Sir Michael Parkinson, affectionately known simply as Parky, was one of the world’s greatest interviewers.
His easygoing demeanor, combined with his experience as a journalist, has produced some of the most memorable sit-down chats in history.
Among his high-profile guests were Sir Billy Connolly, Muhammad Ali, Sir Elton John, Dame Helen Mirren and Madonna.
And he also became known for his no-nonsense responses to other stars like Meg Ryan, who seemed like she didn’t want to be there.
Speaking on his famous chat show, Parky once reminisced, “I’ve had a ball. What a job to have. And they paid me too!’
The show Parkinson started on the BBC in 1971 and was shown American jazz singer Marion Montgomery as his first guest.
Among his high-profile guests were Sir Billy Connolly, Muhammad Ali (above), Sir Elton John, Dame Helen Mirren and Madonna.
Michael Parkinson interviews actress Meg Ryan in chat that ended in some animosity
It would run for 11 years, then return in 1998 for another go before switching to ITV, with an incredible 2,000 guests.
The excruciating interview with the American actress Meg Ryan and the moment when Parkinson was attacked by Rod Hull’s Emu are probably his most famous moments.
Sleepless In Seattle, Ryan seemed to want to be somewhere else, and he gave Sir Michael a series of curt answers.
He asked ‘if you were me, what would you do now?’ she replied, “Just pack?”
Parkinson later called her “an unhappy woman,” while Ryan called him a “lunatic” and said he had spoken to her “like a disapproving father.”
However, in 2021, Sir Michael Ryan apologized for the infamous interview, telling Radio Times: ‘I wish I hadn’t lost my temper with Meg Ryan. I wish I handled it in a more courteous way.
“I was obviously angry with her and it is not my business to be angry with the guests. I came across as pompous and I could have done better.’
Sir Michael Parkinson called Dame Helen Mirren a ‘sex queen’ in a 1975 interview, asking if her ‘gear’ undermined her credibility
Sir Michael Parkinson with comedian Billy Connolly who was a regular guest on his show
Parkinson often joked that his career would always be remembered for “that damn bird – Rod Hull’s Emu.”
The doll famously attacked him on the chat show couch, wrestling him to the ground.
It’s a clip that has been repeated over the years and has won an army of new fans thanks to the internet.
The late football legend George Best was also a regular, first interviewed in 1971 and then again in 1973.
Best had just left Manchester United for the first time and was starting to feel the pressures of life off the pitch.
“I don’t go into pubs and I don’t walk up to people and ask them if they want a fight,” he told Parkinson.
“When I walk into a bar or a club, there’s always someone who wants to come up and hit you on the head with a pint jar and then go to work on Monday morning and tell their friends. I used to put up with it, but when they walk up to you and threaten you, if you slap them on the mouth first, they’re not going to tell their friends that they picked you out, are they?
Michael revealed that Yoko wasn’t as approachable as John (pictured) in their 1971 interview, once believed to have been lost
Michael said he doesn’t like watching his 1975 interview with Helen Mirren (pictured) after suggesting that having big busts could detract from her performance
‘It happens everywhere. I was hit on the head by a 65 year old woman! I was watching a show, and she came over and hit me on the head with her purse. Don’t know. Maybe she didn’t enjoy the show.’
Their last interview was in 2001 when Best was diagnosed with severe liver damage and was on a waiting list for a transplant.
He told Parkinson, “Alcoholics Anonymous works for a lot of people and saves their lives, but it didn’t work for me.”
And in 1981 Parkinson’s sit-down with Muhammad Ali saw viewers glued to the screen.
Ali was far from the persona he presented in many other chats and was intimidating during the exchange.
Parkinson often joked that his career would always be remembered for ‘that damn bird – Rod Hull’s Emu’
Michael Parkinson interviews the great George Best in 1975. ‘Best was the greatest player I ever saw,’ writes Parkinson
He stated: “I’m not just a boxer. I can talk about millions of topics all week.
“You don’t have enough wisdom to corner me on television
“You’re too small mentally to take me on on nothing I represent.”
One infamous interview was with a 30-year-old Helen Mirren in 1975. She wore a low-cut black dress.
Parky asked her if her “gear,” her “physical features,” were interfering with her desire to be considered a “serious actress.”
“Do you mean my fingers?” replied the actress. “Come on, spit it out. Serious actresses can’t have big bosoms, is that what you mean?’
Parkinson said his favorite interview ever was with Dr. Jacob Bronowski, a renowned scientist, who made the television documentary The Ascent of Man
“Well,” he said, “they can detract from the performance.”
When he later talked about the show, he admitted that he didn’t enjoy watching it back.
He said, “I was my most pompous self. By today’s standards, I plead guilty to being sexist.
We both lost our temper. I don’t like looking back because I show an unattractive side.’
But however the interviews went, it was clear that Parkinson felt privileged to conduct them – with one in particular.
He said in 2021, “The question I’m always asked is, ‘What was my favorite interview?’
‘Well, it’s an impossible question and the answer I give always surprises.
“It was with a man named Dr. Jacob Bronowski, a renowned scientist, who created that towering achievement of making television documentaries, The Ascent of Man.
“It was one man’s account of the horror of what Nazi Germany did to the Jews.
“And it’s deeply moving because he’s such an extraordinary man.”