Michael Parkinson
Encyclopedia
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE
(born 28 March 1935) is an English
broadcaster
, journalist
and author
. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson
, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.
, England. The son of a miner
, he was educated at Barnsley Grammar School
and passed two O-Level
s: in Art and English Language. He was a club cricket
er, and both he and his opening partner at Barnsley Cricket Club
, Dickie Bird, had trials for Yorkshire
together with Geoffrey Boycott
. Parkinson began as a journalist
on local newspapers, and his Yorkshire
background and accent remain part of his appeal. He worked as a reporter on the Manchester Guardian and later on the Daily Express
in London. He was also conscripted
into National Service
as Britain's youngest army captain and was involved in the Suez
Operation in the summer of 1956.
, Parkinson moved into television
, working on current affairs programmes for the BBC
and Manchester
-based Granada Television
.
From 1969 he presented Granada's Cinema, a late-night film review programme, (which included his first star interview with Laurence Olivier
), before in 1971 presenting his eponym
ous BBC series. Parkinson
ran until 1982 and from 1998 until December 2007, leaving the BBC for ITV1
partway through the second run. It featured celebrities but it avoided posing the confrontational questions for which Parkinson is well known. By his own reckoning, Parkinson interviewed 2,000 of the world's most famous people. In 1985, he stood in for Barry Norman
as presenter of Film 85
.
He was one of the original line-up of TV-am
in 1983, with Angela Rippon
, Anna Ford
and Robert Kee
, all replaced with younger talent. He also took over as host of Thames Television
's Give Us a Clue
from Michael Aspel
.
On Halloween
night 1992, Parkinson appeared as himself in the television drama Ghostwatch
. He was the studio link during a fictional, apparently live, paranormal
investigation. However, the cinéma vérité
style in which it was shot led to complaints from viewers who believed it depicted real events. From 1995 to 1999, he hosted the BBC One daytime programme Going for a Song
. He again played himself in Richard Curtis
' 2003 romantic comedy, Love Actually
, interviewing the character Billy Mack, played by Bill Nighy
. From 31 January to 3 February 2007, Parkinson presented "Symphony at the Movies" at Sydney Opera House
, where he shared stories about his interviews with movie stars and introduced music from films.
In October 2003, Parkinson had a controversial interview with Meg Ryan
while she was in the United Kingdom to promote In the Cut
. He said it was his most difficult television moment.
Parkinson announced his retirement on 26 June 2007:
In 2007, Parkinson appeared in the Australian soap Neighbours
as himself. On 24 November 2007, during recording of the final regular edition of his ITV chat show, broadcast on 16 December, Parkinson fought back tears as he was given an ovation. The last artist to perform on his show was regular guest Jamie Cullum
.
As of December 2008, Parkinson held 458 credits as a presenter on his own and with others.
Parkinson was a flagship of the BBC's prime time
schedule, attracting top names before the chat show circuit was part of the promotional mill. Parkinson interviewed Marlon Brando
, he was able to interview wartime variety
stars while attracting up-and-coming comedians such as Billy Connolly
, and was not afraid to allow an interviewee time to be himself, sometimes as with Fred Astaire
or Sir Paul McCartney
devoting an entire programme to a guest.
Parkinson was a guest on Top Gear
in 2008, posting a lap time of 1:49.4 as the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car".
Parkinson would always maintain that the most remarkable man he ever interviewed was Muhammad Ali
.
He regrets having never interviewed Frank Sinatra
or Sir Donald Bradman
.
