Connie Booth
| Connie Booth | |
|---|---|
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| Born | January 31, 1944 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Occupation | actress, author, psychotherapist |
| Spouse | John Cleese (1968–78) John Lahr (2000–present) |
Constance "Connie" Booth (born 31 January 1944) is an American-born writer and actress, known for appearances on British television and particularly for her portrayal of Polly Sherman in the popular 1970s television show Fawlty Towers, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese.
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[edit] Biography
Booth's father was a Wall Street stock broker and her mother was a housewife. They had moved from rural Indiana to New Rochelle, New York. After performing in high school productions, Booth went on to study drama in New York City, where she worked as a waitress. Booth married John Cleese on February 20, 1968.
Booth secured parts in episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus and in the Python film And Now for Something Completely Different. She also appeared in Monty Python and the Holy Grail as a woman accused of being a witch; in How to Irritate People, a pre-Monty Python film starring Cleese and other future Monty Python members; and in The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (Cleese's Sherlock Holmes spoof, as Mrs. Hudson).
Booth and Cleese went on to write and co-star in Fawlty Towers (1975,1979). She also appeared in a short film titled Romance with a Double Bass, adapted by Cleese from a short story by Anton Chekhov.
In 1971, Booth and Cleese had a daughter, Cynthia, who appeared alongside her father in the films A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures. Booth and Cleese divorced in 1978,[1] but have remained close friends.[2]
Booth played various roles on British television, including Sophie in Dickens of London, Mrs Errol in a BBC adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy, and Miss March in a dramatisation of Edith Wharton's The Buccaneers. She also starred in the lead role of a drama called 'The Story of Ruth' (1981), in which she played the role of the schizophrenic daughter of an abusive father, for which she received critical acclaim.
Booth ended her acting career in 1995.[3] She works as a psychotherapist in London, a registrant of the BPC.[4][5][3] For 30 years Booth had declined to talk about Fawlty Towers until she agreed to participate in a documentary about the series for the digital channel G.O.L.D. in 2009.[6]
Booth is married to John Lahr, author and senior drama critic of The New Yorker. They live in North London.[3]
[edit] Selected filmography
- And Now For Something Completely Different (1971) - Various Characters
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - The Witch
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980) - Mrs Errol
- Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1980) - Sylvia Bassington-ffrench
- American Friends (1991) - Caroline Hartley
[edit] References
- ^ "Divorce for Cleese". Glasgow Herald. September 9, 1978. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PwI-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=cUkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4335,1935462&dq=connie-booth+divorce&hl=en. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
- ^ Hoyle, Antonia (21 July 2008). "Our divorceymoon! What happened when Cleese and Winner invaded Switzerland on a six-day road trip". London: Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1036533/Our-divorceymoon-What-happened-Cleese-Winner-invaded-Switzerland-day-road-trip.html. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
- ^ a b c Milmo, Cahal (25 May 2007). "Life after Polly: Connie Booth (a case of Fawlty memory syndrome)". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/life-after-polly-connie-booth-a-case-of-fawlty-memory-syndrome-450289.html. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ^ UKTV Gold: Sitcoms: Fawlty Towers: Where are they now?
- ^ Camden New Journal
- ^ Parker, Robin (23 March 2009). "Gold to reopen Fawlty Towers". Broadcastnow. http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2009/03/gold_to_reopen_fawlty_towers.html. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
