Michael Parkinson biography
Michael Parkinson history
Michael Parkinson facts
Michael Parkinson video clips
Michael Parkinson photos
Michael Parkinson story
Michael Parkinson discography
Michael Parkinson photographs
Michael Parkinson bio
Michael Parkinson info
Michael Parkinson curious
Michael Parkinson images
Michael Parkinson quotes
Michael Parkinson films
Michael Parkinson filmography

[h3]Michael Parkinson was born into a Yorkshire mining family. Educated at Barnsley Grammar School, he obtained two O-levels in English Language and Art. Michael began his journalistic career by working on local newspapers in Yorkshire, before going on to work on the prestigious Manchester Guardian. He then moved to London to pursue a career in Fleet Street and worked as a features writer on the Daily Express newspaper.[/h3]

As a young man, Michael was a very keen cricketer and at one time had trials for Yorkshire. At the age of 19, he was called up for military service and became Britain’s youngest ever Army captain, when he saw active service during the Suez Crisis in 1956.

As the Swinging Sixties dawned, Michael’s career went from strength to strength and he moved into television journalism. His first TV job was as a current affairs producer at Granada TV, before he went on to become a reporter for BBC’s 24 Hours programme. In 1969, he moved over from current affairs to arts programming, and began presenting Cinema, a late-night film review programme for Granada TV. Around the same time, he published A Pictorial History Of Westerns (his favourite film genre). Two years later, in 1971, Michael was given his own chat show, simply called “Parkinson”, which carried on running until 1982. The show resumed broadcasting again in 1998, and continued until June 2007, when Michael Parkinson announced his retirement.

Michael’s show featured many prominent celebrities, but unlike certain other talk show hosts, he studiously avoided being provocative or confrontational, preferring to stick to genuine “chat” instead. Michael himself calculated that during the lifetime of his show, he interviewed around 2,000 of the most famous people in the world. During its heyday, his show became very much a flagship of the BBC’s prime time schedule, as Michael successfully interviewed stars such as [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/719:0/Marlon_Brando.htm]Marlon Brando[/urlnew] and [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/174:0/Paul_McCartney.htm]Sir Paul McCartney[/urlnew].

Michael hosted other shows during his chat show’s 16-year hiatus from 1982 to1998, but they never came close to achieving the viewing figures of “Parkinson.” He was one of the earliest presenters of daytime TV, being part of the original line-up of TV-AM., along with Angela Rippon, Anna Ford and Robert Kee. In 1992, he appeared as himself in the TV drama Ghostwatch, taking the part of the studio link during a fictional, but apparently live, paranormal investigation. The realistic style in which the programme was shot led many viewers to believe that it was actually taking place, leading to many complaints from the public.

From 1995 to 1999, Michael hosted the popular BBC One daytime programme “Going For A Song”. He played the role of himself in the Richard Curtis’s popular romantic comedy “Love Actually” interviewing the character Billy Mack, played by Bill Nighy. Michael returned to hosting “Parkinson” in 1998, but in 2007, he decided that it was time to bow down. He said: “After 25 years of doing my talk show, I have decided that this forthcoming series will be my last. I’m going to take next year off to write my autobiography and consider other television projects.” The final edition of Parkinson’s ITV chat show was broadcast on 16th December 2007, and the famous host fought back the tears as he was given a standing ovation. The last artist ever to appear on his show was the jazz pianist Jamie Cullum, whom Michael is credited with discovering.
>>>
In between presenting his own chat show and other TV productions, Michael had an active career in radio broadcasting too. He took over the popular Radio 4 show “Desert Island Discs” in 1985, following the death of Roy Plomley, the show’s creator, and hosted the show for three years. He also hosted a show on BBC Radio 2 called “Parkinson’s Sunday Supplement”, featuring a newspaper and entertainment round-up, with his choice of music clearly demonstrating his taste for jazz and big band music. Michael is also the author of several books, including a series of children’s books called “The Woofits”, about a family of dog-like creatures who live in the fictional Yorkshire village of Grimeworth; these books were later made into a TV series, which Michael narrated. He also wrote a biography of the footballer [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/2002:0/George_Best_Remembered.htm]George Best[/urlnew].

During his long and varied career, Michael Parkinson has certainly had more than his fair share of difficult and un-cooperative guests. One of the most notable of these was [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/41:0/Woody_Allen.htm]Woody Allen[/urlnew], who accused his host of having a “morbid interest” in his personal life and stoutly refused to answer any questions about his current ongoing custody battle for his children during his appearance on the show in 1999.

