Geoffrey Palmer obit

Geoffrey Palmer, TV and film actor, dies at 93

 

He was not on the list.

Actor Geoffrey Palmer, known for his roles in such sitcoms as Butterflies, As Time Goes By and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, has died aged 93.

He died peacefully at home, his agent said.

Versatile and prolific, he was known and loved for his hangdog expression, lugubrious delivery and the often testy demeanor he gave to his characters.

As Time Goes By saw him star with Dame Judi Dench, a partnership they revived in Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.

He also acted in Mrs Brown, again with Dench, and The Madness of King George.

Dame Judi, who starred in nine series of As Time Goes By with Palmer, told BBC Radio 4's Front Row program: "Geoffrey was master of comedy, an absolute master."

Paying tribute to his "wonderful deadpan expression", she added: "I've admired him all my life. How lucky to have been in something with him for so long."

His co-star in Butterflies from 1978 to 1983, Wendy Craig, told the program: "He was just a delight to work with, his timing was perfect."

Despite his "rather serious face", she said he was "full of fun" in person. "When he laughed and when he smiled his whole face lit up, his eyes twinkled. He was always up for a laugh and not a heavy-going serious person at all," she said.

His early television roles included appearances in The Army Game, The Saint and The Avengers and he went on to appear in Doctor Who and the Kipper and the Corpse episode of Fawlty Towers.

The Doctor Who programme listed the shows he had appeared in with a tribute on Twitter.

We’re sad to report the death of Geoffrey Palmer, who starred in The Silurians, The Mutants and Voyage of the Damned 💙💙 https://t.co/6bH1uJLceI pic.twitter.com/4lmX9McNIC
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) November 6, 2020

Broadcaster and author Gyles Brandreth said: "RIP Geoffrey Palmer - such a wonderful actor, such a lovely guy. Brilliant at his craft and just the best company: wickedly funny. He did everything he did so well. Thanks for all the happy memories Geoffrey: we'll cherish them as time goes by."

Comedian Marcus Brigstocke, who starred alongside Palmer in BBC One sitcom The Savages, remembered him as "the kindest, most brilliant man", while Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright said he was "brilliantly funny".

The flight path gag wiping out the lines of Reggie Perrin’s brother in law is one of my favourite running gags in comedy. RIP to the brilliantly funny Geoffrey Palmer. https://t.co/lfreKA4HcK
— edgarwright (@edgarwright) November 6, 2020

Comedian Eddie Izzard added: "Very sad to hear that Geoffrey Palmer has left us. I was very excited to meet him once and then had the honour to act with him in the film Lost Christmas. His work will stay with us and through that he can live on forever. Good work Sir. Rest in peace."

Actress Annette Badland said: "He was such a gifted actor and enormously good company. We worked together several times, laughed a lot and he was kind and generous. I am much saddened. Love to his family. Sleep well Mr Palmer."

Reece Shearsmith from The League of Gentlemen described him an "immaculate singular actor", singling out his performance in Butterflies.

RIP Geoffrey Palmer. An immaculate singular actor, always brilliant in everything, but my favourite was always Ben Parkinson in "Butterflies".
— Reece Shearsmith (@ReeceShearsmith) November 6, 2020

Palmer appeared in four series of the Carla Lane sitcom, in which he played the stuffy husband of Wendy Craig's Ria.

Yet it was his partnership with Dench in As Time Goes By for which he will perhaps be best remembered.

The BBC sitcom, about two former lovers who meet unexpectedly and later marry, ran from 1992 to 2005.

In 2018 Dame Judi described her co-star as "the naughtiest man I ever had the pleasure to work with" as she gave him a prize at that year's Oldie Awards.

In Tomorrow Never Dies, released in 1997, Palmer's combative Admiral Roebuck sparred with Dame Judi's M, the head of the secret service.

Producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli remembered the actor as "a much beloved star of TV and film and a treasured member of the Bond family".

'His face didn't change'

Palmer's distinctive voice made him a popular choice for narration, audiobooks and adverts.

He narrated the Grumpy Old Men series and introduced British viewers to "Vorsprung durch Technik" in adverts for Audi cars.

Actress Frances Barber remembered an occasion when he had queried a residuals payment he had received for the ubiquitous commercial.

"I just called my agent and said they've put too many 0's on the cheque," she recalled him saying. "After lunch he said 'Apparently they haven't'. His face didn't change."

In his later years Palmer was seen in Paddington, Parade's End and W.E, in which he was directed by pop star Madonna.

He was made an OBE in 2004 for services to drama. 

 

Appearances 

Stage 

Sabrina Fair by Samuel Taylor at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham (1955). 

Eden End by J. B. Priestley at the Royal National Theatre (1974). 

Kafka's Dick by Alan Bennett at the Royal Court Theatre (1986). 

West of Suez by John Osbourne. 

