Veteran British chat show host Michael Parkinson passed away on Thursday at the age of 88. His family said that he had passed on peacefully at home following a brief illness. Parkinson had become a household name during his multi-decade career spanning featured interviews with some of the world's most prominent figures.
“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,” read a short statement announcing the news.
Parkinson's eponymous show first ran from June 1971 to 1982 before being revived in 1998. He switched from the BBC to commercial rival ITV in 2004 and continued until 2007. Over the years ‘Parky’ estimated that he had interviewed more than 2,000 guests in total, including high-profile names such as Muhammad Ali, Elton John, John Lennon, the Beckhams, Michael Caine, and Madonna.
Born in the coalmining village of Cudworth in northern England, Parkinson could have easily become a miner just like his father. But he had other aspirations, not least playing for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. When that dream was dashed, he left school at 16 and began working at a local paper, later joining the Manchester Guardian and then the Daily Express. He later moved to television - first at regional channels Granada and Thames Television, and then the BBC.
After TV, Parkinson moved to radio, briefly presenting the BBC's "Desert Island Discs", on which celebrities and others reminisce about their lives before being cast away to an imaginary desert island. Other stints followed ranging from sport to music, particularly jazz and big band. He also kept up his sports writing, and was president of the Sports Journalists Association.
The famed TV host was knighted by the late Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2008. “I never expected to be knighted -- I thought there was more chance of me turning into a Martian really,” he had said at the time.
In 2013 Parkinson revealed he was receiving radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer, but got the all-clear from doctors two years later. He is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Mary, and their three children.
(With inputs from agencies)