Michael Parkinson’s interview with [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/870:0/Meg_Ryan.htm]Meg Ryan[/urlnew] in October 2003 made television history, on account of the actress’s curious behaviour whereby she gave only monosyllabic answers to the host’s question and stared icily at him throughout the interview. Michael later referred to the interview as “my most difficult television moment”. Meg Ryan had ostensibly accepted an invitation to appear on the show in order to promote her new erotic thriller “In The Cut”, but somewhat oddly, refused to answer any of her host’s question about why she’d departed from her normal rom-com roles to act in this film. At one point, Parkinson said in desperation, “What would you do now if you were me?” to which question Meg Ryan replied, “Why not wrap it up?”

Despite the occasional disastrous moments, the highs of Michael Parkinson’s career have far outnumbered the lows, and he has said that his favourite interview ever was the one he conducted with mathematician and broadcaster Jacob Bronowski. He has named [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/553:0/Orson_Welles.htm]Orson Welles[/urlnew] as being the most fascinating, articulate, witty and charismatic show business guest that he’d ever interviewed and has also said that his one great regret was that he’d never interviewed [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1927:0/Frank_Sinatra.htm]Frank Sinatra[/urlnew]; to this day, he still regards him as “the one that got away”.

Michael has received lots of honours in recognition of his achievements during his long career. In the year 2000, he was awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of The British Empire) for his services to broadcasting; in 2005, he was presented with the Music Industry Trusts’ Award in 2005 for his outstanding contribution to the British music industry. He was honoured by [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/495:0/Elizabeth_Alexandra_Mary_Windsor_-_Queen_Elizabeth_II.htm]the Queen[/urlnew] again a couple of years later when he was awarded the Knighthood of the Order of the British Empire in the 2008 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for “services to broadcasting”. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, “Parkinson” was ranked 8th. Michael was also voted no. 20 in ITV’s “TV’s 50 Greatest Stars”

Michael married Mary Heneghan in 1959; his wife Mary presented the long-running Thames TV daytime show “Good Afternoon” and briefly presented “Parkinson” herself. They have thre children, Andrew, Nick and Mike, as well as eight grandchildren. Michael and his family live in the village of Bray in Berkshire.

[b]Jane Bowles[/b]
Michael Parkinson biography



- He is born under the astrological star sign of Aries.

- At the age of 19, he was Britain’s youngest ever army captain and served during the Suez Operation.

- His nicknames are Parky and The King of Chat

- He is 5ft 10 inches tall.

- Appears on the cover of Paul McCartney’s 1973 album, Band On The Run.

- Plays golf with Terry Wogan.

- Loves sport, especially cricket and football.

- Became landlord of the Royal Oak public house in Berkshire in 2001.

- Was famously wrestled to the ground by Rod Hull’s Emu during an interview.

- Was interviewed for the first ever issue of British Cosmopolitan, in an article entitled “The Most Beautiful Thing A Man Can Do For A Woman.”

- Is a fan of Doctor Who.

- His favourite Elton John song is “Rocket Man.

- Is a fan of the singer Rod Stewart.

- Is a fan of the singer George Michael.

- His favourite entertainers are Ken Dodd, Frank Sinatra, Billy Connolly, George Best, Louis Armstrong and Barry Humphries.
Michael Parkinson biography



Best ever muppet moments (2006)

Parkinson (2006)

The Royal Variety Performance 2005 (Host) (2005)

Parkinson (2005)

The best of an audience with... (2005)

ITV's 50 greatest shows (2005)

Parkinson (2004)

This Morning (2004)

Alastair Campbell interviews..: (2004)

Bob monkhouse a bafta tribute (2004)

Star Portraits With Rolf Harris (2004)

The British Academy Television Awards (2003)

Parkinson (2003)

Heroes Of Comedy: Max Wall (2003)

Love Actually (2003)

Peter Cook At A Slight Angle To The Universe (2002)

James Bond A Bafta Tribute (2002)

Billy Connolly A Bafta Tribute (2002)

Parkinson At Christmas (2002)

There's Only One George Best (2002)

When Parkinson Met Mandela (2002)

Prom At The Palace (2002)

Parkinson (2002)

2001 TV Moments (2002)

Parkinson at Christmas (2001)

The Kumars at no. 42 (2001)

The teaching awards 2001 (2001)

Parkinson (2001)

Victoria Wood With All The Trimmings (2000)

Tfi Friday: The Spice Girls (2000)

Night Of 1000 Shows (2000)

Parkinson (2000)

Stars And Their Lives (2000)

The Talk Show Story With Michael Parkinson (2000)

Victoria's Secrets (2000)

2000 To 1(1999)

2000 Today (1999)

Parkinson Meets Paul Mccartney (1999)

Open House With Gloria Hunniford (1999)

Gmtv (1999)

The Sunshine Boys Morecambe And Wise (1999)

Celebrity Proms With Michael Parkinson (1999)

Two Ronnies Night (1999)

Frostrup On Sunday (1999)

The British Academy Television Awards (Host) (1999)

Going For A Song (1999)

Parkinson (1999)

Antiques Roadshow Unwrapped A Celebration Of 21 Years Of The
Antiques Roadshow (1998)

