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English actor (1927–2005)

James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Private Henry Hook in Zulu. Variety called him "a punchy blend of toughness, potential evil and irresistible charm." Though many observers expected Booth to become a major star, his acting career stalled and nearly stopped. In interviews, Booth was forthcoming about the reasons for his professional difficulties. These included his appearance in the flop stage musical Twang!! in 1965, the flop film The Secret of My Success opposite such popular actresses as Honor Blackman and Shirley Jones, his alcoholism, his unaggressive approach to selling himself, his lack of connections and his own failure to work hard because everything came so easily to him at first. Booth also turned down the lead role of Alfie. By 1974 he was bankrupt, heavily in debt and returned to the stage.

David Noel Geeves was born in Croydon, Surrey, on 19 December 1927, the son of Salvation Army probation officer Captain Ernest Edward Geeves and Lillian Alice (née Edwards), also a Salvation Army officer. The Geeves family moved often due to their duties, serving mainly in working class areas, where they were more financially comfortable than their neighbours; these early experiences of interacting with the working classes had a strong influence on Booth. Having been injured during World War I and left with recurring partial paralysis that affected his ability to walk, Ernest Geeves died in 1938 after suffering a stroke; Lillian subsequently married Salvation Army Lieutenant Colonel Cliff Barnes. Booth was educated at Southend Grammar School, which he left aged 17 to join the army. Having trained recruits in the use of the bayonet, he rose to the rank of Captain in tank transport. He spent several years working for an international trading company. However, his interest in acting soon took priority. According to one obituary, "Booth seemed to excite the theatre like a fountain of high spirits, with his cockney voice and his mischievous way of expressing himself, sometimes teasing, sometimes truly Booth's manner with an audience, which he took into his confidence, was so personal The reason for Booth's success lay simply with his personality. His height also helped. He would loom over the footlights with a commandingly wide grin. And his unpretentious manner added to the ease with which these early performances were accepted."

Producer Irving Allen signed Booth to an exclusive contract with Warwick Films. By this stage he met and married Paula Delaney and he would later say "I don't know what kind of mess my life would be in today if it hadn't been for Paula and Irving. I'm a very insecure person. I've always needed someone to give me security. And they both did." Booth starred as Robin Hood in the stage musical Twang! (1965), which was a troubled production (Littlewood resigned as director) and a notorious flop. Booth later claimed the failure of the musical put him out of work for a year. Booth was a policeman in a heist movie, Robbery (1967), for Levine, alongside his Zulu co star Stanley Baker. He did a comedy with Shirley MacLaine, The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968) then Fräulein Doktor (1969) and The Vessel of Wrath (1970) for TV. Booth went to Australia to make Adam's Woman (1970) and played Rod Taylor's best friend in The Man Who Had Power Over Women (1970). He worked with Taylor again in Darker Than Amber (1970). In 1970 he did "The Alchemist" at the Chichester Festival and had a support role in Macho Callahan (1970), then the lead in Revenge (1971). In 1972, he appeared on stage in The Hostage for Joan Littlewood again. Booth returned to leads in the films Rentadick (1972) and Penny Gold (1973) and TV comedy Them (1972). Booth could be seen in That'll Be the Day (1974), Percy's Progress (1974), The Confederacy of Wives (1975), Brannigan (1975), and I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight (1976).

Booth appeared on Broadway in 1975 in a production of Travesties. He then relocated to Hollywood and found work as a character actor in films like Airport '77 (1977), Murder in Peyton Place (1977), Wheels (1978), Evening in Byzantium (1978), Jennifer: A Woman's Story (1979), Caboblanco (1980), The Jazz Singer (1980) and Zorro: The Gay Blade (1981). He also regularly guest starred on shows like Hart to Hart and The Fall Guy along with TV movies like Hotline and The Cowboy and the Ballerina (1984).

When no one would offer Booth an acting job, he tried his hand at screenwriting and found opportunities in Hollywood. His first writing credit was Sunburn (1979). He was in Pray for Death (1985) which he also wrote; he did double duty on Avenging Force (1986). He wrote the TV movie Stormin' Home (1985). As an actor only he was in Bad Guys (1986). He played a pornography baron living in enforced exile in Spain in series 2 of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet in 1986 and was seen in Moon in Scorpio (1987), Deep Space (1988), The Lady and the Highwayman (1988), and Have a Nice Night (1990). He wrote American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1988) and American Ninja 4: The Annihilation (1990); he acted in the latter and was in episodes of Bergerac and Twin Peaks.

Later acting appearances included Gunsmoke: To the Last Man (1992), Inner Sanctum II (1994), The Breed (2001), Red Phone 2, and Keeping Mum (2005). In later life Booth moved back to Britain. He never retired from performing.

He married Paula Delaney in 1960 and they had two sons and two daughters and lived in Buckinghamshire, Los Angeles and Hadleigh, Essex, where he died on 11 August 2005 aged 77. His last film – Keeping Mum – was dedicated to his memory.

Year Title Role Notes 1956 The Narrowing Circle Bit Role Uncredited 1957 The Girl in the Picture Office boy Credited as David Greeves 1960 Jazz Boat Spider Kelly Let's Get Married Photographer The Trials of Oscar Wilde Alfred Wood In the Nick Spider Kelly 1961 The Hellions Jubal In the Doghouse Bob Skeffington 1963 Sparrows Can't Sing Charlie Gooding 1964 Zulu Private Henry Hook VC French Dressing Jim 1965 Ninety Degrees in the Shade Vorell The Secret of My Success Arthur Tate 1967 Robbery Inspector George Langdon 1968 The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom Ambrose Tuttle 1969 Fräulein Doktor Meyer 1970 Adam's Woman Dyson Darker than Amber Burk Macho Callahan Harry Wheeler The Man Who Had Power Over Women Val Pringle 1971 Revenge Jim Radford 1972 Rentadick Simon Hamilton 1973 That'll Be The Day Mr MacLaine Penny Gold Matthews 1974 Percy's Progress Jeffcott 1975 Brannigan Charlie the Handle 1976 I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight S. J. Nutbrown 1977 Airport '77 Ralph Crawford 1978 Evening in Byzantium Jack Conrad 1980 Caboblanco John Baker The Jazz Singer Paul Rossini 1981 Zorro, The Gay Blade Valasquez 1985 Pray for Death Willie Limehouse 1986 Bad Guys Lord Percy Avenging Force Admiral Brown (also co wrote) 1987 The Retaliator Dr Brock aka Programmed to Kill 1988 Deep Space Dr Forsyth 1990 American Ninja 4: The Annihilation Mulgrew 1994 Inner Sanctum II Detective Hooper 2001 The Breed Fleming 2004 The Pool Patrick 2005 Keeping Mum Mr Brown (final film role)