Inside Michael Parkinson’s 62-year marriage to TV presenter wife Mary who pulled him out of an ‘unhappy’ time
SIR Michael Parkinson was married to his beloved wife Mary for 64 years, who he credited for saving him from his battle with alcohol.
The legendary chat show host, who has tragically died aged 88 after a short illness, wed Mary back in 1959 after they met on a bus.
At the time, she was one of the presenters of the Thames TV daytime show Good Afternoon.
The pair shared a 64-year marriage and three children together, Andrew, Nicholas and Michael Jr.
In 2020, Sir Michael credited his wife for pulling him out a dark time when he began to rely on alcohol during the early days of his career.
The host said that at the time, there was a drinking culture on Fleet Street that left him “not far short of being a chronic alcoholic.”
Sir Michael revealed he managed to “pull out at the right time” as he praised Mary for helping him.
He said: “I might remember it as being the thing that stopped me, was Mary my wife.”
It was his love for Mary that saw Sir Michael in a very different role in 1972.
In a surprise change of pace, the journalist became a campaigner for female birth control after a candid magazine interview.
The article in Cosmo featured the headline: “Michael Parkinson talks about his vasectomy – the most beautiful thing a man can do for a woman”.
Sir Michael’s tragic death was revealed today in a statement from his family.
It 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.”