Geoffrey Palmer
Born
June 4, 1927
Died
November 5, 2020 (93 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Finchley, Middlesex, England, UK
Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE (4 June 1927 - 5 November 2020) was an English actor known for his roles in British television sitcoms playing Jimmy Anderson in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976–79), Ben Parkinson in Butterflies (1978–1983) and Lionel Hardcastle in As Time Goes By (1992–2005). His film appearances include A Fish Called Wanda (1988), The Madness of King George (1994), Mrs. Brown (1997), and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
Geoffrey Dyson Palmer was born on 4 June 1927 in North Finchley, Middlesex. He was the son of Frederick Charles Palmer, who was a chartered surveyor, and Norah Gwendolen (née Robins). He attended Highgate School from September 1939 to December 1945. He served as a corporal instructor in small arms and field training in the Royal Marines during his national service from 1946 to 1948, following which he briefly worked as an unpaid trainee assistant stage manager.
Palmer's early television appearances included multiple roles in episodes of The Army Game (Granada Television), two episodes of The Baron and as a property agent in Cathy Come Home (1966). After a major break in John Osborne's West of Suez at the Royal Court with Ralph Richardson, he acted in major productions at the Royal Court and for the National Theatre Company and was directed by Laurence Olivier in J. B. Priestley's Eden End. Palmer found the play so dull, however, that he was deterred from a stage career.
Two BBC sitcom roles brought him attention in the 1970s: the hapless brother-in-law of Reggie Perrin in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976–79), and the phlegmatic dentist Ben Parkinson in Butterflies (1978–1983).
In 1978, Palmer appeared as organized crimelord Simon Sinclair in London Weekend Television's hard-hitting police drama The Professionals, the episode entitled "Where the Jungle Ends".
Palmer played Doctor Price in the Fawlty Towers episode "The Kipper and the Corpse" (1979), determined to have breakfast amidst the confusion caused by the death of a guest and Fawlty's inept way of handling the emergency. In 1986, Palmer appeared as Donald Fairchild in the first series of an ITV sitcom, Executive Stress, alongside Penelope Keith. He later left, and was replaced by Peter Bowles.
Palmer later starred opposite Judi Dench for over a decade in another BBC sitcom, As Time Goes By (1992–2005). In 1997, he also appeared with Dench in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, in which he portrayed Admiral Roebuck to Dench's M, and Mrs Brown, playing Sir Henry Ponsonby to Dench's Queen Victoria.
Palmer married Sally Green in 1963. They had a daughter, Harriet, and a son, Charles, a television director. Palmer was a longtime resident of Lee Common in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, and enjoyed fly fishing in his spare time. At the time of his death, he resided in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.
Palmer died peacefully at his home on 5 November 2020, aged 93
To Olivia
2021
Paddington
Head Geographer
2014
Walrus: Two Tonne Tusker
Narrator
2013
Bert & Dickie
Charles Burnell
2012
Run For Your Wife
Man on Toilet
2012
Queen Victoria's Last Love: Abdul Karim
Narrator
2012
Lost Christmas
Dr. Clarence
2011
W.E.
Stanley Baldwin
2011
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
Self / Dr Price
2009
The Pink Panther 2
Joubert
2009
Chateau Monty
(6 episodes)
2008
Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley
Sir John Crowder
2008
Ashes to Ashes
Lord Scarman · (1 episode)
2008
Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned
Captain Hardaker
2007
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
Self · (1 episode)
2007
The One Show
Self · (1 episode)
2006
The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag
Corbett's Ghost
2005
Pope John Paul II: 1920 - 2005
Narrator
2005
Piccadilly Jim
Bayliss
2004
He Knew He Was Right
Sir Marmaduke Rowley · (4 episodes)
2004
The Young Visiters
Minnit
2003
Peter Pan
Sir Edward Quiller Couch
2003
Absolute Power
(12 episodes)
2003
The Savages
Donald · (6 episodes)
2001
Rat
The Doctor
2000
Anna and the King
Lord John Bradley
1999
Alice Through the Looking Glass
White King
1998
Mr. Men & Little Miss: The Christmas Letter
Narrator / Santa
1998
Reckless: The Sequel
Robert Crane
1998
Stiff Upper Lips
His Butler's Voice
1998
Tomorrow Never Dies
Admiral Roebuck
1997
Mrs Brown
Henry Ponsonby
1997
The Legacy of Reginald Perrin
(7 episodes)
1996
The Madness of King George
Warren
1994
Stalag Luft
The Kommandant
1993
As Time Goes By
Lionel Hardcastle · (67 episodes)
1992
A Question of Attribution
Donleavy
1991
Smack and Thistle
Sir Horace Wimbol
1991
Hawks
SAAB Salesman
1988
A Fish Called Wanda
Judge
1988
Inspector Morse
Matthew Copley-Barnes · (1 episode)
1987
Season's Greetings
Bernard
1986
Executive Stress
(19 episodes)
1986
Clockwise
Headmaster
1986
The Insurance Man
The Angry Doctor
1986
Hot Metal
(13 episodes)
1986
A Zed & Two Noughts
Fallast
1985
Inside Rooms: 26 Bathrooms, London & Oxfordshire
Narrator
1985
Absurd Person Singular
Ronald Brewster-Wright
1985
Natural World
Narrator · (1 episode)
1983
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
Jimmy Anderson
1983
The Honorary Consul
British Ambassador
1983
The Houseboy
Eric
1982
Whoops Apocalypse
(3 episodes)
1982
The Kenny Everett Television Show
Various · (1 episode)
1982
Mr. Kershaw's Dream System
Psychiastrist
1982
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Quince
1981
The Last Song
(13 episodes)
1981
Safe at Work?
