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Post by coyote on Nov 6, 2020 14:20:20 GMT
British actor who was in, well, everything. From Bond to 'Hot Metal' - I first saw him in 'Butterflies' when I was very young, and always enjoyed his performances, usually playing some miserable old s0d or authority figure. Deadpan is a word that comes to mind when thinking about his delivery of lines and facial expressions.
www.BBC.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41311326 |
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Post by pr1 on Nov 6, 2020 14:45:51 GMT
British actor who was in, well, everything. From Bond to 'Hot Metal' - I first saw him in 'Butterflies' when I was very young, and always enjoyed his performances, usually playing some miserable old s0d or authority figure. Deadpan is a word that comes to mind when thinking about his delivery of lines and facial expressions.
www.BBC.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41311326Another of those great character actors that seems to have been in every TV show during his career. Rest In Peace. |
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Post by McCann on Nov 6, 2020 15:08:53 GMT
Never in Minder surprisingly enough. He was seen or heard in everything else it seemed. Including countless ads. A reassuring voice, and so funny in the Grumpy Old Men series.
In the early Pros episode Where the Jungle ends, and also later in The Ojuka Situation.
Didn't think he was in the Sweeney but yep he was there in Series 4 episode Feet of Clay.
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Post by jno on Nov 6, 2020 15:15:38 GMT
Wash your hands first please!!!! I'm a doctor. I'm a doctor and I want my sausages!  What a great actor. RIP. |
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Post by pr1 on Nov 6, 2020 15:23:39 GMT
I mentioned it somewhere on the Forum before that the years between the World Wars produced a lot of great character actors and actresses in the UK and the US. The kind of people that could appear as a villain on a show one week and the next week on a sitcom and be just as good and credible in both. Palmer was definitely one of those.
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Post by coyote on Nov 6, 2020 15:27:28 GMT
Never in Minder surprisingly enough. Yes I couldn't place him in 'Minder' so I looked it up and was also surprised to find out he'd never been in it. I always pictured him as a Simon Cadell/Paul Eddington kind of character. What a thoroughly impressive career though, despite never really being a "leading" actor. Even in 'As Time Goes By' you could argue Judi Dench was the star even though it was a double act. I liked in the obituary there's a bit of Arthur in him - "If I'm not working, I'm not earning"  |
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Post by mybodyguard on Nov 6, 2020 15:27:53 GMT
He was exceptional in As Time Goes By and despite his low key style, was always effective in his many roles. RIP
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Deleted
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2020 16:00:18 GMT
One of my favourites, Butterflies, Fawlty Towers, Dr Who, Blackadder... RIP
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Post by daz on Nov 6, 2020 16:31:03 GMT
Such an impressive list of credits and even in a small role would add something to the proceedings and leave a lasting impression.
We don't produce versatile actors of this quality anymore.
RIP Sir
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Post by chrisclark1977 on Nov 6, 2020 18:17:49 GMT
He was also in Jon Pertwee's second Doctor Who adventure "The Silurians"
RIP Geoffrey Palmer
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Post by Arch Stanton on Nov 6, 2020 18:21:45 GMT
RIP Geoffrey.
I hated Butterflies - my mum used to watch that; and I hated As Time Goes By too.
I think they probably went over my head at the time.
GP was good though, he showed up in lots of stuff I did like.
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Post by ltd on Nov 6, 2020 18:41:45 GMT
Brother-in-law Jimmy from Reggie Perrin caught the paranoid mood of the times. Without casting aspersions on Richard Briers, I can't help thinking Geoffrey Palmer should have been the Walter Mittyesque would-be military dictator in An Officer and a Car Salesman. But of course Palmer had already done it, in Reggie Perrin and Fairly Secret Army, so the whole thing would have been redundant (coup attempts by disgruntled right wing figure distinctly passe by then anyway). Saw him most recently in The Stig of the Dump remake, bringing his usual touch of class to the role of the grandad.
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Post by barrythebook on Nov 6, 2020 19:49:46 GMT
For some reason, I had no idea that he was that age.
Whatever role GP played, he wore that trademark dour expression and always managed to appear unimpressed by whatever was going on around him.
Sad loss, RIP.
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Post by jjmolloy on Nov 7, 2020 0:25:04 GMT
He also had a puppet on the original Spitting Image, he never spoke, to my knowledge, but was always there just as a 'face' I think! That wonderful jowly look. For me he was ace as Jimmy in Reggie Perrin, as referenced above by pr1. The scene below is wonderful, and I wonder if certain forum members have based themselves on Jimmy! RIP Reginald Perrin anarchy sketch DVD quality - YouTube |
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Post by gra966 on Nov 7, 2020 6:14:17 GMT
Another great comedy actor , we have lost . I will always remember him in Butterflies , for his facial expressions , when Wendy Craig plonked one of her " delightful " meals on the table , in front of him , or when one of the sons walked into the room
wearing' a T shirt with an explicit slogan on the front .
R.I.P Geoffrey .
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Post by daz on Nov 7, 2020 7:30:44 GMT
I too remember Butterflies fondly, Tuesday nights on BBC2 in the early 80s, whilst in my neighbours house with my Mum at the bingo. I would await the knock at the door near the end to go home and don't think I ever got to the end of an episode.
