James Booth (19 December 1927- 11 August 2005) was the stage name of David Geeves. He was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. Though handsome enough to play leading roles, and versatile enough to play a wide variety of character parts, Booth naturally projected a shifty, wolfish, or unpredictable quality that led inevitably to villainous roles and comedy, usually with a cockney flavour. He was born in Croydon, Surrey on 19 December 1927, the son of a probation officer. He was educated at Southend Grammar School, which he left aged 17 to join the army. He rose to the rank of captain. He was trained at RADA and he made his first professional appearance as a member of the Old Vic company, before joining Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East in 1958. He married Paula Delaney in 1960 and they had two sons and two daughters. He died in Hadleigh,Essex on 11 August 2005 aged 77.