Narrator
1980
The Outsider
Col. Wyndham
1979
The BBC Television Shakespeare
Quince · (1 episode)
1978
Butterflies
Ben Parkinson · (28 episodes)
1978
The Professionals
Avery · (1 episode)
1977
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
Jimmy Anderson · (28 episodes)
1976
Loyalties
Graviter
1976
A Story to Frighten the Children
Det. Chief Insp. Harris
1976
The Battle of Billy's Pond
First Policeman
1976
Fawlty Towers
Dr. Price · (1 episode)
1975
Angels
(3 episodes)
1975
Goodbye
Jack
1975
The Sweeney
Commander Watson · (1 episode)
1975
Mr. Men and Little Miss
(132 episodes)
1974
O Lucky Man!
Examination Doctor/Basil Keyes
1973
Only Make Believe
Richard Nicholls
1973
Colditz
Doc · (2 episodes)
1972
Van der Valk
Head of Faculty · (1 episode)
1972
Doctor Who: The Mutants
Administrator
1972
Michael Regan
Chief Superintendent
1971
Play for Today
(1 episode)
1970
The High Game
Man at the Clinic
1970
Doctor Who and the Silurians
Masters
1970
Doomwatch
Major Sims · (2 episodes)
1970
The Expert
Asst. Chief Constable Rogers · (2 episodes)
1968
The Revenue Men
Bill Mitchell · (1 episode)
1967
Cathy Come Home
Property Agent
1966
Mystery and Imagination
(1 episode)
1966
Softly, Softly
(1 episode)
1966
No Place Like Earth
Chief Officer
1965
Out of the Unknown
Chief Officer · (3 episodes)
1965
The Joe Baker Show
(6 episodes)
1965
Ring of Spies
Police Officer (uncredited)
1964
Incident at Midnight
Dr. Tanfield
1963
The Saint
Pete Ferguson · (1 episode)
1962
Bulldog Breed
(7 episodes)
1962
The Avengers
(1 episode)
1961
No Hiding Place
(1 episode)
1959
Best Of Enemies
(7 episodes)
The Hollow Crown
Lord Chief Justice · (1 episode)
2012
Grumpy Old Men
Narrator · (14 episodes)
2003
Dickens
(3 episodes)
2002
Stig of the Dump
Robert · (6 episodes)
2002
The 1940's House
Narrator (voice) · (5 episodes)
2001
Look at the State We're In!
The Ruler · (6 episodes)
1995
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Vice Admiral Hamling · (1 episode)
1989
Christabel
Mr. Burton · (4 episodes)
1988
Oxbridge Blues
Fred · (1 episode)
1984
Fairly Secret Army
Major Harry Truscott · (13 episodes)
1984
Blackadder
Field Marshal Haig · (1 episode)
1983
Dalgliesh
Edwin Lorrimer · (2 episodes)
1983
Bergerac
Nigel Carter · (1 episode)
1981
An Audience with...
Self · (1 episode)
1978
The Professionals
Simon Sinclair · (1 episode)
1977
Bill Brand
Malcolm Frear · (4 episodes)
1976
Edward the Seventh
Sir Edward Clarke · (1 episode)
1975
Crown Court
Kenneth Eden · (3 episodes)
1972
The Goodies
School Headmaster · (1 episode)
1970
Play for Today
Detetective Chief Inspector Harris · (1 episode)
1970
Play for Today
Jack Buckett · (1 episode)
1970
BBC Play of the Month
Monteith · (1 episode)
1965
The Troubleshooters
Jeremy Martin · (1 episode)
1965
The Man in Room 17
Ian McWatt · (1 episode)
1965
Londoners
Jack Poncey · (1 episode)
1965
Gideon's Way
Jeff Grant · (1 episode)
1965
The Wednesday Play
Property Agent · (1 episode)
1964
Doctor Who
Administrator · (1 episode)
1963
Doctor Who
Masters · (3 episodes)
1963
The Human Jungle
Williams · (1 episode)
1963
A Prize of Arms
Cpl. Myers
1962
The Avengers
Paul Manning · (1 episode)
1961
The Avengers
Martin Smythe · (1 episode)
1961