Actor Tony Booth, father-in-law of Tony Blair, dies at 85

LONDON (AP) - Tony Booth, a British actor and the father-in-law of 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." The show ran for a decade from 1965 and inspired the American series "All in the Family."

Booth gained a second bout of fame when Blair, 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, is survived by wife Steph Booth and children including Cherie Blair, a prominent lawyer.

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This story has been corrected to show that Booth played a son-in-law, not son, on 'Till Death Us Do Part.'