Acting
Geoffrey Palmer
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.
Filmography
To Olivia
Film · 2021
Paddington
Film · 2014
Walrus: Two Tonne Tusker
Film · 2013
Bert & Dickie
Film · 2012
Run For Your Wife
Film · 2012
Queen Victoria's Last Love: Abdul Karim
Film · 2012
The Hollow Crown
Series · 2012
Lost Christmas
Film · 2011
W.E.
Film · 2011
The Pink Panther 2
Film · 2009
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
Film · 2009
Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley
Film · 2008
Ashes to Ashes
Series · 2008
Chateau Monty
Series · 2008
Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned
Film · 2007
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
Series · 2007
James Bond's Greatest Hits
Film · 2006
The One Show
Series · 2006
The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag
Film · 2005
Pope John Paul II: 1920 - 2005
Film · 2005
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
Film · 2005
Piccadilly Jim
Film · 2004
He Knew He Was Right
Series · 2004
The Young Visiters
Film · 2003
Peter Pan
Film · 2003
Absolute Power
Series · 2003
Grumpy Old Men
Series · 2003
Looking for Victoria
Series · 2003
Stig of the Dump
Series · 2002
Dickens
Series · 2002
The Savages
Series · 2001
The 1940s House
Series · 2001
Rat
Film · 2000
Anna and the King
Film · 1999
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Film · 1998
Reckless: The Sequel
Film · 1998
Mr. Men & Little Miss: The Christmas Letter
Film · 1998
Stiff Upper Lips
Film · 1998
Tomorrow Never Dies
Film · 1997
Mrs Brown
Film · 1997
The Legacy of Reginald Perrin
Series · 1996
Mr. Men and Little Miss
Series · 1995
Look at the State We're In!
Series · 1995
The Madness of King George
Film · 1994
Stalag Luft
Film · 1993
As Time Goes By
Series · 1992
A Question of Attribution
Film · 1991
Smack and Thistle
Film · 1991
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Series · 1989
Screen One
Series · 1989
A Fish Called Wanda
Film · 1988
Hawks
Film · 1988
Christabel
Series · 1988
Inspector Morse
Series · 1987
Season's Greetings
Film · 1986
The Insurance Man
Film · 1986
Clockwise
Film · 1986
Executive Stress
Series · 1986
Hot Metal
Series · 1986
A Zed & Two Noughts
Film · 1985
Inside Rooms: 26 Bathrooms, London & Oxfordshire
Film · 1985
Absurd Person Singular
Film · 1985
Radio Pictures
Film · 1985
Summer Season
Series · 1985
Oxbridge Blues
Series · 1984
Fairly Secret Army
Series · 1984
The Honorary Consul
Film · 1983
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
Film · 1983
Waters of the Moon
Film · 1983
Natural World
Series · 1983
Dalgliesh
Series · 1983
Blackadder
Series · 1983
Death of an Expert Witness
Series · 1983
Mr. Kershaw's Dream System
Film · 1982
The Houseboy
Film · 1982
The Funny Side of Christmas
Film · 1982
The Kenny Everett Television Show
Series · 1982
Whoops Apocalypse
Series · 1982
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Film · 1981
The Last Song
Series · 1981
Bergerac
Series · 1981
Plays for Pleasure
Series · 1981
Safe at Work?
Film · 1980
The Outsider
Film · 1979
Butterflies
Series · 1978
An Audience with...
Series · 1978
Scorpion Tales
Series · 1978
The Professionals
Series · 1977
The Professionals
Series · 1977
Maidens' Trip
Series · 1977
Loyalties
Film · 1976
The Battle of Billy's Pond
Film · 1976
A Story to Frighten the Children
Film · 1976
Bill Brand
Series · 1976
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
Series · 1976
Goodbye
Film · 1975
The Sweeney
Series · 1975
Fawlty Towers
Series · 1975
Angels
Series · 1975
Three Comedies of Marriage
Series · 1975
Churchill's People
Series · 1974
Happy Ever After
Series · 1974
Happy Ever After
Series · 1974
Only Make Believe
Film · 1973
O Lucky Man!
Film · 1973
Away from It All
Series · 1973
Doctor Who: The Mutants
Film · 1972
Colditz
Series · 1972
Van der Valk
Series · 1972
Crown Court
Series · 1972
Six Days of Justice
Series · 1972
Michael Regan
Film · 1971
The Uninvited
Film · 1971
Doctor Who and the Silurians
Film · 1970
The High Game
Film · 1970
Doomwatch
Series · 1970
Play for Today
Series · 1970
Play for Today
Series · 1970
The Goodies
Series · 1970
Play for Today
Series · 1970
Ben Travers Farces
Series · 1970
Menace
Series · 1970
1+1=1.5
Film · 1969
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Series · 1969
The Chequers Manoeuvre
Film · 1968
The Expert
Series · 1968
Frost on Sunday
Series · 1968
The Revenue Men
Series · 1967
The Further Adventures of the Musketeers
Series · 1967
ITV Playhouse
Series · 1967
ITV Playhouse
Series · 1967
ITV Playhouse
Series · 1967
ITV Playhouse
Series · 1967
ITV Playhouse
Series · 1967
Trapped
Series · 1967
City '68
Series · 1967
Cathy Come Home
Film · 1966
Softly, Softly
Series · 1966
Mystery and Imagination
Series · 1966
No Place Like Earth
Film · 1965
Out of the Unknown
Series · 1965
The Joe Baker Show
Series · 1965
Gideon's Way
Series · 1965
The Troubleshooters
Series · 1965
The Man in Room 17
Series · 1965
BBC Play of the Month
Series · 1965
Londoners
Series · 1965
Thirty-Minute Theatre
Series · 1965
Ring of Spies
Film · 1964
The Wednesday Play
Series · 1964
Detective
Series · 1964
Incident at Midnight
Film · 1963
Drama '63: A Well Dressed Man
Film · 1963
The Human Jungle
Series · 1963
Doctor Who
Series · 1963
Doctor Who
Series · 1963
A Prize of Arms
Film · 1962
The Saint
Series · 1962
Bulldog Breed
Series · 1962
Suspense
Series · 1962
The Avengers
Series · 1961
The Avengers
Series · 1961
The Avengers
Series · 1961
Drama 61-67
Series · 1961
Family Solicitor
Series · 1961
The Odd Man
Series · 1960
The Strange World of Gurney Slade
Series · 1960
No Hiding Place
Series · 1959
Armchair Theatre
Series · 1956
Best Of Enemies
Series