Mike Willesee
Mike Willesee | |
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Born | Michael Robert Willesee 29 June 1942 Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
Died | 1 March 2019 Sydney, Australia | (aged 76)
Occupations |
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Years active | 1967–2018 |
Spouse(s) | Joan Stanbury (divorced), Carol Willesee (divorced), Gordana Willesee (divorced) |
Children | 6 |
Parent(s) | Don Willesee, Gwendolyn Clark Willesee |
Relatives | Terry Willesee (brother) Michael Willesee Jr. Janet Shaw (niece) Mark Whittaker (son-in-law) Allison Langdon (daughter-in-law) |
Michael Robert Willesee,
Early life and family
Willesee was born the son of politician, Western Australian
Willesse's brothers are Don Willesse Jnr., and Terry Willesee, a TV presenter and journalist. He was the father of Amy and Michael Willesee Jr., who is also a journalist and another daughter Kate Willesse who is a chiropractor. His son Michael Jr is married to television host and reporter Allison Langdon and he was also the father-in-law of journalist and writer Mark Whittaker. His niece is cyclist and author Janet Shaw, Terry's biological daughter.
Career
Mike first came to prominence in 1967 as a reporter for then-new nightly current affairs program This Day Tonight (TDT), where his aggressive style quickly earned him a reputation as a fearless political interviewer.
Willesee figured prominently in the controversy that erupted over the decision in early 1967 by the Liberal government, led by Prime Minister Harold Holt, not to reappoint the ABC chair Dr James Darling. This decision was rumoured to have been the result of the government's anger over critical coverage of its policies on the ABC.
Willesee's own critical comments about the decision on TDT on 2 April further angered Holt, who questioned the ABC's impartiality and implied that Willesee (whose father Don Willesee was a
After TDT, Willesee hosted the current affairs program Four Corners from 1969 to 1971.
He then moved to the Nine Network, where he hosted A Current Affair when it debuted in 1971. While at A Current Affair, Willesee noticed the talent of a young Australian comedian, Paul Hogan, who had appeared on the amateur talent program New Faces in 1971, and he invited Hogan to make regular 5-minute appearances on the show. Hogan would perform skits and make humorous comments on some issue of the day. During this period, Hogan befriended A Current Affair producer John Cornell, who became Hogan's collaborator, long-term manager, business partner, and close friend.
Willesee later left Nine for a role as news and current affairs director at 0–10 Network (now known as Network 10), where he also presented a weekly interview program.
He joined the Seven Network in 1975 and hosted the first Australian version of This Is Your Life. He also presented a nightly current affairs program called Willesee at Seven which claimed a victory over A Current Affair in the same timeslot and led to that program being axed in 1978. Willesee at Seven later to become Willesee '81 and Willesee '82 before it ended in 1982 but Willesee began to produce documentaries for the network.
He was known for a long-running friendship with a disabled boy named
He returned to Nine in 1984 to revisit the nightly current affairs genre with Willesee as well as producing specials for the network, winning a Logie for Most Popular Documentary in 1986.[3] One of the most significant interviews conducted by Willesee was the famous
In 1993, Willesee received public outrage for his controversial action of interviewing, via phone, two young children, a brother 11 and his sister 9 who were being held hostage, during the 1993 Cangai siege. Many held the opinion that his actions were reckless and endangered the children's lives. This event was subsequently parodied by ABC TV's Frontline where main character Mike Moore interviewed a gunman and his hostage daughter. In the final scene of this episode, Mike interviews, live on air, another gunman in another siege who, much to Mike's horror, subsequently shoots each of his hostages, the sounds of which are played live across Australia.
Willesee is remembered by many Australians for the night when, filling in for Jana Wendt on A Current Affair, he fronted the show while appearing to be under the influence of alcohol. He claimed he was on medication, tired and emotional.
In his fifties, Willesee rediscovered the
In 2002, Willesee became the 19th inductee into the
On 21 August 2006, Willesee appeared on
In 2012, Willesee joined the Seven Network's Sunday Night to do high-profile interviews. His first encounter was with Prime Minister Julia Gillard. In early 2013 he interviewed billionaire casino owner James Packer.[7]
Personal life
In 2017, Michael Willesee spoke about his battle with throat cancer on the TV program Australian Story.[8] He also revealed how he had returned to his Catholic faith after years away from the church. On 1 March 2019, Willesee died of throat cancer in Sydney, Australia at the age of 76.[9]
References
- ^ "Mr Michael Robert WILLESEE: Officer of the Order of Australia". Australian Government. 10 June 2002.
- ^ Shore, Lys Ann (1987). "Controversies in Science and Fringe Science: From Animals and SETI to Quackery and SHC". The Skeptical Inquirer. 12 (1): 12–13.
- ^ "Willesee at Seven… again – Television.AU". 29 January 2012.
- ^ "Enough Rope with Andrew Denton – episode 115: John Hewson". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 August 2006.
- ^ "Compass: The Conversion of Mike Willesee". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 March 2003.
- ^ "Enough Rope with Andrew Denton – episode 117: Michael Willesee". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 August 2006.
- Yahoo!7. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ Quentin McDermott (4 November 2017). "Mike Willesee, giant of current affairs, lays bare his life or death cancer battle". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/mike-willesee-dies-aged-76-20190301-p5116o.html
External links
- Michael Willesee at IMDb