George Christopher Canavan (6 June 1928 – 1 March 2013) was a British television and stage actor. On television, Canavan was known for his recurring roles as an

extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

on the British soap opera, ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'', for more than fifty years, from 1962 until 2013.

Background

Born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Canavan moved to

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

with his family when he was eleven years old. Canavan served in the Merchant Navy. Canavan owned and operated a

window cleaning Window cleaning, or window washing, is the exterior cleaning of architectural glass used for structural, lighting, or decorative purposes. It can be done manually, using a variety of tools for cleaning and access. Technology is also employed and ...

business, which he acquired after beginning his acting career. He continued to work as a cleaner until 2012. Canavan became an actor after marrying his wife, Maureen. He studied in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

drama school. He continued to act on the side after taking over his window cleaning business. He joined the companies of the Preston Drama Club and Broughton Players during the 1950s. His career in television began after he was spotted by a television professional while performing in a

Roy Barraclough Roy Senior Barraclough (12 July 1935 – 1 June 2017) was an English comic actor. He was best known for his role as Alec Gilroy, the devious, mournful landlord of the Rovers Return in the long-running British TV soap '' Coronation Street'', a ...

-directed play at the Skipton Festival.Canavan was soon cast on television shows on the BBC and

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

spanning several decades. He appeared in the 1981 series, ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

'', starring

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

, as well as ''

The Liver Birds ''The Liver Birds'' is a British sitcom, set in Liverpool, North West England, which aired on BBC1 from April 1969 to January 1979, and again in 1996. The show was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor. The two Liverpudlian housewives had met ...

'' and ''

Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...

''.

Coronation Street

Chris Canavan first appeared as an extra on ''

'' in 1962. He would continue to appear in multiple background roles on the show for more than fifty years from 1962 to 2013, becoming the longest serving extra in the show's history. It was not uncommon for actors to play several characters on the show during the early years of Coronation Street. For example, Canavan played a construction worker named Dusty and a mouse and rat catcher. He often appeared as a customer and a rover at The Rovers, a fictional pub often featured in the show. Another of Canavan's characters attended the wedding of

Rita Sullivan Rita Tanner (also Littlewood, Bates, Fairclough and Sullivan) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street''. Portrayed by veteran actress Barbara Knox, the character first appeared onscreen as "Rita Littlewood ...

and

Dennis Tanner Dennis Tanner is a Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, played by Philip Lowrie. The character was created by writer Tony Warren and was in ...

on the show. Though much of his work on ''Coronation Street'', included small, nonspeaking parts, Canavan developed a following among fans. Canavan died from a heart attack on 1 March 2013, at the age of 84. He was predeceased by his wife and survived by three children and four grandchildren. His funeral was held at St Mary's Church in Fulwood, where he had resided.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Canavan, Chris 1928 births 2013 deaths British male soap opera actors British male stage actors British Merchant Navy personnel British people of Irish descent Male actors from Preston, Lancashire Male actors from Belfast