Geoffrey Palmer
Known for Acting · 158 credits
- Born
- 1927-06-04
- Died
- 2020-11-05
- Place of birth
- Finchley, Middlesex, England, UK
- Also known as
- Geoffrey Dyson Palmer
Biography
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".
Known For
TV Shows (90)
The One Show
2006
as Self
Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989
as Vice Admiral Hamling
Natural World
1983
as Narrator
Crown Court
1972
as Kenneth Eden
The Avengers
1961
as Dr. Terence / Paul Manning / Martin Smythe
Play for Today
1970
as Detetective Chief Inspector Harris / Jack Buckett
Doctor Who
1963
as Administrator / Masters
The Wednesday Play
1964
as Property Agent
The Saint
1962
as Pete Ferguson
No Hiding Place
1959
as Det. Sgt. Walsh
BBC Play of the Month
1965
as Monteith
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
2007
as Self
Thirty-Minute Theatre
1965
as Professor Wybrow
The Professionals
1977
as Avery / Simon Sinclair
Bergerac
1981
as Nigel Carter
Inspector Morse
1987
as Matthew Copley-Barnes
The Sweeney
1975
as Commander Watson
ITV Playhouse
1967
as Harper / Oscar / Bradley Fawcett / Man at the clinic / Eric
Gideon's Way
1965
as Jeff Grant
Softly, Softly
1966
Blackadder
1983
as Field Marshal Haig
Drama 61-67
1961
as Basil Mallard
Mr. Men and Little Miss
1995
Angels
1975
An Audience with...
1978
as Self
The Troubleshooters
1965
as Jeremy Martin
The Expert
1968
as Asst. Chief Constable Rogers
As Time Goes By
1992
as Lionel Hardcastle
Van der Valk
1972
as Head of Faculty
Screen One
1989
as Donleavy
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
1969
as Mac
Out of the Unknown
1965
as Jack Mervyn
Doomwatch
1970
as Major Sims
Dalgliesh
1983
as Edwin Lorrimer
Fawlty Towers
1975
as Dr. Price
Churchill's People
1974
as Samuel Partridge
Ashes to Ashes
2008
as Lord Scarman
Mystery and Imagination
1966
as Turner
The Hollow Crown
2012
as Lord Chief Justice
The Human Jungle
1963
as Williams
The Kenny Everett Television Show
1982
as Various
The Goodies
1970
as School Headmaster
The Further Adventures of the Musketeers
1967
as Oliver Cromwell
Suspense
1962
as Newspaper Reporter
Detective
1964
as Chief Superintendent Smeed
Colditz
1972
as Doc
Bill Brand
1976
as Malcolm Frear
Butterflies
1978
as Ben Parkinson
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
1976
as Jimmy Anderson
Menace
1970
as Major Ryder
Londoners
1965
as Jack Poncey
The Man in Room 17
1965
as Ian McWatt
City '68
1967
as Robins
Oxbridge Blues
1984
as Fred
Armchair Theatre
1956
as Rankin
Absolute Power
2003
Grumpy Old Men
2003
as Narrator
Executive Stress
1986
He Knew He Was Right
2004
as Sir Marmaduke Rowley
Fairly Secret Army
1984
as Major Harry Truscott
Movies (68)
Paddington
2014
as Head Geographer
Tomorrow Never Dies
1997
as Admiral Roebuck
Peter Pan
2003
as Sir Edward Quiller Couch
The Honorary Consul
1983
as British Ambassador
A Fish Called Wanda
1988
as Judge
W.E.
2011
as Stanley Baldwin
Anna and the King
1999
as Lord John Bradley
The Pink Panther 2
2009
as Joubert
The Madness of King George
1994
as Warren
The Young Visiters
2003
as Minnit
Doctor Who: The Mutants
1972
as Administrator
The Uninvited
1971
as Jack Mervyn
Rat
2000
as The Doctor
O Lucky Man!
1973
as Examination Doctor/Basil Keyes
Mrs Brown
1997
as Henry Ponsonby
Reckless: The Sequel
1998
as Robert Crane
Waters of the Moon
1983
as Robert Lancaster
Alice Through the Looking Glass
1998
as White King
Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned
2007
as Captain Hardaker
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1981
as Quince
Goodbye
1975
as Jack
Clockwise
1986
as Headmaster
The Insurance Man
1986
as The Angry Doctor
A Zed & Two Noughts
1985
as Fallast
The Funny Blokes of British Comedy
2005
as Self
Stiff Upper Lips
1998
as His Butler's Voice
Lost Christmas
2011
as Dr. Clarence
Bert & Dickie
2012
as Charles Burnell
Piccadilly Jim
2004
as Bayliss
A Question of Attribution
1991
as Donleavy
Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley
2008
as Sir John Crowder
The Outsider
1979
as Col. Wyndham
To Olivia
2021
Fawlty Towers: Re-Opened
2009
as Self / Dr Price
Hawks
1988
as SAAB Salesman
Cathy Come Home
1966
as Property Agent
Run For Your Wife
2012
as Man on Toilet
Radio Pictures
1985
as Glyn Bryce
The High Game
1970
as Man at the Clinic
The Chequers Manoeuvre
1968
as Professor Wybrow
1+1=1.5
1969
as Gosford
Inside Rooms: 26 Bathrooms, London & Oxfordshire
1985
as Narrator
Stalag Luft
1993
as The Kommandant
Only Make Believe
1973
as Richard Nicholls
Ring of Spies
1964
as Police Officer (uncredited)
A Prize of Arms
1962
as Cpl. Myers
James Bond's Greatest Hits
2006
as Narrator (voice)
Season's Greetings
1986
as Bernard
The Funny Side of Christmas
1982
as Jimmy Anderson, Ben Parkinson
Absurd Person Singular
1985
as Ronald Brewster-Wright
Doctor Who and the Silurians
1970
as Masters
Drama '63: A Well Dressed Man
1963
as Basil Mallard
Michael Regan
1971
as Chief Superintendent
Mr. Kershaw's Dream System
1982
as Psychiastrist
Pope John Paul II: 1920 - 2005
2005
as Narrator
Smack and Thistle
1991
as Sir Horace Wimbol
The Battle of Billy's Pond
1976
as First Policeman
Loyalties
1976
as Graviter
Incident at Midnight
1963
as Dr. Tanfield
A Story to Frighten the Children
1976
as Det. Chief Insp. Harris
Mr. Men & Little Miss: The Christmas Letter
1998
as Narrator / Santa
The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag
2005
as Corbett's Ghost
Safe at Work?
1980
as Narrator
No Place Like Earth
1965
as Chief Officer
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
1983
as Jimmy Anderson
Queen Victoria's Last Love: Abdul Karim
2012
as Narrator
Walrus: Two Tonne Tusker
2013
as Narrator
The Houseboy
1982
as Eric
About 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 Cha… With 158 credits spanning from 1956 to 2021, Geoffrey Palmer has appeared in 68 films and 90 TV shows.
Fans searching for Geoffrey Palmer movies, Geoffrey Palmer filmography, or the latest projects starring Geoffrey Palmer can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Geoffrey Palmer Movies
- Paddington (2014) — as Head Geographer
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) — as Admiral Roebuck
- Peter Pan (2003) — as Sir Edward Quiller Couch
- The Honorary Consul (1983) — as British Ambassador
- A Fish Called Wanda (1988) — as Judge
Where to Watch Geoffrey Palmer Films
Most Geoffrey Palmer movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Geoffrey Palmer, check our movies catalogue and browse page.