I think this was Parkinsons finest moment.

He had interviewed many major stars during the 1970's - Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Bob Hope, Gene Kelly, Jack Lemmon, Robert De Niro, Walter Matthau, Robert Redford, Orson Welles, James Stewart etc. His reputation was such that when Jimmy Cagney was filming RAGTIME in London in 1980 - he agreed to do an interview on condition that old friend Pat O'Brien was alongside him.

Cagney was very shy and not the ideal subject - but he became more relaxed and entertaining. It was a huge tribute to Parkinsons skill and genuine admiration for Cagney that made it such a wonderful interview and a template for how to get the best out of an unwilling subject. In fact such was the intimacy of the conversation that when Pat O'Brien was asked about his freindship with Cagney he struggled to contain his emotions.

In the 80's the chat show changed - guests now only appear if promoting a book or movie or tv show or campaigning for election etc. The old style one-to-one conversation style is dead, now even the audience gets invloved.

Parkinson has spanned the years and change in the chat-show format - he is still tops at his job - although he was better when the format was better.

There is no one who can replace him.


"Don't laugh! This ain't reality TV!