Geoffrey Palmer

Geoffrey Palmer

Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE 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.
Known For: Acting
Birthday: 1927-06-04
Place of Birth: Finchley, Middlesex, England, UK
Also Known As: Geoffrey Dyson Palmer

Movies List of Geoffrey Palmer

HD

Anna and the King

1999 Movie
HD

A Fish Called Wanda

1988 Movie
HD

Tomorrow Never Dies

1997 Movie
HD

A Zed & Two Noughts

1985 Movie
HD

To Olivia

2021 Movie
HD

The Pink Panther 2

2009 Movie
HD

Mrs Brown

1997 Movie
HD

Lost Christmas

2011 Movie
HD

W.E.

2011 Movie
HD

The Young Visiters

2003 Movie
HD

Reckless: The Sequel

1998 Movie
HD

Bert & Dickie

2012 Movie
HD

Season's Greetings

1986 Movie
HD

Stalag Luft

1993 Movie
HD

Smack and Thistle

1991 Movie
HD

The Honorary Consul

1983 Movie
HD

Run For Your Wife

2012 Movie
HD

Safe at Work?

1980 Movie
HD

The Insurance Man

1986 Movie
HD

Rat

2000 Movie
HD

A Prize of Arms

1962 Movie
HD

Paddington

2014 Movie
HD

The High Game

1970 Movie
HD

Loyalties

1976 Movie
HD

The Houseboy

1982 Movie
HD

Clockwise

1986 Movie
HD

No Place Like Earth

1965 Movie
HD

Hawks

1988 Movie
HD

Cathy Come Home

1966 Movie
HD

Stiff Upper Lips

1998 Movie
HD

Piccadilly Jim

2004 Movie
HD

Peter Pan

2003 Movie
HD

Only Make Believe

1973 Movie
HD

Michael Regan

1971 Movie
HD

The Outsider

1979 Movie
HD

Ring of Spies

1964 Movie
HD

O Lucky Man!

1973 Movie
HD

Goodbye

1975 Movie
HD

Incident at Midnight

1963 Movie