Education
He studied in Southport drama school.
He studied in Southport drama school.
On television, Canavan was known for his recurring roles as an extra on the British soap opera,, for more than fifty years, from 1962 until 2013. Born in Belfast, Canavan moved to Preston, Lancashire with his family when he was eleven years old. Canavan served in the Merchant Navy.
Canavan owned and operated a window cleaning business, which he acquired after beginning his acting career.
He continued to work as a cleaner until 2012. 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-directed play at the Skipton Festival.
Canavan was soon cast on television shows on the British Broadcasting Corporation and Granada Television spanning several decades.
He appeared in the 1981 series, Brideshead Revisited, starring Laurence Olivier, as well as The Liver Birds and Prime Suspect. 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.
lieutenant was not uncommon for actors to play several characters on the show during the early years of Foreign 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 public often featured in the show. Another of Canavan"s characters attended the wedding of Rita Sullivan and Dennis Tanner on the show.
Though much of his work on, 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.
His funeral was held at Street Mary's Church in Fulwood, where he had resided.