Connie Booth
Encyclopedia
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
.
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, but have remained close friends.
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. She works as a psychotherapist in London, a registrant of the BPC
. 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.
Booth is married to John Lahr
, author and senior drama critic of The New Yorker
. They live in North London.
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
, which she co-wrote with her then-husband John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
.
Biography
Booth's father was a Wall StreetWall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
stock broker and her mother was a housewife. They had moved from rural Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
to New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
. After performing in high school productions, Booth went on to study drama in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, 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
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
and in the Python film And Now for Something Completely Different
And Now For Something Completely Different
And Now for Something Completely Different is a film spin-off from the television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus featuring favorite sketches from the first two seasons. The title was used as a catchphrase in the television show....
. She also appeared in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
as a woman accused of being a witch; in How to Irritate People
How to Irritate People
How to Irritate People is a 1968 television broadcast written by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Cleese, Chapman, and Brooke-Taylor also feature in it, along with future Monty Python collaborators Michael Palin and Connie Booth.In various sketches, Cleese...
, 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
The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It
The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It is a 1977 comedy starring John Cleese. It is a low-budget spoof of the Sherlock Holmes detective series, as well as the mystery genre in general.- Plot :...
(Cleese's Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
spoof, as Mrs. Hudson).
Booth and Cleese went on to write and co-star in Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
(1975,1979). She also appeared in a short film titled Romance with a Double Bass
Romance with a Double Bass
Romance with a Double Bass is a 1974 short film from the United Kingdom. It was written by John Cleese, Connie Booth, and Bill Owen, and based on the short story of the same name by Anton Chekhov.-Plot:...
, adapted by Cleese from a short story by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
.
In 1971, Booth and Cleese had a daughter, Cynthia
Cynthia Cleese
Cynthia Cleese is an English/American actress.The daughter of British actor John Cleese and American actress Connie Booth, she is best known for A Fish Called Wanda where she played daughter Portia to Cleese's character Archie Leach...
, who appeared alongside her father in the films A Fish Called Wanda
A Fish Called Wanda
A Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 crime-comedy film written by John Cleese and Charles Crichton. It was directed by Crichton and an uncredited Cleese, and stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin. The film is about a jewel heist and its aftermath...
and Fierce Creatures
Fierce Creatures
Fierce Creatures is a 1997 comedy film. Although not a sequel, it was a follow-up to the wildly popular A Fish Called Wanda, starring the same four actors, John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin...
. Booth and Cleese divorced in 1978, but have remained close friends.
Booth played various roles on British television, including Sophie in Dickens of London
Dickens of London
Dickens of London is a 1976 television miniseries from Yorkshire Television based on the life of English novelist Charles Dickens. Both Dickens and his father John were played by British actor Roy Dotrice. The series was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Marc Miller...
, Mrs Errol in a BBC adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's in 1886...
, and Miss March in a dramatisation of Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.- Early life and marriage:...
's The Buccaneers
The Buccaneers
The Buccaneers is the last novel written by Edith Wharton. It was unfinished at the time of her death in 1937, and published in that form in 1938. Wharton's manuscript ends with Lizzy inviting Nan to a house party to which Guy Thwarte has been invited too...
. 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. She works as a psychotherapist in London, a registrant of the BPC
British Psychoanalytic Council
The British Psychoanalytic Council is an association of training institutions, professional associations and accrediting bodies which have their roots in established psychoanalysis and analytical psychology...
. 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.
Booth is married to John Lahr
John Lahr
John Lahr is an American theater critic, and the son of actor Bert Lahr. Since 1992, he has been the senior drama critic at The New Yorker magazine.-Biography:...
, author and senior drama critic of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. They live in North London.
Selected filmography
- And Now For Something Completely DifferentAnd Now For Something Completely DifferentAnd Now for Something Completely Different is a film spin-off from the television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus featuring favorite sketches from the first two seasons. The title was used as a catchphrase in the television show....
(1971) - Various Characters - Monty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
(1975) - The Witch - Little Lord FauntleroyLittle Lord Fauntleroy (1980 film)Little Lord Fauntleroy is a 1980 British family film directed by Jack Gold and starring Alec Guiness, Rick Schroder and Eric Porter. It is based on the children's novel of the same name.-Plot synopsis:...
(1980) - Mrs Errol - Why Didn't They Ask Evans?Why Didn't They Ask Evans?Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in September 1934 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1935 under the title of The Boomerang Clue.The UK edition retailed at seven shillings...
(1980) - Sylvia Bassington-ffrench - American FriendsAmerican FriendsAmerican Friends is a 1991 film starring Michael Palin. It was written by Palin and Tristram Powell, and directed by Powell.-Plot:Palin plays Francis Ashby, a senior Oxford professor on holiday in the Swiss Alps in 1861. There he meets the American Caroline Hartley and her 18-year old ward Elinor...
(1991) - Caroline Hartley