We were so devastated to hear about the passing of British broadcaster, journalist and author Sir Michael Parkinson, who passed away aged 88. Affectionately known as Parky he was a familiar face to us all, best known for presenting his television talk show, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.
He passed away on August 16, 2023 at home surrounded by his family. In a statement, 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."
Celebrities pay their respects to their friend, Parky
Comedian Dara O'Briain wrote: "I had the privilege of doing the Michael Parkinson show three times and it the most I ever felt like I was in 'proper showbiz'.
"He was a consummate pro on-screen, and generous and encouraging off-screen."
Elaine Paige said: Such very sad breaking news that Sir Michael Parkinson has died. Have known him for many years, sang on his TV chat show & attended many events with him. A legendary interviewer that will be remembered as the best of his profession. We will never see his like again. RIP Michael.
Stephen Fry wrote: Loved that man. Having grown up watching him interview greats, my first appearance was impossibly thrilling for me. The genius of Parky was that unlike most people (and most of his guests, me included) he was always 100% himself. On camera and off. “Authentic” is the word I suppose. For one of the shows I was on with Robin Williams, a genius of unimaginable comic speed and brilliance. Now they’re both gone. One should get used to the parade of people constantly falling off the edge, but frankly one doesn’t. So long #parky
Gyles Brandreth said: Sir Michael's chat shows were "truly engaging conversations that brought out the best in his guests".
"And what an array of guests," he continued. "'Parky' was one of my heroes - and a lovely guy. A privilege to have known and worked with him."
Lord Alan Sugar wrote: "Very sad news on the passing of Michael Parkinson. End of an era RIP."
Sir Michael's early life
Born in 1935 in the village of Cudworth near to Barnsley in South Yorkshire. The son of a miner, his dad instilled a passionate love for cricket in him from a young age.
After leaving school, his first job was collating sports results at a local newspaper before joining the British Army for two years. Shortly after, he began working as a journalist at the Manchester Guardian before moving to the Daily Express in London.
He soon moved to television as a current affairs presenter and reporter for Granada and the BBC and shortly after, was given his very own talk show.
Michael Parkinson health: his battle with prostate cancer
In his later years, the TV legend opened up on his battle with prostate cancer. After an early diagnosis he was given an operation and radiotherapy.
He said: “It leaves you with problems because it’s so near the bowels and bladder.”
Michael received the all-clear from the illness back in 2015.
Michael Parkinson's wife and children
On 22 August 1959, Michael married Mary Agnes Heneghan, from Doncaster.
Under her new name, Mary Parkinson was one of the presenters of the Thames TV daytime show Good Afternoon and briefly presented Parkinson in the 1970s.
Michael and Mary had three children together, Andrew (born in 1960), Nicholas (born in 1964) and Michael Jr. (born in August 1967). They also shared eight grandchildren.
The couple resided in Bray, Buckinghamshire.
Michael Parkinson interviews: the best and the worst
Over his impressive career as the host of Parkinson, as well as other talkshow TV programmes and radio, Michael has interviewed an impressive array of celebrities including Billy Connolly, Muhammad Ali, Lauren Bacall, Sir David Attenborough, Joan Rivers, Sir Michael Caine, Madonna and Dame Edna Everage.
When recently asked about who he considers his best interview, Michael revealed, "Not one you would expect me to say. It was with the eminent scientist Professor Jacob Bronowski. He was the writer and presenter of that landmark book and television series The Ascent Of Man.
"It was the one time that the shape and progression of the interview went exactly the way I had prepared. But that was more to do with Prof Bronowski’s perfect command of the English language and his forensic mind than my interviewing skills."
And his worst interview? "Once, when they were still with us, I sat down with Alan Whicker and David Frost, both of whom I liked and deeply admired, and we agreed to write down on a piece of the paper the worst interviewee we had all interviewed. We then showed each other at the same time.
"Each of us had written down Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian anthropologist most famous for the Kon-Tiki expedition in the Pacific. We all agreed he would not be our first choice as a crewmate on a deep-sea cruise!"
Sir Michael Parkinson's proudest moment
Michael Parkinson was knighted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on June 4 2008, after retiring from Parkinson at the end of the previous year.
Upon receiving his knighthood, Sir Michael said it was a "very great honour".
His proudest moment of his career through was being awarded honorary membership of the Musicians Union.
"Music has given me such joy in my life and my respect for anyone with musical talent knows no bounds. To be accepted into their inner circle without an ounce of musical talent is a real honour."
Parkinson's relationship with his father
Michael was very close to his father, who passed away in 1976, and in an emotional interview with Piers Morgan on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2019, he opened up about the ongoing grief he felt.
Michael said he had "locked his grief away in a compartment" until the moment Piers asked about his father's death.
The strength of his grief 40 years after his father's passing surprised himself, and prompted him to delve deeper into the dynamics of the relationship with his father John William Parkinson, who he describes as a "Yorkshireman, miner, humorist and fast bowler."
Michael's son Mike, a TV director, helped his father to put his book together. They were in the process of writing it when the pandemic struck, which Mike believes added an extra depth to the book.
“When you’re faced with the prospect of losing your father and mother – because certainly during the first lockdown it was a frightening time – you begin to consider, as a son, what would you miss about them and what would you lose and that gave a flavour to the book that wasn’t there.”
The story begins in Cudworth, a former mining village just outside Barnsley, and explores John's life as a miner working in Grimethorpe Colliery.
Mike wanted to shed light on what his grandfather and countless other miners like him had to endure. “It’s not a glib thing to say that I could not have lasted a day down there, never mind 40 years. It would have destroyed me physically, morally and spiritually. It would have broken me.
“So for him to do that for so long and to come out of that pit and to remain the man that I knew him as, who was funny and smiling and full of happiness, is just remarkable and it’s a lesson to us all. These were remarkable men, not just my father, but all of them,” he says.
Michael also grew up in Cudworth, and wanted to give readers a better idea about what his own childhood had been like, keen to correct assumptions that it had been a tough upbringing.
“It wasn’t terrible, I had a happy, safe and secure childhood. It was a better childhood than many kids today could care to hope for, being safe and secure and playing freely in the street. That sense of community was very important and it wrapped itself around you like a pair of arms. And we were happy.”
Tales of sporting valour, usually involving cricket or Barnsley Football Club, are also a highlight of the book. A mutual love of sport that Michael and his father shared.
“My father did believe that cricket was the most important thing in the world. It was his religion in many ways, and it was a spiritual thing as much as anything. And it is in Yorkshire, cricket is a great source of Yorkshire pride."
Like Father Like Son provided an important opportunity to reflect, and also to share this overwhelming grief that Micheal was still carrying around. The story also shares Mike's story of what it was like growing up with Michael as a father.
Michael's previous books included memoirs of Muhammad Ali and George Best, Parky's People and Parky: my autobiography.