Biography

Tony Palmer was born on August 29, 1941 in Barnet, London, England, UK. He is a director and editor, known for Testimony (1987), Great Performances (1971) and Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire (1974). He is married to Michela. They have three children. He was previously married to Angela Huth.

Films often begin and/or end with the sound of the wind whistling.

Frequently cast Robert Stephens, William Squire, Brook Williams, John Shrapnel, Ronald Pickup, Peter Woodthorpe, Terence Rigby, Corin Redgrave and Robert Urquhart.

Both his documentaries and his fictional features have largely been about music.

Frequently cast singers and musicians in acting roles.

Attended Cambridge University.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

I'm not one of those people who believe there was a golden age of television. But the morale of the BBC has never been as bad as it is now. The really depressing thing that's happened is the tendency to think the audience is stupid: "If we don't have it presented by Ant (Anthony McPartlin) and Dec (Declan Donnelly) or some totty dolly bird they won't watch it." This is an insult to the audience and denigration of the traditions the BBC is meant to uphold. The audience is being told it's too stupid to grasp anything "cultural" or "elitist". The BBC has a worldwide reputation which it has abrogated and that's shameful. In the end, the buck stops with Mark Thompson. He is a catastrophe.