's Desert Island Discs
in 1985, after the death of its creator, Roy Plomley
, whose widow was unhappy with Parkinson replacing him. Parkinson stayed for three years until handing over to Sue Lawley
. Between 1994 and 1996 he hosted Parkinson on Sport on BBC Radio Five Live
. Between 1996 and 2007, he presented a morning show on BBC Radio 2
called Parkinson's Sunday Supplement
; it featured newspaper and entertainment summaries with the help of journalists and a lengthy interview with a media personality. These were interspersed with music that demonstrated his penchant for jazz and big-band. In October 2007, a few months after announcing his retirement from his television series, Parkinson said his radio show would also end. The last programme was broadcast on Sunday 2 December 2007. As an interim Clive Anderson
presented the programme during December/January and Eammon Holmes during February and Fiona Bruce
during March. Michael Ball has now replaced him on a permanent basis. Parkinson presented a mid-morning programme on London's LBC
Newstalk 97.3FM. He was considered responsible for promotion of jazz singers to a more mainstream audience during the run of his BBC radio show.
invited Parkinson to write a regular sports column, drawing on characters in his days in cricket and soccer. In the 1980s, Parkinson wrote a series of children's books
called The Woofits
about a family of anthropomorphic dog-like creatures in the fictional Yorkshire coal-mining village of Grimeworth. The books led to a TV series, which he narrated. He wrote a sports column for the Daily Telegraph and is president of the Sports Journalists' Association of Great Britain.
His book Parky: My Autobiography was published on 2 October 2008.
In April 2009, Parkinson wrote about the recently deceased Jade Goody
in Radio Times
. He described her as "barely educated, ignorant and puerile," adding, "When we clear the media smokescreen from around her death, what we're left with is a woman who came to represent all that's paltry and wretched about Britain today." Bishop Jonathan Blake, who had presided over Goody's wedding, took exception to Parkinson's comments.
. In one of the closest ever contests for that position he was very narrowly defeated by incumbent Peter Ustinov
after two recounts. The result was controversial as it was alleged earlier results indicated Parkinson had won and a further recount should have taken place to confirm the result. As a result pressure grew for the poll to be rerun. While the University decreed that the original result was to stand a new poll was organised by the Students' Association, which also featured the candidature of a goat
. However, this time Ustinov won a decisive victory over Parkinson, the goat and Paul Foot
.
On 29 September 2008 Parkinson launched his website, which includes online interviews with Nelson Mandela
and British comedian Rory Bremner
. The site also includes a blog, giving Parkinson's views on news events plus information about his compilation album, Michael Parkinson: My Life In Music, featuring favourite songs performed by Frank Sinatra
, Michael Bublé
, Dionne Warwick
and others.
Parkinson gave the keynote address in Sydney on Australia Day
2011, the first non-Australian to do so. Parkinson used the publicity surrounding his Australia Day appearance to promote the abolishment of the Australian monarchy.
. 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. They have three children, Andrew, Nicholas and Michael Jr, who were born in 1960, 1964 and 1967 and eight grandchildren (Laura, James, Emma, Georgina, Ben, Felix, Sofia and Honey). In the 1970s
he campaigned in support of birth control, having had a vasectomy
in 1972 to allow his wife to stop taking the Pill. He is a cricket
fan, and in 1990 hosted a World XI team against Yorkshire. Parkinson and his wife live in Bray, Berkshire
. He met his friend Michel Roux
when rowing down the River Thames
on a Sunday to his then pub, the Waterside Inn
.
. He was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE) by Prince Charles
in November 2000 for services to broadcasting. Parkinson was made a Knight Bachelor
in the 2008 New Year's Honours List; he remarked that he was "not the type to get a knighthood" coming as he did "from Barnsley. They give it to anyone nowadays."
Parkinson was ranked 8th in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
drawn up by the British Film Institute
in 2000, voted for by industry professionals. In April 2006, Parkinson was awarded Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin
). He was voted number 20 in ITV
's "TV's 50 Greatest Stars".
On 4 June 2008 his knighthood was bestowed by the Queen at Buckingham Palace
Parkinson became the first Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University
on 11 November 2008. His role includes representing the university and conferring degrees at graduation
ceremonies. He is quoted as saying, “I am honoured to be offered the chancellorship at Nottingham Trent University. In television I have always worked with young, ambitious people and I am keen to be involved in this university which helps to realise the aspirations of the young. It will also give me an opportunity to see what I missed!”.
