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 of 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 Bird.
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.”
Read more:
Parky’s five most memorable interviews
Obituary: A gentle Yorkshire accent and razor-sharp wit
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.
Grammy-award winning singer Roberta Flack has died at the age of 88, her publicist has announced.
The American singer was best known for her hit songs Killing Me Softly With His Song and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.
Flack pictured in 1972. Pic: Photoreporters/Shutterstock
One of the top recording artists of the 1970s, she died on Monday surrounded by her family, her publicist Elaine Schock said in a statement.
In 2022, Flack announced she was suffering from motor neurone disease (MND), and could no longer sing.
Rising to fame in her early 30s, Flack became an overnight success after Clint Eastwood chose her song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, as the soundtrack for the explicit love scenes of his 1971 movie Play Misty For Me.
The track topped the US charts in 1972, and Flack was rewarded with a Grammy.
The following year she took the coveted Record of the Year prize at the Grammys for a second time with Killing Me Softly, becoming the first artist ever to do so.
Discovered in the late 1960s by jazz musician Les McCann, Flack was a classically trained pianist, receiving a full scholarship to study at Howard University at just 15.
McCann later wrote of Flack: “Her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I’ve ever known.”
Flack with her Grammy for Killing Me Softly in 1974. Pic: AP
A shining light in the social and civil rights movement of the time, Flack was friends with both Reverend Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis whom Flack visited in prison when Davis faced charges – for which she was acquitted – for murder and kidnapping.
Flack also sang at the funeral of Jackie Robinson, Major League Baseball’s first black player.
Living on the same floor of the famous Dakota apartment building as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Flack also became friends with the Beatle, later releasing an album of Beatles covers.
Flack in 1976. Pic: Robert Legon/Shutterstock
Born Roberta Cleopatra Flack, to musician parents in Black Mountain, North Carolina, in 1937, she was raised in Arlington, Virginia.
She was married to jazz musician Stephen Novosel between 1966 and 1972.
Flack’s other hits from the 1970s included Feel Like Makin’ Love and two duets with her close friend and former Howard University classmate Donny Hathaway, Where Is the Love and The Closer I Get to You.
Sadly, their partnership ended in tragedy, after he fell to his death from his hotel room in Manhattan in 1979, after suffering a breakdown while they were recording an album of duets together.
Stevie Wonder and Flack perform a duet in 1985. Pic: AP
While Flack never matched her first run of success, she had a follow-up hit in the 1980s with the Peabo Bryson duet Tonight, I Celebrate My Love and in the 1990s with the Maxi Priest duet Set The Night To Music.
In the mid-90s, she received a wave of new attention after the Fugees covered Killing Me Softly. She would go on to perform with the hip-hop band on stage.
A five-time Grammy winner, Flack received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2020.
Contemporary stars to praise her include Beyoncé, John Legend and Ariana Grande.
Flack in 2010. Pic: Reuters/John Sommers
Working as a high-school teacher in her 20s, while gigging in clubs during the evenings, Flack proved a canny educator, telling the Tampa Bay Times in 2012: “I was teaching at Banneker Junior High in Washington, DC It was part of the city where kids weren’t that privileged, but they were privileged enough to have music education.
“I really wanted them to read music. First, I’d get their attention. [I’d sing]: ‘Stop, in the name of love.’ Then I could teach them!”
Entertainment
Timothee Chalamet and Demi Moore among winners at SAG Awards – a major Oscars predictor
The winners of this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) have been revealed – a major predictor of the Oscars, with just a week to go.
Demi Moore continued her run of success to be named best actress for her performance in body horror The Substance, while Timothee Chalamet picked up the award for best actor for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.
Demi Moore adds yet another tropy to her collection for her performance in The Substance. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
While not a complete shock, before this Adrien Brody had probably just nudged it as favourite for an Oscar win for his performance in post-war epic The Brutalist.
Now, the race is closer than it has been in years – and both Chalamet, 29, and Moore, 62, could be on course for their first Academy Awards.
Following a BAFTA win earlier this month, papal thriller Conclave was honoured with the top film prize, for best ensemble.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini and Stanley Tucci, the film follows the drama of the selection process for a new pope.
Conclave stars (L-R) Sergio Castellitto, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Ralph Fiennes with the ensemble cast award. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
During the ceremony, Rossellini said the film’s cast wanted to send their best wishes to Pope Francis, who is being treated in hospital for pneumonia and bronchitis, and wish him “a quick recovery”.
Elsewhere, the supporting categories were true to 2025 awards season form – Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldana continued their runs of success with wins for performances in A Real Pain and Emilia Perez respectively.
‘I want to be one of the greats’
Chalamet attended with his mum, Nicole Flender. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
The awards are voted for by members of the SAG-AFTRA union and are held as a celebration of actors honoured by their peers.
For the best male actor announcement, Chalamet looked visibly surprised as his name was called.
After being accompanied by girlfriend Kylie Jenner to the BAFTAs last week, this time round he was celebrating with his mum, Nicole Flender.
“The truth is, this was five-and-a-half years of my life. I poured everything I had into playing this incomparable artist, Mr. Bob Dylan, a true American hero,” he said on stage. “It was the honour of a lifetime playing him.”
Making no secret of his ambitions, he added: “The truth is I’m really in pursuit of greatness. I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats.”
Moore said joining SAG-AFTRA as a teenager in 1978 gave her meaning as “a kid on my own who had no blueprint for life”.
Jane Fonda was honoured with a lifetime achievement award. Pic: AP/Chris Pizzello
Actress and activist Jane Fonda, 87, provided the ceremony’s most passionate political moment as she was honoured with a lifetime achievement prize.
“We are in our documentary moment,” she said. “This is it. And it’s not a rehearsal.”
The word “woke”, she added, “just means you give a damn” about others.
The TV winners
Shogun stars (L-R) Tommy Bastow, Shinnosuke Abe, Moeka Hoshi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano and Hiroto Kanai. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
The SAG Awards also include TV categories, with Japanese historical drama Shogun picking up the gong for best ensemble and its stars, Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, named best actor and actress.
Only Murders In The Building took home the prize for best comedy ensemble, with star Martin Short named best actor in a comedy series.
Jean Smart, who had previously called for cancelling the awards shows due to the wildfires that hit LA in January, was named best actress in a comedy, for her role in Hacks. She did not attend, but gave a recorded introduction.
In the limited series category, British star Jessica Gunning was named best actress for Baby Reindeer, while Irish star Colin Farrell was named best actor for The Penguin.
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