The Late Great Geoffrey Palmer

Geoffrey Palmer, the actor known for the TV shows The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, Butterflies, and As Time Goes By as such movies as O Lucky Man! (1973), The Madness of King George (1994), and Mrs. Brown (1997), died yesterday at the age of 93.

Geoffrey Palmer was born on June 4 1927 in London. From 1946 to 1948 he served in the Royal Marines. While he qualified as an accountant, but a girlfriend persuaded him to join a local dramatic society. He took a position as an assistant stage manager at the Grand Theatre in Croydon. Afterwards he toured in repertory theatre.

In 1955 Geoffrey Palmer made his television debut in 1955 in an episode of St. Ives. In the late Fifties he guest starred on such programs as BBC Sunday-Night Theatre, The Killing Stones, Murder Bag, Arthur's Treasured Volumes, Interpol Calling, The Odd Man, and Probation Officer. He made several guest appearances on The Army Game.

In the Sixties he was a regular on the TV show Family Solicitor. He was a regular on Garry Halliday. He made several gust appearances on Bootsie and Smudge. He guest starred on such shows as ITV Play of the Week, Top Secret, No Hiding Place, Harpers West One, The Edgar Wallace Theatre, The Human Jungle, Suspense, The Saint, Gideon's Way, Riviera Police, The Avengers, Pardon the Expression, Armchair Theatre, The Baron, The Man in Room 17, Sergeant Cork, Public Eye, The Rat Catchers, Emergency-Ward 10, Mrs. Thursday, The Troubleshooters, Coronation Street, George and the Dragon, Z Cars, Love Story, and Paul Temple. He made his film debut in 1962 in A Prize of Arms. During the Sixties he appeared in the movies Incident at Midnight (1963), Ring of Spies (1964), and Cast a Giant Shadow (1966).

In the Seventies, Mr. Palmer starred on the sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. He was a regular on Bill Brand. He appeared on such shows as ITV Saturday Night Theatre, Out of the Unknown, Doctor Who, Doomwatch, Colditz, The Liver Birds, The Prince of Denmark, Churchill's People, Play for Today, BBC Play of the Month, Angels, Van der Valk, Happy Ever After, Crown Court, Fawlty Towers, and The Goodies. He appeared in the movies O! Lucky Man! (1973), The Battle of Billy's Pond (1976), and The Outsider (1979).

In the Eighties Geoffrey Palmer starred in the TV shows The Last Song, Butterflies, Fairly Secret Army, Executive Stress, and Hot Metal. He guest starred on such shows as Young at Heart, Whoops Apocalypse, ITV Playhouse, The Professionals, Oxbridge Blues, Screen Two, Blackadder Goes Forth, Inspector Morse, and Bergerac. He appeared in the movies The Honorary Consul (1983), A Zed & Two Naughts (1985), Clockwise (1986), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), and Hawks (1988).

In the Nineties Mr. Palmer starred on the TV show As Time Goes By. He reprised his role as Jimmy Anderson in The Legacy of Reginald Perrin. He guest starred on the shows Screen One and Alleyn Mysteries. He appeared in the movies The Madness of King George (1994), Mrs. Brown (1997), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Stiff Upper Lips (1998), Anna and the King (1999), and Rat (2000).

Geoffrey Palmer continued to star on As Time Goes By into the Naughts. He was a regular on the shows Savage and  Dickens. He guest starred on the shows Absolute Power, Doctor Who, Ashes to Ashes, Poirot, and Grandpa in My Pocket. He appeared in the movies Peter Pan (2003), Picadilly Jim (2004),  and The Pink Panther 2 (2009). 

In the Teens he guest starred on the TV show Rev. He appeared in the mini-series The Hollow Crown and Parade's End. Mr. Palmer appeared in the movies W.E. (2011), Lost Christmas (2011), Run for Your Wife (2012), Bert & Dickie (2012), and Paddington (2014).

Geoffrey Palmer was known for playing world-weary characters who often had difficulty expressing their feelings. This characterized two of his best known roles, dentist Ben Parkinson on Butterflies and Lionel Hardcastle on As Time Goes By. That having been said, he could easily play other sorts of characters. On The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin he played the title character's brother-in-law, Jimmy Anderson, an incompetent who often overestimated his own authority. His gravelly voice lent itself to authority figures, including Queen Victoria's chief secretary Sir Henry Posonby in Mrs. Brown, Admiral Roebuck in Tomorrow Never Dies, and Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin in W.E. Geoffrey Palmer was a wonderful actor with a gift for comedy who, at the same time, was adept at playing drama.