Since 2005, Parkinson has served as the President of the Sports Journalists' Association of Great Britain, the largest national organisation of sports journalists in the world.
on The Benny Hill Show
(sketch "The Golden Boy"), Alistair McGowan
on Big Impression
and by Jon Culshaw
on Dead Ringers
, in which Culshaw portrays Parkinson interviewing the public at bus stops and other locations. The Kenny Everett
character Cupid Stunt was "interviewed" by a cut-out Parkinson in "her" sketches. He is on the cover of the Wings
album Band on the Run
. Paul McCartney
told Parkinson that he would appear on his chat show if Parkinson appeared on the album cover, although it was not until 1999 that McCartney fulfilled his promise.
In 2005, Parkinson appeared with comedian Peter Kay
on the music video
of the re-released "Is This the Way to Amarillo
" for Comic Relief, which became a Number 1 single. Parkinson was also featured in Irregular Webcomic!
Number 1697.
In May 2009 Parkinson "bemoaned the state of TV generally, saying he was fed up of the rise of celebrities hosting shows, ridiculously titled documentaries and property shows", saying "In my television paradise there would be no more property programmes, no more police-chasing-yobbos-in-cars programmes and, most of all and please God, no more so-called documentary shows with titles like My 20-Ton Tumour, My Big Fat Head, Wolf Girl, Embarrassing Illnesses and The Fastest Man on No Legs." http://tv.sky.com/parkys-tv-tantrum On the 11th October 2010 Parkinson appeared on Richard Bacon's Radio 5 Live show where he was particularly critical of British comedian and actor Russell Brand
saying “I don't see the point of him,"
Mark E. Smith
of The Fall, on the song "Middlemass" from the live album The Legendary Chaos Tape, London, 1980 has an improvised line about "the son of Mike Parkinson made from coal".
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 28 March 1935) is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson
Parkinson (TV series)
Parkinson is a British television talk show that was presented by Sir Michael Parkinson. It was first shown on the BBC from 1971 to 2004, and on ITV from 2004 to 2007.-Background:...
, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.
Early life
Parkinson, or "Parky" as he is known, was born in the village of CudworthCudworth, South Yorkshire
Cudworth is a semi-rural village on the outskirts of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Cudworth has a busy village centre surrounded by some housing and green belt countryside...
, England. The son of a miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
, he was educated at Barnsley Grammar School
Holgate School (Barnsley)
-Admissions:It was recently awarded the status of Sports College in 2005 for its attention to sporting achievements.-History:Holgate School was originally founded in 1546 in Hemsworth by Robert Holgate, the Archbishop of York. In 1888 it was re-organised and moved to Barnsley, South Yorkshire...
and passed two O-Level
General Certificate of Education
The General Certificate of Education or GCE is an academic qualification that examination boards in the United Kingdom and a few of the Commonwealth countries, notably Sri Lanka, confer to students. The GCE traditionally comprised two levels: the Ordinary Level and the Advanced Level...
s: in Art and English Language. He was a club cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, and both he and his opening partner at Barnsley Cricket Club
Barnsley Cricket Club
Barnsley Cricket Club play in the Yorkshire ECB County Premier League , winning the league title in 2006 for the first time in their history. The club is based at Shaw Lane which hosted four Benson and Hedges Cup ties in the 1970s and one first class match between Yorkshire and an All England XI...
, Dickie Bird, had trials for Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
together with Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen...
. Parkinson began as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
on local newspapers, and his Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
background and accent remain part of his appeal. He worked as a reporter on the Manchester Guardian and later on the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
in London. He was also conscripted
Conscription in the United Kingdom
Conscription in the United Kingdom has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1919, the second was from 1939 to 1960, with the last conscripted soldiers leaving the service in 1963...
into National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
as Britain's youngest army captain and was involved in the Suez
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
Operation in the summer of 1956.
Television
During the 1960s1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, Parkinson moved into television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, working on current affairs programmes for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
-based Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
.
