Parkinson Tells All
To some, the best interviewer ever is Michael Parkinson. He is a man who crosses social boundaries with such ease society can’t remember if he really is a ‘toff’ or not. We love him. So many individuals become celebrities and decide their life is worth telling. How many times have we all fallen for it and gone out and bought the book and been so disappointed. Parkinson on the other hand has led a fascinating life and he is soon going to be telling all.
When his career began he made the big blunder of trying to give the impression that he was a ‘hard nosed reporter’. How he could have hidden that twinkle in the eye and little boy grin is hard to imagine. But then he met up with one of the great journalists of our time- Fyfe Robertson. Robertson didn’t hold back; he told Parkinson ‘to get into the studio as soon as you can’. Guess what? He didn’t tell Parkinson to ‘get into a studio’ because he thought he had studio talent. He told him to do it because that is where he would make money. Now that’s hard nosed. Parkinson said it was the best advice he was ever given regarding his career.
Parkinson opens up about his relationship with George Best. The two were great friends. The television interviewer describes Best as being ‘not handsome but beautiful’. Parkinson has enormous admiration for Best as the greatest ‘all round’ footballer he has ever seen. Parkinson tells about Best and all the women he courted. His lifestyle was out of control and he was the rock star of soccer. It is obvious that Parkinson has great sympathy for Best who had the burden of being the world’s first football super star. He just had no idea how to handle it and nor could the people around him. He was a first.
Parkinson has a son who is the owner of a ‘gastro pub’. The pub is located in Berkshire. Parkinson and George Best put up a picture of George and David Beckham. Parkinson’s son Nick has many customers who are supporters of Man United. Once a year the players from George’s team get together in the pub for a meal in aid of charity. They were promised ten thousand pounds if George would attend one. He did. According to Parkinson the late great footballer always turned up for a charity event.
Michael Parkinson calls Yoko Ono’s ideas ‘potty’. He is convinced he had to sit in a sack while interviewing John Lennon was her idea. He describes himself as a ‘talking sack’ during that interview. Another of his guests who greatly impressed him was the legendary Orson Wells. It was due to the Orson Wells interview that the Michael Parkinson Show got another season. Parkinson described him as ‘an enormous figure’. He was dressed all in black and asked to look at the questions. He then told Parkinson to forget about the questions and just to chat. Parkinson considers Wells to be an incredibly intelligent and articulate man. He set the tone for all the shows to come. Michael Parkinson is a quick learner and it’s paid off.
