramatic Art graduate Gale Smith in 1952 and had daughters Lynsey and Cherie with her, before leaving her to move in with producer Julie Allen, who bore him two more girls.
He had two more daughters during his second marriage to model Pamela Smith.
In 1979, Mr Booth almost burned himself to death in a fire at his flat, remaining hospitalised for months.
He played Malcolm Wilkinson in Coronation Street from 1960-1961 and had a host of other film and TV roles during the decade.
In the 1990s he enjoyed a revival in his television career, with roles in the likes of Holby City, The Bill and Mersey Beat.
Booth has performed in more than 20 feature films.
But it was his role as Mike Rawlins, the leftie son-in-law of racist Alf Garnett, in the long-running sitcom Till Death Do Us Part that propelled him to fame in 1965.
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Tony also wrote three political memoirs, the last being in 2002.
When his son-in-law Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997, his political views proved to be an occasional thorn in the PM's side.
In 1999 he railed against "androids" at Labour's Millbank HQ and a year later said his daughter's husband had stuffed the House of Lords with "Tony's Cronies".
Booth was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2004, and he suffered a severe stroke in 2010.
Severe heart problems plagued the final years of his life.
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