From 1969 he presented Granada's Cinema, a late-night film review programme, (which included his first star interview with Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
), before in 1971 presenting his eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous BBC series. Parkinson
Parkinson (TV series)
Parkinson is a British television talk show that was presented by Sir Michael Parkinson. It was first shown on the BBC from 1971 to 2004, and on ITV from 2004 to 2007.-Background:...
ran until 1982 and from 1998 until December 2007, leaving the BBC for ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
partway through the second run. It featured celebrities but it avoided posing the confrontational questions for which Parkinson is well known. By his own reckoning, Parkinson interviewed 2,000 of the world's most famous people. In 1985, he stood in for Barry Norman
Barry Norman
Barry Leslie Norman, CBE is a British novelist, impresario, film critic and media personality. He was the BBC film critic on television from 1972 to 1998.-Early life:...
as presenter of Film 85
The Film programme
The Film programme is a British film review television programme, broadcast weekly on BBC One, presented by Claudia Winkleman and Danny Leigh. The title of the show changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast, with the current series being Film 2011, but when referring to successive...
.
He was one of the original line-up of TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
in 1983, with Angela Rippon
Angela Rippon
Angela M. Rippon, OBE, born 12 October 1944, Plymouth, Devon, England, is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's Nine O'Clock News, becoming a regular presenter in 1975...
, Anna Ford
Anna Ford
Anna Ford is a retired English journalist and television presenter, best known as a newsreader....
and Robert Kee
Robert Kee
Robert Kee CBE is a British broadcaster, journalist and writer, known for his historical works on World War II and Ireland....
, all replaced with younger talent. He also took over as host of Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
's Give Us a Clue
Give Us A Clue
Give Us a Clue is a British televised game show version of charades which was broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. The original host was Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1983, followed by Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992. The show featured two teams, one captained by Lionel Blair and the other by Una...
from Michael Aspel
Michael Aspel
Michael Terence Aspel, OBE is an English television presenter, known for his reserved demeanour and rich speaking voice. He has been a high-profile TV personality in the United Kingdom since the 1960s, presenting programmes such as Crackerjack, Aspel and Company, This is Your Life, Strange But...
.
On Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
night 1992, Parkinson appeared as himself in the television drama Ghostwatch
Ghostwatch
Ghostwatch is a British reality–horror/mockumentary television movie, first broadcast on BBC1 on 31 October , 1992.Despite having been recorded weeks in advance, the narrative was presented as 'live' television...
. He was the studio link during a fictional, apparently live, paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
investigation. However, the cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
style in which it was shot led to complaints from viewers who believed it depicted real events. From 1995 to 1999, he hosted the BBC One daytime programme Going for a Song
Going for a Song
Going for a Song was an antiques quiz show broadcast by the BBC from 1965-1977. It was a forerunner of the Antiques Roadshow. The original television series was hosted by presenter Max Robertson, with Arthur Negus appearing as the resident expert and antique valuer. The programmes were recorded...
. He again played himself in Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
' 2003 romantic comedy, Love Actually
Love Actually
Love Actually is a 2003 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through ten separate stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as their tales progress...
, interviewing the character Billy Mack, played by Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
. From 31 January to 3 February 2007, Parkinson presented "Symphony at the Movies" at Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
, where he shared stories about his interviews with movie stars and introduced music from films.
In October 2003, Parkinson had a controversial interview with Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Raised in Bethel, Connecticut, Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982...
while she was in the United Kingdom to promote In the Cut
In the Cut
In the Cut is a 2003 American erotic thriller and mystery film, written and directed by Jane Campion and starring Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Campion's screenplay is an adaption of the novel of the same name by Susanna Moore...
. He said it was his most difficult television moment.
Parkinson announced his retirement on 26 June 2007:
In 2007, Parkinson appeared in the Australian soap Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
as himself. On 24 November 2007, during recording of the final regular edition of his ITV chat show, broadcast on 16 December, Parkinson fought back tears as he was given an ovation. The last artist to perform on his show was regular guest Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Cullum is an English pop and jazz-pop singer-songwriter. Though he is primarily a vocalist/pianist he also accompanies himself on other instruments including guitar and drums. Since April 2010, he has been presenting a weekly jazz show on BBC Radio 2, broadcast on Tuesdays from 19:00.- Early...
.
As of December 2008, Parkinson held 458 credits as a presenter on his own and with others.