It was certainly a comedy if its time and hugely successful.
His IMDB page is an impressive read, such a variety of roles in all sorts of things, but cannot get my head around him not doing Minder.
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Post by yoyopickles on Nov 7, 2020 8:15:34 GMT
Slam in the lamb
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Post by ltd on Nov 7, 2020 8:38:10 GMT
He also had a puppet on the original Spitting Image, he never spoke, to my knowledge, but was always there just as a 'face' I think! That wonderful jowly look. For me he was ace as Jimmy in Reggie Perrin, as referenced above by pr1. The scene below is wonderful, and I wonder if certain forum members have based themselves on Jimmy! RIP Reginald Perrin anarchy sketch DVD quality - YouTubeThat scene is brilliant, totally eviscerates the would-be coup plotters of the seventies in the best way, by making them ridiculous. |
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Post by daz on Nov 7, 2020 9:04:35 GMT
He also had a puppet on the original Spitting Image, he never spoke, to my knowledge, but was always there just as a 'face' I think! That wonderful jowly look. For me he was ace as Jimmy in Reggie Perrin, as referenced above by pr1. The scene below is wonderful, and I wonder if certain forum members have based themselves on Jimmy! RIP Reginald Perrin anarchy sketch DVD quality - YouTubeBang on the money with that comment JJ. |
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Deleted
Deus est regit qui omnia.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2020 12:42:49 GMT
His voice over on Grumpy Old Men was good too.
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Post by gustav on Nov 7, 2020 17:43:44 GMT
Geoffrey Palmer was great. He was in so much, all good. He was brilliant on the radio too, I remember him in one episode of 'Ed Reardon's Week' where he was really funny. He was a face that was around for so long, as was observed above the original 'Spitting Image' used his face but at the time he was the sort of person everyone could recognise but not name. More recently he got the recognition he deserved. He will be missed.
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Post by ltd on Nov 7, 2020 18:35:23 GMT
Geoffrey Palmer was great. He was in so much, all good. He was brilliant on the radio too, I remember him in one episode of 'Ed Reardon's Week' where he was really funny. Was he the p0rn obsessed creator of Parsnip Junction? I'll have to dig that out and listen to it again. |
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Post by chopper on Nov 7, 2020 19:53:45 GMT
Great actor, a bit ‘one dimensional’ - as a stern type of person. I never realised he was as old as that!...
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Post by gustav on Nov 7, 2020 20:58:11 GMT
Geoffrey Palmer was great. He was in so much, all good. He was brilliant on the radio too, I remember him in one episode of 'Ed Reardon's Week' where he was really funny. Was he the p0rn obsessed creator of Parsnip Junction? I'll have to dig that out and listen to it again. Yes that's right. The p0rn obsessed Communist who owns his own island in the Caribbean. Brilliant. |
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Post by ltd on Nov 10, 2020 7:49:46 GMT
Think he appeared in the Kenny Everett Show a few times as well? I do remember the one sketch where he's accosted by a random punk (Everett) and promptly gives him an absolutely withering dressing down only for the punk to say "sorry Dad" and they then both go home to Mum. Doesn't sound that funny written down but it really tickled me at the time.
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Post by Portland Road on Nov 11, 2020 7:32:28 GMT
IIRC his role as a senior officer in 'The Sweeney' was in lieu of Garfield Morgan who probably wasn't available to appear in the particular episode.
This happened a few times in season four with e.g. Richard Wilson and Benjamin Whitrow also substituting. As such, they merely played the 'Haskins role' and were not a main feature of the plot.
I must say though that Geoffrey Palmer may have made an interesting villain in the series, had he been cast in such a lead part.
He was such a part of TV in the high-viewing late 70s-80s period, and with his jowly features (akin to Walter Matthau) you can't help but like him. In comedies, you were always waiting for his dour, but astute and witty, reply. Similarly, in serious parts, he would be the observant pragmatist.
R.I.P. Geoffrey Palmer.
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Post by gustav on Nov 11, 2020 9:48:08 GMT
I never watched 'Fairly Secret Army' and wondered really if that character from Reginald Perrin was strong enough to sustain a series. But I see it ran to two full series and it might be worth looking up. He was such a reliable performer I can't imagine it doesn't have its moments.
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Post by ltd on Nov 11, 2020 11:15:41 GMT
I never watched 'Fairly Secret Army' and wondered really if that character from Reginald Perrin was strong enough to sustain a series. But I see it ran to two full series and it might be worth looking up. He was such a reliable performer I can't imagine it doesn't have its moments. Been a long time since I've seen it, but I remember liking the first episode and then thinking it tailed off after that. For me, it was nowhere near the the same league as Reggie Perrin. Then again, if I saw it now all these years later I might think differently, who knows? |
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Post by Zimbo on Nov 16, 2020 12:01:30 GMT
Always put in a great performance whatever he was in.
RIP
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Post by plasticpenguin on Nov 20, 2020 6:53:31 GMT
Incredibly versatile actor.
R.I.P
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