Sir Michael Parkinson: Dickie Bird breaks down as he recalls final words with friend the day before he died
Former cricket umpire Dickie Bird has described saying “goodbye” to Sir Michael Parkinson the day before he died – with the friends having an unspoken feeling it would be their final chat.
Bird was emotional as he recalled his final words with his friend of 74 years – who died on Wednesday night after a short illness.
“I was completely shocked because I only spoke to him yesterday. We had a long chat yesterday,” he told Sky News.
“I know he hasn’t been well, he hasn’t been well at all, and his voice yesterday – it didn’t sound as if it was strong. It was a weak voice. I knew then there was something wrong with him.”
The 90-year-old broke down as he remembered his parting conversation with the TV presenter.
“We cracked a few jokes together, we had a few tears in our eyes, and we said goodbye – goodbye to each other at the end of the phone call – as if we had this feeling we wouldn’t see…
“I had this feeling we wouldn’t see each other again and we said goodbye, and that was it.”
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A look back at Sir Michael Parkinson’s career
Sir Michael died aged 88 after a career that made him one of Britain’s best-loved TV personalities, with his interview style and warmth attracting the world’s biggest names.
His show first ran from 1971 to 1982, before relaunching in 1998 until he retired in 2007.
Dickie Bird told Sky News he was a “very, very special friend” and they had known each other since they were teenagers in Barnsley.
They were both sons of coal miners and played on the same cricket team in their youth – with Bird saying ‘Parky’ kept future England cricketer Sir Geoffrey Boycott out the team.
The star travelled to Bird’s birthday in April despite being unwell
“I was so sad when I heard the news this morning – I slumped in my chair and shed a few tears,” said the 90-year-old.
He recalled how they would regularly chat on the phone and that Sir Michael travelled from Berkshire to say a few words at this birthday in April – despite being unwell.
Bird said he told him “he would have walked” to get there such was their friendship.
‘He made it effortless’
Comedian Rory Bremner told Sky News that Sir Michael was “the greatest interviewer there’s been” and remembered fondly the “twinkle in his eye”.
He said his success was based around being “genuine and authentic” and rooted in his Yorkshire upbringing.
“He made it effortless, but it wasn’t effortless at all,” said Bremner.
“It was a lot of work. It was the instincts of a journalist, the warmth and wit of an intelligent and warm and funny human being. He was a lovely man.”
Sir Michael Parkinson with Tom Cruise and Muhammad Ali in 1974 (below). Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Pic: BBC
Bremner said the calibre of guests Sir Michael attracted spoke for itself.
He said: “You look at those shows he had in the 70s, the people he had – Charlton Heston, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Kenneth Williams, Bob Hope, Dirk Bogarte.”
Actors, comedians and TV stars have been lining up to pay tribute to Sir Michael in the hours since his death was announced.
Stephen Fry described being interviewed by him as “impossibly thrilling”.
“The genius of Parky was that (unlike most people… and most of his guests, me included) he was always 100% himself,” he wrote on Instagram.
“On camera and off. ‘Authentic’ is the word I suppose.”
Comedian Eddie Izzard remembered him as the “king of the intelligent interview”, while British singer and actress Elaine Paige described him as “legendary”.
‘The ideal interviewer’
Sir David Attenborough said he was an “ideal interviewer who asked interesting and often important questions because he genuinely wanted to know the answer”.
“He also had a great sense of humour and didn’t take himself too seriously,” said the famous naturalist.
Sir Michael Caine, who appeared on the interviewer’s final show, tweeted: “Michael Parkinson was irreplaceable, he was charming, always wanted to have a good laugh. He brought the best of everyone he met.”
The television legend grew up as an only child in a council house near Barnsley and despite being a promising cricketer he left school at 16 and went into journalism.
He worked on a local paper before moving on to jobs at The Guardian in Manchester and the Daily Express.
He got his break in TV as a producer at Granada, moving to Thames TV before landing his chat show Parkinson at the BBC.
He also had a short-lived term at TV-AM as part of the original line-up alongside the likes of Angela Rippon and David Frost.
Sir Michael was knighted in 2008
The chat show host was married to his wife for more than 60 years
A knighthood for his decades of work followed in 2008, with Sir Michael giving the modest reply: “I never expected to be knighted – I thought there was more chance of me turning into a Martian really.”
In 2013, he revealed he was being treated for prostate cancer but said he had no intention of stopping working.
Sir Michael was married to his wife Mary for more than 60 years and the couple had three sons.
A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
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A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
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