Parkinson was a flagship of the BBC's prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
schedule, attracting top names before the chat show circuit was part of the promotional mill. Parkinson interviewed Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, he was able to interview wartime variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
stars while attracting up-and-coming comedians such as Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
, and was not afraid to allow an interviewee time to be himself, sometimes as with Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
or Sir Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
devoting an entire programme to a guest.
Parkinson was a guest on Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
in 2008, posting a lap time of 1:49.4 as the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car".
Parkinson would always maintain that the most remarkable man he ever interviewed was Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
.
He regrets having never interviewed Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
or Sir Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
.
Radio
Parkinson took over BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
in 1985, after the death of its creator, Roy Plomley
Roy Plomley
Francis Roy Plomley , OBE was an English radio broadcaster, producer, playwright and novelist.-Early life:Plomley was the son of a pharmacist and was educated at King's College School, Wimbledon...
, whose widow was unhappy with Parkinson replacing him. Parkinson stayed for three years until handing over to Sue Lawley
Sue Lawley
- Early life and education:Born in Sedgley, Staffordshire, England and brought up in the Black Country, she was educated at Dudley Girls High School and graduated in modern languages from the University of Bristol and some time later started her career at the BBC in Plymouth...
. Between 1994 and 1996 he hosted Parkinson on Sport on BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio Five Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
. Between 1996 and 2007, he presented a morning show on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
called Parkinson's Sunday Supplement
Parkinson's Sunday Supplement
Parkinson's Sunday Supplement is a Sunday morning programme which was aired between 1996 and 2007 on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom. It was presented by the journalist and broadcaster Michael Parkinson...
; it featured newspaper and entertainment summaries with the help of journalists and a lengthy interview with a media personality. These were interspersed with music that demonstrated his penchant for jazz and big-band. In October 2007, a few months after announcing his retirement from his television series, Parkinson said his radio show would also end. The last programme was broadcast on Sunday 2 December 2007. As an interim Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson
Clive Anderson is a British former barrister, best known for being a comedy writer as well as a radio and television presenter in the United Kingdom...
presented the programme during December/January and Eammon Holmes during February and Fiona Bruce
Fiona Bruce
Fiona Elizabeth Bruce is a British journalist, newsreader and television presenter. Since joining the BBC in 1989, she has gone on to present many flagship programmes for the corporation including the BBC News at Six, BBC News at Ten, Crimewatch, Call My Bluff and, most recently, Antiques Roadshow...
during March. Michael Ball has now replaced him on a permanent basis. Parkinson presented a mid-morning programme on London's LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
Newstalk 97.3FM. He was considered responsible for promotion of jazz singers to a more mainstream audience during the run of his BBC radio show.
Writing
In 1965 The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
invited Parkinson to write a regular sports column, drawing on characters in his days in cricket and soccer. In the 1980s, Parkinson wrote a series of children's books
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
called The Woofits
The Woofits
The Woofits were a series of childrens books written in the 1980s by the British television and radio personality Michael Parkinson, best known for his TV chat shows....
about a family of anthropomorphic dog-like creatures in the fictional Yorkshire coal-mining village of Grimeworth. The books led to a TV series, which he narrated. He wrote a sports column for the Daily Telegraph and is president of the Sports Journalists' Association of Great Britain.
His book Parky: My Autobiography was published on 2 October 2008.
In April 2009, Parkinson wrote about the recently deceased Jade Goody
Jade Goody
Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody was an English celebrity. She came into the public spotlight while appearing on the third series of the Channel 4 reality TV programme Big Brother in 2002, an appearance which led to her own television programmes and the launch of her own products after her eviction from...
in Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
. He described her as "barely educated, ignorant and puerile," adding, "When we clear the media smokescreen from around her death, what we're left with is a woman who came to represent all that's paltry and wretched about Britain today." Bishop Jonathan Blake, who had presided over Goody's wedding, took exception to Parkinson's comments.
Other work
In 1971 Parkinson was nominated as a candidate for the position of Rector of the University of DundeeRector of the University of Dundee
The Rector of the University of Dundee is elected by the matriculated students of the University. From 1967 to 2010 the Rector was automatically a full member of the University Court...
