Iconic British television presenter Michael Parkinson has passed away at the age of 88, as revealed by his family today. He passed away last night in his home in Berkshire while surrounded by his wife Lady Mary as well as his children.
He became famous as the “king of the talk show” after his interviews with big names like John Lennon, Muhammad Ali, Orson Welles, Billy Connolly and many more throughout his long career which lasted for five decades.
He has had many viral and alarming interview moments throughout the years like being attacked while speaking with Rod Hull and Emu and triggering some bad blood with Meg Ryan amidst a whopping 2000 interviews conducted on the BBC.
He previously revealed that one of his biggest regrets was not being able to interview Frank Sinatra while also claiming that the most formidable interviewee for him was the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.
Michael was the face of the BBC show Parkinson from 1971 to 1982 and then later again from 1998 to 2004. He then made the switch to ITV where he headed yet another chat show from 2004 to 2007.
His last public appearance came in April where he appeared to be quite frail as he attended the 90th birthday party for Dickie Bird in Headingley, Leeds. A statement released from his family read:
“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.”
