Sir Michael Parkinson’s death was announced by his family in a statement (Picture: BBC)
Sir Michael Parkinson revealed the legacy he wanted to leave before his death aged 88.
The legendary talk show host, who died after a brief illness on Wednesday (August 16) night, detailed how he wanted to be remembered on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2019.
‘I just want to be remembered as someone who had a good time, lots of good mates and wrote the odd good piece and did the odd good interview. That’s enough, he said according to The Mirror.
Tributes have been pouring in for the broadcaster after his family confirmed his death in a statement on Thursday (August 17), while the BBC has changed its schedule to pay homage to Sir Michael.
Among those remembering Sir Michael was Matt Lucas who described the presenter as ‘a titan of television’ and ‘the ultimate chat show host’ on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Stephen Fry, meanwhile, said being interviewed by Sir Michael as ‘impossibly thrilling’ on Instagram adding that he was ‘authentic’ and ‘alwaus 100% himself’ on and off screen.
Sir Michael interviewed countless legends including Muhammed Ali (Picture: BBC)
He interviewed Sir Paul McCartney on his final ever Parkinson show (Picture: ITV)
The statement from Sir Michael’s 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.’
The journalist was at the forefront of numerous unforgettable moments on TV on his eponymous chat show Parkinson, from sparring with Muhammad Ali to Victoria Beckham revealing her cheeky ‘golden balls’ nickname for her husband David Beckham.
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Sir Michael was described as a ‘titan of TV’ in a tribute(Picture: REX/Shutterstock)
Headline-making interviews throughout his career included those with actresses Dame Helen Mirren and US star Meg Ryan.
He famously introduced stage and screen star Dame Helen as the ‘sex queen’ of the Royal Shakespeare Company during their 1975 chat show encounter and asked if her ‘equipment’ hindered her being recognised as a serious actress.
In 2003, his interview with Ryan made headlines following a frosty one-on-one with the Hollywood actress while she was promoting the poorly received erotic thriller In The Cut.
Sir Michael with his wife Lady Mary as he received his knighthood(Picture: Shutterstock)
Sir Michael died peacefully surrounded by his family (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)
Ryan sat stony-faced for the sit-down, delivering one-word answers after allegedly being rude to her fellow guests on the show, the fashion double act Trinny and Susannah.
Parkinson first aired on the BBC on June 19 1971, and enjoyed a successful run until 1982. In 1998, the chat show was revived on the BBC and proved an instant hit.
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It switched from the BBC to ITV1 in 2004 and ran until 2007 – the same year Sir Michael retired from his Sunday morning Radio 2 programme.
Sir Michael was last seen in public at former cricket umpire Dickie Bird’s 90th birthday at Leeds’ Headingley Stadium in April.
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MORE : Sir Michael Parkinson’s last public appearance as legendary chat show host dies aged 88
Among other qualities, Sir Michael said he wanted to be remembered for having ‘a good time.’