Sir Michael Parkinson, the veteran broadcaster and talkshow host, has passed away at the age of 88, his family has confirmed. He was best known for his long-running chat show Parkinson, which aired from 1971 to 2007 and featured interviews with some of the most famous and influential people in the world.
A humble start in journalism
Sir Michael was born in 1935 in the South Yorkshire village of Cudworth, the son of a miner who instilled in him a love of cricket. He achieved two O-Levels and got a job collating sports results on a local newspaper. After two years in the British army, he worked as a journalist for the Manchester Guardian (later renamed the Guardian) before joining the Daily Express in London.
He moved into television as a current affairs presenter and reporter for both Granada and the BBC before he was recruited to present his self-titled show on BBC One. He introduced the first Parkinson show in 1971 on a late-night Saturday slot, with US jazz singer Marion Montgomery his first guest.
A conversational style of interviewing
The show ran initially for 11 years and spanned hundreds of episodes in which Sir Michael combined an avuncular style with a journalistic background. He returned to the BBC in 1998 for another run of the show. Sir Michael estimated he had interviewed more than 2,000 guests in total.
He pioneered a conversational style of interviewing, putting guests at ease with his relaxed questioning and lack of interruptions. He also had a knack for drawing out unexpected and revealing responses from his guests, such as a confrontational exchange with the boxer Muhammad Ali in 1974, a flirtatious chat with actor Shirley MacLaine, and a slapstick encounter with entertainer Rod Hull and his puppet Emu in 1976.
Some of his most memorable guests included Sir Billy Connolly, Sir Elton John, Madonna, Dame Helen Mirren, Sir David Attenborough, and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. He also interviewed many legends from the world of sport, music, film, literature, and comedy.
A versatile and acclaimed career
Sir Michael’s TV career also included ITV’s TV-am breakfast show, Give Us A Clue, and BBC One’s Going For a Song. He also hosted a number of BBC radio programmes, such as Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs for a season in 1986, Parkinson on Sport on Radio Five Live from 1994 to 1996, and the morning show Parkinson’s Sunday Supplement on Radio 2 from 1996 to 2007.
Sir Michael also hosted a Sky Arts series called Michael Parkinson: Masterclass from 2012 to 2014. He received a number of accolades for his work during his lifetime, including a CBE in 2000 and a knighthood in 2008. He was also made the first Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University in the same year.
In 2013, he revealed he was receiving radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer. Two years later he confirmed he got the all-clear from doctors. He is survived by his wife Mary and their three children, Andrew, Nicholas and Michael Jr.
A statement from his family said: “After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family. The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve.”
