The award-winning broadcaster's star-studded chat shows became essential viewing for millions.
Michael Parkinson was born on 28 March 1935 in the South Yorkshire village of Cudworth, the son of a miner.
Parkinson attended the local primary school before moving on to Barnsley Grammar School where he achieved just two O-Levels and discovered a talent for writing by providing essays for his class mates at half a shilling each.He also learned to play cricket, developing an aptitude for the game that saw him seriously consider becoming a professional.
His time as an officer also enabled him to move into social circles that might have remained closed to a young Yorkshire lad who left school at 16 and had never been to university. His move into television came when he was invited to a screen test by Granada, which was commissioning a new current affairs programme.Parkinson later reflected that he had never thought of television as a career: "We had a contemptuous, bemused view of television at the Guardian in those days. We believed it would go away."
John Lennon, Michael Caine and Elton John were among the earliest people to appear on the show and Parkinson also featured some of the music hall stars he had seen in his home town of Barnsley, such as Tessie O'Shea and Sandy Powell.
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