Charlie Baker

Aug 18, 2023

152 Dickie Bird broke down in tears as he spoke to Paul Hawksbee and Charlie Baker about the death of his “true friend”, Sir Michael Parkinson. The legendary TV presenter and chat host has sadly passed away at the age of 88. Michael Parkinson has sadly passed away at the age of 88 Getty The legendary presenter was famous for interviewing the world’s biggest stars, including boxing icon Muhammad Ali BBC Parkinson’s agent confirmed the star passed away peacefully with his family at home with his family on Wednesday evening following a brief illness. Parkinson was famous for his chat show which aired over 800 episodes as he interviewed legendary personalities such as Sir Elton John, Tom Cruise, Helen Mirren and George Michael. He has also interviewed many sports royalty with Muhammad Ali, David Beckham, George Best and Shane Warne all appearing as guests on his show. And Parkinson’s close friend of eight decades, legendary cricket umpire Bird, spoke to talkSPORT to share his memories and recall their harrowing last conversation. Speaking on Hawksbee & Jacobs, Bird said: “We’ve known each other for 80 years. “I think we made it, me and Parky, and we had been friends for 84 years and when I turned 90 he went all the way just to see me on my 90s.th birthday and he wasn’t well, but he came and he’s a real friend. “He was a very close friend. Our friendship, I can’t even tell you. “I only spoke to him yesterday morning and he said ‘man, I think I’m coming to an end’ and I said ‘keep your head up, keep going’ but I could tell he was sick and we said goodbye yesterday morning. Getty Bird and Parkinson were friends from a young age in Barnsley (/caption) “It amazed me. I’m so depressed, I’m disgusted because we’ve known each other for so long and you talk about Muhammad Ali and Garfield Sobers, but Michael Parkinson was a real legend. Explaining how he knew him, Bird said: ‘He worked for our local newspaper here in Barnsley, the Barnsley Chronicle and I saw him come up. “We opened together for Barnsley Cricket Club as young lads in the Yorkshire League and our dads were watching us on a Saturday afternoon and they were arguing over who was the better player between me and Parky! “He kept Geoffrey Boycott out of the Barnsley side for a few years, but he’s the best chat host you could hope for. “He is the best, you will never see such a good one in your life or in anyone else’s life. He was the best and he was my closest friend. If I had any problems, I would call Parky. “If something happened I would phone him and call him and when I wrote my autobiography in 1996 all the publishers around the world wanted my book and I called Parky and asked him who I should go with. “He said ‘I’ve got the one for you’, Hodder & Stoughton said and my god he was right because it sold over a million copies in hardcover and over a million copies in paperback, so he’s a real friend.” Bird added: “I am stunned. Honestly, I have a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes and yesterday morning…” he said before bursting into tears, “We talked yesterday morning and shed a few tears. Parkinson has interviewed many sports stars, including Man United legend George Best Getty “He lived to the full and we were talking on the phone and he was asking me if I had any issues – he’s a true friend and my condolences go out to his wife Mary and his boy. I will definitely miss him, I will tell you now. Sports Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.