RIP - Sir Michael Parkinson

[Spiderweb]

RIP Michael - A proud Yorkshireman and one of the greatest ever talk show hosts. I have many fond memories of, amongst many, his interactions with Billy Connolly, Muhammad Ali & Emu!

 

[Rocky]

Sad day - I loved his shows. RIP

 

[captain nemo1701]

Sad day, the man who set the gold standard for chat shows & introduced us to Billy Connolly. RIP 'Parky'

 

[glasgowcyclist]

And his guests weren’t always on to plug their next book/film/show. They were on to tell interesting stories and Parky was the master interviewer.

 

[matticus]

Muhammad Ali & Emu

You don't see matches like that these days ....

 

[glasgowcyclist]

You don't see matches like that these days ....

It was Ali’s only featherweight bout.

 

[Pale Rider]

Parky was fortunate to work in age in which the BBC ruled the roost.

In other words, the guests wanted access to that key prime time slot on BBC1 on a Saturday night, whoever was sitting opposite was irrelevant.

Parky was fortunate again because the guests had nothing like the control over their image they try to exercise today.

Having said that, he wouldn't have lasted so long if the wasn't good at the job.

 

[matticus]

It was Ali’s only featherweight bout.

Oh I say!

 

[Beebo]

Sadly the end of an era.
Chat show hosts now are usually comedians or trying to be funny.
There doesn’t appear to be a place in TV for a straightforward serious interview without someone selling or promoting at product.

 

[raleighnut]

Sad news, RIP Parky

 

[sheddy]

Presumably he had subscribed to his own TV funeral plan…

 

[Dave7]

Can't add much. I assumed he was there for ever... sadly not.

 

[slowmotion]

His interviews with Sir Leslie Patterson were priceless.

 

[Beebo]

His interviews with Sir Leslie Patterson were priceless.

Both died 4 months apart at the ages of 88 and 89.

 

[Ian H]

RIP Michael - A proud Yorkshireman and one of the greatest ever talk show hosts. I have many fond memories of, amongst many, his interactions with Billy Connolly, Muhammad Ali & Emu!

After Emu had attacked him a couple of times, Parkinson's response was that if it happened again, he'd break 'that bird's neck and your arm'. Conversely, when he started questioning some of Ali's views in a confrontational manner, Ali shifted forwards in his chair, and Parkinson shrank back and immediately changed tack.