 

Radio 

At Home with the Snails (2001–2002) 

Les Miserables as Inspector Javert (2002) 

The Man Who Was Thursday (2005)[14] 

High Table, Lower Orders (2005–2006) 

The Maltby Collection (2007–2009) 

A Murder of Quality (2009) 

North by Northamptonshire (2011–2012) 

Two Pipe Problems: The Case of the Missing Meerschaum as Mortimer Tregennis (2011) 

 

Television 

The Army Game (1958–1960) as Various Characters 

The Strange World of Gurney Slade (1960) as Television Studio Floor Manager in Episode 1 

The Avengers:  

"Propellant 23" (1962) as Paul Manning 

"Man with Two Shadows"[16] (1963) as Dr. Terence 

"A Surfeit of H2O" (1965) as Martin Smythe 

The Saint:  

"The Rough Diamonds" (1963) as Pete Ferguson 

Gideon's Way (TV Series)  

"The Alibi Man" (1965) as Jeff Grant 

The Baron[8]:  

"Masquerade" (1966) as Anstruther 

"The Killing" (1966) as Anstuther 

The Wednesday Play:  

Cathy Come Home[8] (1966) as Property Agent 

Mrs Thursday (1966) as Henry Baxter 

Best of Enemies (1968) as Johnson 

Doctor Who  

Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) as Masters 

The Mutants (1972) as Administrator 

"Voyage of the Damned" (2007)[8] as Captain Hardaker 

Colditz – Gone Away Part 1[16] (1972) as Doc 

Whodunnit! (1975) as Suspect 

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin[16] (1976–1979) as Jimmy Anderson 

Butterflies[16] (1978–1983) as Ben Parkinson 

The Sweeney (1978) as Commander Watson in "Feet of Clay" 

The Professionals (1978) as Sinclair in "Where The Jungle Ends" 

Fawlty Towers- "The Kipper and the Corpse"[8] (1979) as Dr. Price 

The Goodies (1980) as School Headmaster 

The Last Song (1981) as Leo Bannister 

Whoops Apocalypse (1982) as Foreign Secretary 

Death of an Expert Witness (1983) as Dr. Edwin Lorrimer 

The Professionals (1983) as Avery in "The Ojuka Situation" 

Fairly Secret Army (1984–1986) as Major Harry Kitchener Wellington Truscott 

Executive Stress (1986 first series only) as Donald Fairchild No. 1 

Season's Greetings (1986) as Bernard 

Hot Metal (1986) as Harold Stringer 

Christabel (1988) as Mr. Burton 

Blackadder Goes Forth  

"Goodbyeee" (1989); as Field Marshal Douglas Haig 

Inspector Morse  

"The Infernal Serpent"[16] (1990) as Matthew Copley-Barnes 

Bergerac  

"Roots of Evil" (1990)as Nigel Carter 

As Time Goes By (1992–2005) as Lionel Hardcastle 

Mr. Men and Little Miss as the Narrator (in "The Christmas Letter"), Mr. Greedy, Mr. Happy, Mr. Snow, Mr. Messy, Mr. Silly, Mr. Small, Mr. Daydream, Mr. Jelly, Mr. Noisy, Mr. Lazy, Mr. Chatterbox, Mr. Bounce, Mr. Muddle, Mr. Impossible, Mr. Quiet, Mr. Rush, Mr. Wrong, Mr. Skinny, Mr. Clever, Mr. Perfect, Mr. Cheerful and Additional Voices 

The Legacy of Reginald Perrin (1996) as Jimmy Anderson 

Alice through the Looking Glass (1998) as White King 

The Savages (2001) as Donald 

The 1940s House (2001) as Narrator 

Stig of the Dump (2002) as Robert 

Absolute Power (2003) as Lord Harcourt 

Grumpy Old Men (2003–2004, 2006) as Narrator 

He Knew He Was Right (2004) as Sir Marmaduke Rowley 

Grumpy Old Holidays (2006) as Narrator 

Ashes to Ashes:  

"Episode 8" (2008); as Lord Scarman 

The Long Walk to Finchley (2008); as John Crowder 

Agatha Christie's Poirot:  

"The Clocks" (2011) as Vice Admiral Hamling 

Grandpa in My Pocket  

"Captain Dumbletwit's Toughest Mission Yet!" (2010) as Grandad Gillbert 

Rev  

"Christmas Special" Series 2, episode 7 (2011) as Martin 

Henry IV, Part II (2012); as Lord Chief Justice 

Royal Variety Performance (2014); as the announcer (voice-only) 

 

Film 

A Prize of Arms (1962) as Cpl. Myers 

Incident at Midnight (1963) as Dr. Tanfield 

Ring of Spies (1964) as Police Officer (uncredited) 

Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) as David (uncredited) 

O Lucky Man! (1973) as Examinator Doctor / Basil Keyes 

The Battle of Billy's Pond (1976) – First Policeman 

The Outsider (1979) as Colonel Wyndham 

The Honorary Consul (1983) as Belfrage: British Ambassador 

A Zed & Two Noughts (1985) as Fallast 

Clockwise (1986) as Headmaster 

A Fish Called Wanda (1988) as Judge 

Hawks (1988) as SAAB Salesman 

The Madness of King George[8] (1994) as Warren 

Mrs. Brown (1997) as Henry Ponsonby 

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) as Admiral Roebuck 

Stiff Upper Lips (1998) as His Butler's Voice 

Anna and the King (1999) as Lord John Bradley 

Rat (2000) as The Doctor 

Peter Pan (2003) as Sir Edward Quiller Couch 

Piccadilly Jim (2004) as Bayliss 

The Pink Panther 2 (2009) as Joubert 

W.E. (2011) as Stanley Baldwin 

Lost Christmas (2011) as Dr. Clarence 

Run for Your Wife (2012) as Man on Bus 

Bert and Dickie (2012) as Charles Burnell 

The Last Sparks of Sundown (2014) as Sir Buster Sparks (voice) 

Paddington (2014) as Head Geographer 

An Unquiet Life (2020) as Geoffrey Fisher (Final film role)