. In one of the closest ever contests for that position he was very narrowly defeated by incumbent Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
after two recounts. The result was controversial as it was alleged earlier results indicated Parkinson had won and a further recount should have taken place to confirm the result. As a result pressure grew for the poll to be rerun. While the University decreed that the original result was to stand a new poll was organised by the Students' Association, which also featured the candidature of a goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
. However, this time Ustinov won a decisive victory over Parkinson, the goat and Paul Foot
Paul Foot
Paul Mackintosh Foot was a British investigative journalist, political campaigner, author, and long-time member of the Socialist Workers Party...
.
On 29 September 2008 Parkinson launched his website, which includes online interviews with Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
and British comedian Rory Bremner
Rory Bremner
Roderick "Rory" Keith Ogilvy Bremner, FKC is a Scottish impressionist, playwright and comedian, noted for his work in political satire...
. The site also includes a blog, giving Parkinson's views on news events plus information about his compilation album, Michael Parkinson: My Life In Music, featuring favourite songs performed by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
, Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
and others.
Parkinson gave the keynote address in Sydney on Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
2011, the first non-Australian to do so. Parkinson used the publicity surrounding his Australia Day appearance to promote the abolishment of the Australian monarchy.
Personal life
On 22 August 1959 he married Mary Heneghan, who was from DoncasterDoncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
. Under her new name, Mary Parkinson
Mary Parkinson
Mary Parkinson, Lady Parkinson is an English journalist and television presenter, and the wife of chat show host Sir Michael Parkinson....
was one of the presenters of the Thames TV daytime show Good Afternoon and briefly presented Parkinson in the 1970s. They have three children, Andrew, Nicholas and Michael Jr, who were born in 1960, 1964 and 1967 and eight grandchildren (Laura, James, Emma, Georgina, Ben, Felix, Sofia and Honey). In the 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
he campaigned in support of birth control, having had a vasectomy
Vasectomy
Vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization and/or permanent birth control. During the procedure, the vasa deferentia of a man are severed, and then tied/sealed in a manner such to prevent sperm from entering into the seminal stream...
in 1972 to allow his wife to stop taking the Pill. He is a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
fan, and in 1990 hosted a World XI team against Yorkshire. Parkinson and his wife live in Bray, Berkshire
Bray, Berkshire
Bray, sometimes known as Bray on Thames, is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It stands on the banks of the River Thames, just south-east of Maidenhead. It is famous as the village mentioned in the song The Vicar of Bray...
. He met his friend Michel Roux
Michel Roux
Michel Roux is a French-born chef and restaurateur working in Britain.Born in Charolles, Saône-et-Loire, Roux moved to Paris with his family after the war, where they set up a charcuterie...
when rowing down the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
on a Sunday to his then pub, the Waterside Inn
Waterside Inn
Waterside Inn, located in Bray, Berkshire, England, was founded by the brothers Michel and Albert Roux after the success of Le Gavroche. It is currently run by Michel's son, Alain...
.
Honours and awards
In 1999 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of LincolnUniversity of Lincoln
The University of Lincoln is an English university founded in 1992, with origins tracing back to the foundation and association with the Hull School of Art 1861....
. He was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) by Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
in November 2000 for services to broadcasting. Parkinson was made a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the 2008 New Year's Honours List; he remarked that he was "not the type to get a knighthood" coming as he did "from Barnsley. They give it to anyone nowadays."
Parkinson was ranked 8th in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
100 Greatest British Television Programmes
The BFI TV 100 is a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute , chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened....
drawn up by the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
in 2000, voted for by industry professionals. In April 2006, Parkinson was awarded Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
). He was voted number 20 in ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's "TV's 50 Greatest Stars".
On 4 June 2008 his knighthood was bestowed by the Queen at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
Parkinson became the first Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University is a public teaching and research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as a new university in 1992 from the existing Trent Polytechnic , however it can trace its roots back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design...
on 11 November 2008. His role includes representing the university and conferring degrees at graduation
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
ceremonies. He is quoted as saying, “I am honoured to be offered the chancellorship at Nottingham Trent University. In television I have always worked with young, ambitious people and I am keen to be involved in this university which helps to realise the aspirations of the young. It will also give me an opportunity to see what I missed!”.