Everyman: Idol Pursuits (1998)

30 years of Billy Connolly (1998)

Going for a song (1998)

You are, are you not, Russell Harty? (1998)

Reputations: Kenneth Williams desperately funny (1998)

Reputations: Kenneth Williams seriously outrageous (1998)

Parkinson (1998)

Parkinson:The Interviews (1997)

The Rock And Goal Years: 1979 And 1990 (1997)

Countdown: Countdown - The Grand Final (1997)

Going For A Song (1997)

Parky At Christmas (1996)

Auntie's All-Time Greats (1996)

Parkinson: The Interviews (1996)

Dickie Bird A Rare Species (1996)

Parkinson Meets Best (1996)

Funny girl...a tribute to Marti Caine (1996)

Going For A Song (1996)

This Morning (1995)

A League Apart 100 Years Of Rugby League (1995)

Going For A Song (1995)

Parkinson: The Interviews (1995)

Brookside (1995)

The Frost Programme (1995)

Countdown: Championship Of Champions (1995)

The Rumble In The Jungle (Narrator) (1994)

Les Dawson: The Entertainer (1994)

Countdown: Countdown - The Grand Final (1994)

Images Of Yorkshire (1993)

Heroes Of Comedy (1992)

Bruce Forsyth: 50 Years In Showbusiness (1992)

Screen One Special: Ghostwatch (1992)

This Morning (1992)

National Listening Library (1992)

Give Us A Clue (1992)

Help Squad (1992)

Thames Reports: Lady Breadline (1991)

Help Squad (1991)

Give Us A Clue (1991)

The British Comedy Awards 1990 (Host) (1990)

ITV Telethon '90: Afternoon (1990)

Parky (1989)

Give Us A Clue (1989)

Parkinson One-To-One (1988)

Give Us A Clue (1988)

Parkinson One-To-One (1987)

That's Television Entertainment (1986)

All Star Secrets (1986)

Give Us A Clue (1986)

Who's the greatest?: Keegan v. Best (1986)

Film 86 (1986)

Wheldon Talking (1986)

The Making Of A Model (1985)

The Time Of Your Life: Michael Parkinson (1985)

All Star Secrets (1985)

Give Us A Clue (1985)

The Making Of Joan Collins (1985)

Saving The Skag Kids: A Conference On London's Drug Problem
(1985)

The Boys Of '66: England's Last Glory (1985)

Water (1985)

Looks Familiar (1984)

All Star Secrets [Pilot] (1984)

Des O'connor Tonight (1984)

Bring me sunshine - a tribute to Eric Morecambe OBE (1984)

Good Morning Britain (1983)

Gives Us A Clue (1983)

Sunday Sunday (1982)

Marti Caine (1982)

Parkinson (1982)

Eleven Years Of Parkinson (1982)

Omnibus: We Ask The Questions (1981)

Parkinson (1981)

Batley (1981)

After Noon Plus (1980)

Parkinson (1980)

The Woofits (Voice) (1980)

Parkinson (1979)

Parkinson At Christmas (1979)

The Writers Guild Of Great Britain Present The Pye Colour TV
Awards (1979)

Seven To One: Michael Parkinson (1979)

Parkinson (1979)

Parkinson At The Pantomime (1978)

This Is Your Life: Michael Parkinson (1978)

Russell Harty (1978)

Parkinson (1978)

Looks Familiar (1977)

Parkinson (1977)

In Company (1976)

Parkinson (1976)

We Matter: Living With Ms (1976)

Parkinson (1975)

Living With Ms (1975)

Parkinson Takes A Christmas Look At Morecambe And Wise (1974)

Parkinson (1974)

Madhouse (1974)

2nd House (1973)

Parkinson (1973)

Parkinson (1972)

Today Mexico, tomorrow the world (1972)

The Morecambe and Wise Christmas show (1971)

Parkinson: Muhammad Ali (1971)

Parkinson (1971)

Twenty fifth royal film performance (1971)

Cinema (1971)

Who's there? (1971)

Cinema (1970)

Michael Parkinson meets Tommy Steele (1970)

World of sport special football the league cup final Arsenal v
Swindon (1969)

Cinema (1969)

Where There's Brass (1969)

Cricket At Headingley (1968)

Twenty-Four Hours: Backward Readers (1966)

Opening Of The Emley Moor (1965)

Slight White Paper On Love (1965)

Churchill Obituary (1965)

Mick Jagger Interview With Michael Parkinson 1965 (1965)

Cinema: Cinema (1964)
Michael Parkinson biography

THE ROLE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE: I Wanted To Be Taken More Seriously Fri 8th Aug - 9:30PM

CLASSIC ALBUMS: Deep Purple - Machine Head Sat 9th Aug - 2:00PM

AMERICA'S MOST WANTED: Season 21 - Ep 9 Fri 8th Aug - 11:00PM