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 Fi ... sh 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.
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| Organization | Category | Movie |
|---|
As Time Goes By
as Lionel Hardcastle
Episodes: 67
First Aired: Jan 12, 1992
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
as Jimmy Anderson
Episodes: 28
First Aired: Sep 08, 1976
Butterflies
as Ben Parkinson
Episodes: 28
First Aired: Nov 10, 1978
Grumpy Old Men
as Narrator
Episodes: 14
First Aired: Oct 10, 2003
Fairly Secret Army
as Major Harry Truscott
Episodes: 13
First Aired: Oct 22, 1984
The Savages
as Donald
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Apr 24, 2001
Look at the State We're In!
as The Ruler
Episodes: 6
First Aired: May 20, 1995
Stig of the Dump
as Robert
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Jan 01, 2002
The 1940's House
as Narrator (voice)
Episodes: 5
First Aired: Jan 02, 2001
He Knew He Was Right
as Sir Marmaduke Rowley
Episodes: 4
First Aired: Apr 18, 2004
Christabel
as Mr. Burton
Episodes: 4
First Aired: Nov 16, 1988
Bill Brand
as Malcolm Frear
Episodes: 4
First Aired: Jun 07, 1976
Out of the Unknown
as Chief Officer
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Oct 04, 1965
Doctor Who
as Masters
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Nov 23, 1963
Crown Court
as Kenneth Eden
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Oct 11, 1972
Colditz
as Doc
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Oct 19, 1972
Doomwatch
as Major Sims
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Feb 09, 1970
The Expert
as Asst. Chief Constable Rogers
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Jul 05, 1968
Dalgliesh
as Edwin Lorrimer
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Apr 08, 1983
The Sweeney
as Commander Watson
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 02, 1975
Ashes to Ashes
as Lord Scarman
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 07, 2008
Fawlty Towers
as Dr. Price
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 19, 1975
The Professionals
as Avery
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 30, 1977
Inspector Morse
as Matthew Copley-Barnes
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 06, 1987
The Saint
as Pete Ferguson
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 04, 1962
Van der Valk
as Head of Faculty
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 13, 1972
The Revenue Men
as Bill Mitchell
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 28, 1967
Natural World
as Narrator
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 30, 1983
The Avengers
as Paul Manning
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 07, 1961
The Kenny Everett Television Show
as Various
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 25, 1982
The Human Jungle
as Williams
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 30, 1963
Doctor Who
as Administrator
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 23, 1963
Oxbridge Blues
as Fred
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 14, 1984
Play for Today
as Detetective Chief Inspector Harris
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 15, 1970
Edward the Seventh
as Sir Edward Clarke
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Apr 01, 1975
Blackadder
as Field Marshal Haig
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jun 15, 1983
Bergerac
as Nigel Carter
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 18, 1981
Gideon's Way
as Jeff Grant
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 18, 1965
The Troubleshooters
as Jeremy Martin
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jul 07, 1965
The Man In Room 17
as Ian McWatt
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jun 11, 1965
The Hollow Crown
as Lord Chief Justice
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jun 30, 2012
The Wednesday Play
as Property Agent
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 30, 1964
The Goodies
as School Headmaster
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 08, 1970
Doctor Who
as Captain Hardaker
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 26, 2005
Play for Today
as Jack Buckett
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 15, 1970
The Professionals
as Simon Sinclair
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 30, 1977
Agatha Christie's Poirot
as Vice Admiral Hamling
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 08, 1989
The Avengers
as Martin Smythe
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 07, 1961
The Army Game
Episodes: 154
First Aired: Jun 19, 1957
Mr. Men and Little Miss
Episodes: 132
First Aired: Dec 31, 1974
Executive Stress
Episodes: 19
First Aired: Oct 20, 1986
Hot Metal
Episodes: 13
First Aired: Feb 16, 1986
The Last Song
Episodes: 13
First Aired: Nov 03, 1981
Absolute Power
Episodes: 12
First Aired: Nov 10, 2003
Best Of Enemies
Episodes: 7
First Aired: Unknown
Bulldog Breed
Episodes: 7
First Aired: Sep 19, 1962
The Legacy of Reginald Perrin
Episodes: 7
First Aired: Sep 22, 1996
The Joe Baker Show
Episodes: 6
First Aired: May 29, 1965
Chateau Monty
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Sep 04, 2008
Whoops Apocalypse
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Mar 14, 1982
Angels
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Sep 01, 1975
Dickens
Episodes: 3
First Aired: May 11, 2002
The One Show
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Aug 14, 2006
Softly, Softly
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 05, 1966
The Avengers
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 07, 1961
The Goodies
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 08, 1970
No Hiding Place
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 16, 1959
Play for Today
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 15, 1970
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 03, 2007
Mystery and Imagination
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 29, 1966
The BBC Television Shakespeare
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 03, 1978
The Kenny Everett Television Show
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 25, 1982
An Audience with...
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 08, 1978
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 7 |
| 2024 | 7 | 16 | 25 | 8 |
| 2024 | 8 | 14 | 32 | 7 |
| 2024 | 9 | 10 | 27 | 3 |
| 2024 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 4 |
| 2024 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| 2024 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | 8 | 20 | 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 |