Guests
By his own reckoning, Parkinson interviewed over 2000 of the world's most famous people, including: Muhammad Ali, Bing Crosby, George Best, Bob Hope, Peter Ustinov, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Redford, Tina Turner, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hanks, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Daniel Craig, Liberace, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Orson Welles, Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis, Bette Midler, Celine Dion, Racquel Welch, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Jon Pertwee, Joan Collins, Leslie Thomas, Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Kenneth Williams, Billy Connolly, Gene Wilder, Ewan McGregor, Freddie Starr, David Bowie, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Dave Allen, Michael Crawford, Gary Glitter, John Lennon, Miss Piggy, Noel Gallagher, Tom Cruise, Edith Evans, Mark Knopfler, Luciano Pavarotti, Cher, Madonna, Elton John, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Shane Warne, Thierry Henry, Ricky Hatton, Rod Stewart, Phil Collins, Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Ray Winstone, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Michael Palin, Richard Attenborough, David Attenborough, Mel Gibson, Viggo Mortensen, George Michael, Pierce Brosnan, k.d. lang, Sarah, Duchess of York, Paul Schrader, Peter Sellers, Peter Kay, Paul McCartney, Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Clarkson, Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne, Julie Andrews, Dame Edna Everage, Helen Mirren, Tommy Cooper, Judi Dench, Naomi Campbell, Harold Wilson, Tony Blair, Olivia Newton-John, Billie Piper, David Tennant, Denzel Washington, Gillian Anderson, Clint Eastwood, Sandra Bullock, Joan Rivers, Bonnie Tyler and Buddy Rich.
During the 1970s, he attracted former big-name Hollywood stars, such as James Stewart, John Wayne, Mickey Rooney, David Niven, Gene Kelly, James Cagney and Robert Mitchum, not on the basis that they had a film to promote, but simply because they wanted a chat. Despite this, Parkinson has since asserted that then as now, "...there was just as much plugging in the seventies as at any time later. To suggest otherwise is to misunderstand the reason people come on to talk shows." In particular, he cites Bette Davis as being the guest who "more than anyone, made it clear she was there to plug a product, not because she was, or ever would be, your buddy."
The record for most appearances is held by Billy Connolly, having been a guest on fifteen occasions. His final appearance was in Parkinson's penultimate show, broadcast on 16 December 2007.
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Famous quotes containing the word guests:
“One who does not welcome guests at home will meet very few hosts when he goes out.”
—Chinese proverb.
“When the guests have left, the host is at peace.”
—Chinese proverb.
“When her guests were awash with champagne and with gin,
She was recklessly sober, as sharp as a pin.
An abstemious man would reel at her look,
As she rolled a bright eye and praised his last book.”
—William Plomer (1903–1973)