Since 2005, Parkinson has served as the President of the Sports Journalists' Association of Great Britain, the largest national organisation of sports journalists in the world.
In popular culture
His presenting techniques were spoofed by Benny HillBenny Hill
Benny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
on The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show
The Benny Hill Show is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill.There were various incarnations of the show between 1951 and 1991, and it aired in over 140 countries. The show is generally sketch-based with heavy use of slapstick, mime, parody and double-entendre...
(sketch "The Golden Boy"), Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan
Alistair McGowan is a British impressionist, stand-up comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression , which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes - winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003...
on Big Impression
Big Impression
The Big Impression, known as Alistair McGowan's Big Impression for the first three series, is a British comedy sketch show. It features Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona impersonating personalities from entertainment and sport...
and by Jon Culshaw
Jon Culshaw
Jonathan Peter Culshaw is an English impressionist and comedian. He was educated at St Bede's RC High School, Ormskirk and St John Rigby College, in Orrell, Wigan....
on Dead Ringers
Dead Ringers (comedy)
Dead Ringers is a UK radio and television comedy impressions broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. It starred Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Phil Cornwell, Kevin Connelly and Mark Perry...
, in which Culshaw portrays Parkinson interviewing the public at bus stops and other locations. The Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett
Kenny Everett was an English comedian, radio DJ and television entertainer. Born Maurice James Christopher Cole, Everett is best known for his career as a radio DJ and for the Kenny Everett television shows.-Early life:...
character Cupid Stunt was "interviewed" by a cut-out Parkinson in "her" sketches. He is on the cover of the Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
album Band on the Run
Band on the Run
Band on the Run is an album by Paul McCartney & Wings, released in 1973. It was Wings' third album. It became Wings' most successful album and remains the most celebrated of McCartney's post-Beatles albums...
. Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
told Parkinson that he would appear on his chat show if Parkinson appeared on the album cover, although it was not until 1999 that McCartney fulfilled his promise.
In 2005, Parkinson appeared with comedian Peter Kay
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay is an English comedian, writer, actor, director and producer. His work includes That Peter Kay Thing , Phoenix Nights , Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere , Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and other independent productions which have included two sell out tours.-Early career:Peter Kay...
on the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of the re-released "Is This the Way to Amarillo
Is This the Way to Amarillo
In the United States, a version by the writer of the song Neil Sedaka made to number 44 in the Billboard charts in 1977, and the title was shortened to "Amarillo".-Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay version:...
" for Comic Relief, which became a Number 1 single. Parkinson was also featured in Irregular Webcomic!
Irregular Webcomic!
Irregular Webcomic! is a webcomic created by David Morgan-Mar, an Australian physicist. The comic is illustrated photographically, primarily with Lego figures, although a few of the story arcs use role playing game miniatures. The comic debuted on 31 December 2002 and ended on 29 October 2011,...
Number 1697.
In May 2009 Parkinson "bemoaned the state of TV generally, saying he was fed up of the rise of celebrities hosting shows, ridiculously titled documentaries and property shows", saying "In my television paradise there would be no more property programmes, no more police-chasing-yobbos-in-cars programmes and, most of all and please God, no more so-called documentary shows with titles like My 20-Ton Tumour, My Big Fat Head, Wolf Girl, Embarrassing Illnesses and The Fastest Man on No Legs." http://tv.sky.com/parkys-tv-tantrum On the 11th October 2010 Parkinson appeared on Richard Bacon's Radio 5 Live show where he was particularly critical of British comedian and actor Russell Brand
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
saying “I don't see the point of him,"
Mark E. Smith
Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith is the lead singer, lyricist, frontman, and only constant member of the English post-punk band The Fall.-Early life:...
of The Fall, on the song "Middlemass" from the live album The Legendary Chaos Tape, London, 1980 has an improvised line about "the son of Mike Parkinson made from coal".
External links
- Official Website
- Michael Parkinson and the MBCMuseum of Broadcast CommunicationsThe Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain...
's Encyclopedia of Television