Sir Michael had 'no idea' how hit debut show had gone

The first episode of Parkinson aired on June 19, 1971.

Seen as a temporary 10-week filler program, it recorded more than 650 episodes featuring interviews with more than 2000 guests and was voted by the BFI one of the top 10 UK television programs of all time.

In 2021, to mark the show's 50th anniversary, Sir Michael was interviewed by his son and producer Michael Parkinson Jr, as part of a BBC documentary: Parkinson At 50.

"I was just happy to get through the first show without falling down the stairs or forgetting the name of the guest sitting opposite," he said, asked if he had ever imagined he would present so many episodes of the show.

"I had no idea how it had gone.

"I knew there was something in it that I wanted to pursue but I had no idea how it would turn out."

Sir Michael's first guests on the show in 1971 were celebrity snapper Ray Bellasario and comedy actor Terry-Thomas, as well as US singer Marion Montgomery.

The signature tune was played by the Harry Stoneham Five.

Across the next three decades he would interview some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Jimmy Cagney, Fred Astaire, Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman and a host of Australians including Bob Hawke, Jacki Weaver and Ian Thorpe.

Sir Michael admitted that in the early days of the show it had been "difficult not to get tongue-tied" when faced with the likes of Bergman and Bacall.

"I used to imagine getting married to (them) when I was child watching them from the back row of the Rock Cinema in Barnsley," he said.

Despite the vast array of actors, musicians, and other high profilers, the interview Sir Michael was most proud of was with scientist and humanist Dr Jacob Bronowski.

Part of the interview featured in Parkinson At 50, during which Dr Bronowski recounts "in a simple, compassionate and articulate way" a visit to the Auschwitz death camp.

"It's an excerpt I can barely watch and as you will see in the program it brings me to tears," Sir Michael said, ahead of the documentary's airing.

"But it is the interview I am most proud of, not because of any role I played in it but because Bronowski was such an extraordinary man, possessed of a mind like a Swiss watch."

In an interview with the Radio Times in 2007, shortly before his final show, Sir Michael said his initial fear of forgetting guests' names had occasionally come true - including with Hollywood legend John Wayne.

"I simply couldn't think of his name, so I stared at my crib sheet and it said 'Duke', which was his nickname, of course, but that didn't do me much good," he said.

He also revealed the questions his guests have told him they would rather not be asked, including requests from comedian Woody Allen and actor Rex Harrison.

After premiering in 1971, Parkinson enjoyed a successful run until 1982.

In 1998, the chat show was revived on the BBC and proved an instant hit.

It switched from the BBC to ITV1 in 2004 due to a clash with football highlight show Match Of The Day.

Parkinson ran on ITV until 2007 - the same year Sir Michael retired from his Sunday morning Radio 2 program.

For one of his final episodes, Sir Michael put together a "wish list" of stars to join him.

Sir Michael Caine, Sir David Attenborough, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Edna Everage, Billy Connolly, David Beckham, Peter Kay and Jamie Cullum appeared on the two-hour special broadcast on December 22, 2007.

Jazz star Cullum played the classic track Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone in tribute to the host, who had helped launch his career by featuring him on his show when he was an unknown.

"I did a talk show at the best time, without the constraints of social media that turn many celebrities into people as mysterious as our next-door neighbour," Sir Michael said in 2021 ahead of Parkinson At 50.