   geoffrey dyson palmer, obe (born 4 june 1927) is an english actor, known for his roles in british television sitcoms playing jimmy anderson in the fall and rise of reginald perrin, ben parkinson in butterflies and lionel hardcastle in as time goes by. ==career== after being demobilised from the royal marines, palmer drifted into theatre, joining a local amateur dramatics society because of a girlfriend. he became an assistant stage manager at the q theatre, by kew bridge, then the grand theatre in croydon. he spent several years touring with a repertory company, and was an actor in theatre, coming to television and public prominence later in his career. early television appearances included a variety of roles in granada television's the army game, two episodes of the baron (1966) and as a property agent in cathy come home (1966). getting a major break in john osborne's west of suez at the royal court with ralph richardson, he then 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 boring, however, that it put him off a stage career for good."priestley values" by robert gore-langton, the spectator, 11 june 2011, p.4 many of his television parts were as a stuffy, middle class buffoon, with a stiff upper lip, and he is known for deadpan drollery. two sitcom roles brought him major 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 ben parkinson in carla lane's butterflies (1978-83). he has continued to appear in productions written by perrin creator david nobbs, the latest being the radio comedy the maltby collection. he starred opposite judi dench for over a decade in the bbc situation comedy as time goes by (1992-2005). during this time he also appeared with dench in other productions, including the james bond fi
1927_births 20th-century_English_male_actors Audio_book_narrators English_male_film_actors English_male_stage_actors English_male_television_actors English_male_voice_actors Living_people Male_actors_from_London Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire People_educated_at_Highgate_School Royal_Marines_personnel