93 years (Jun 4, 1927 – Nov 5, 2020)

Finchley, Middlesex, England, UK

34 Movies

59 TV Shows

Geoffrey Palmer

Known for

Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned

Captain Hardaker

The Madness of King George

Long careers are rarer than they look, and Geoffrey Palmer has become a familiar face who has kept working through several turns of the industry. 'Tomorrow Never Dies' is the other credit that tends to come up. Casting directors have gone to him for comedy more than for anything else. Counting cinema and television together, the tally passes 93 titles. 'Paddington' is the longest-standing point of contact with the audience.

Known for

Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned

Captain Hardaker

The Madness of King George

Movies

Plays Sir Edward Quiller Couch

Peter Pan

2003

⭐ 6.4

Plays Admiral Roebuck

Tomorrow Never Dies

1997

⭐ 7.1

Plays Head Geographer

Plays Lord John Bradley

Anna and the King

1999

⭐ 6.3

Plays Stanley Baldwin

The Madness of King George

1994

⭐ 5.8

Plays British Ambassador

Plays Examination Doctor/Basil Keyes

Plays Captain Hardaker

Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned

Plays His Butler's Voice

Doctor Who: The Mutants

Doctor Who and the Silurians

1970

⭐ 7.5

Plays First Policeman

The Battle of Billy's Pond

1976

TV Shows

⭐ 7.5

Plays Lionel Hardcastle

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

Plays Harold Stringer

Plays Narrator (voice)

Plays Foreign Secretary

Plays Sir Marmaduke Rowley

Death of an Expert Witness

Plays Asst. Chief Constable Rogers

Plays Oliver Cromwell

The Further Adventures of the Musketeers

1967

⭐ 8.1

Plays Commander Watson

Plays Matthew Copley-Barnes

Latest Trailers

Watch Trailer

To Olivia

Full Filmography

Film

Lord Chief Justice · 1 episode

Film

Film

Film

Film

Lord Scarman · 1 episode

Film

Sir Marmaduke Rowley · 3 episodes

★ 7.6

2004–

Photos

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Geoffrey Palmer still alive?

Geoffrey Palmer passed away on November 5, 2020 at age 93.

What are the most famous roles of Geoffrey Palmer?

Geoffrey Palmer is best known for roles in Paddington, Tomorrow Never Dies, Peter Pan.

How many movies has Geoffrey Palmer been in?

Over a 58-year career (since 1962), Geoffrey Palmer has appeared in 33 movies and 56 TV shows.

What was Geoffrey Palmer's first movie?

The career of Geoffrey Palmer began with A Prize of Arms (1962).

What is Geoffrey Palmer's most recent movie or series?

Geoffrey Palmer's most recent release is To Olivia, which premiered on February 19, 2021.

What TV shows has Geoffrey Palmer appeared in?

On television, Geoffrey Palmer has appeared in Fawlty Towers, Doctor Who, Blackadder, Agatha Christie's Poirot.

Patrick Troughton

24 TV Shows in common

Nigel Hawthorne

2 movies, 12 TV Shows

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.

Geoffrey Palmer

Your experience, your call