Tony Booth, star of 'Till Death Do Us Part,' dies

Tony Booth, a British actor whose sitcom inspired All in the Family, and whose daughter married former Prime Minister Tony Blair, has died. He was 85.

Booth's family says he died late Monday. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease and heart problems.

Booth had his most enduring role as the left-wing son-in-law of a bigoted father in the sitcom 'Till Death Us Do Part. Booth played the long-haired “Randy Scouse git” son-in-law of the foul-mouthed right-wing Cockney Alf Garnett (Warren Mitchell) in the popular comedy.

The show ran for a decade from 1965 and inspired the American series All in the Family, in which Booth's role was played by Rob Reiner as Archie Bunker's "Meathead" son-in-law.  

Booth gained a second bout of fame whenBlair, husband of his daughter Cherie, became prime minister in 1997.

Booth joined the left-of-center Labour Party as a teenager and often disagreed publicly with Blair, the architect of the party's move to the center as "New Labour."

He accused his son-in-law of stuffing the House of Lords with "Tony's Cronies" and criticized Blair's government for being "prepared to throw away billions" on the Iraq war rather than spending the money on retirees.

Booth, who was married four times, was a father of nine daughters. His third marriage was to actress Pat Phoenix who played Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street and died from cancer a week after their wedding in 1986.

Booth is survived by wife Steph Booth and children including Cherie Blair, a prominent British lawyer.

Source: USA TODAY