Mike Willesee | |
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| Born | Michael Robert Willesee (1942-06-29)29 June 1942 Perth,Western Australia, Australia |
| Died | 1 March 2019(2019-03-01) (aged 76) Sydney, Australia |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1967–2018 |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Stanbury (divorced), Carol Willesee (divorced), Gordana Willesee (divorced) |
| Children | 6 |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Terry Willesee (brother) Michael Willesee Jr. Janet Shaw (niece) Mark Whittaker (son-in-law) Allison Langdon (daughter-in-law) |
Michael Robert Willesee,[1] (29 June 1942 – 1 March 2019) was an Australian television journalist, interviewer and presenter.
Willesee was the son of politician, Western AustralianALP senator and foreign ministerDon Willesee, who served in theWhitlam government, and his wife Gwendoline Clark Willesee, and nephew ofBill Willesee, member of theLegislative Council of Western Australia andTonkin government minister.
Willesee's brothers are Donald Robert "Don" Willesee Jr., andTerry Willesee, a TV presenter and journalist. He was the father of Amy andMichael Willesee Jr., who is also a journalist and another daughter Kate Willesee who is a chiropractor. His son Michael Jr is married to television host and reporterAllison Langdon and he was also the father-in-law of journalist and writerMark Whittaker. His niece is cyclist and authorJanet Shaw, Terry's biological daughter.
Mike first came to prominence in 1967 as a reporter for then-new nightly current affairs programThis 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 theLiberal government, led by Prime MinisterHarold Holt, not to reappoint the ABC chair DrJames 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 onTDT on 2 April further angered Holt, who questioned the ABC's impartiality and implied that Willesee (whose father Don Willesee was aLabor Senator) was politically biased. Holt's remarks backfired, as they provoked strong protests from both Willesee and theAustralian Journalists' Association.
AfterTDT, Willesee hosted the current affairs programFour Corners from 1969 to 1971.
He then moved to theNine Network, where he hostedA Current Affair when it debuted in 1971. While atA Current Affair, Willesee noticed the talent of a young Australian comedian,Paul Hogan, who had appeared on the amateur talent programNew 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 befriendedA Current Affair producerJohn 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 at0–10 Network (now known as Network 10), where he also presented a weekly interview program.
He joined theSeven Network in 1975 and hosted the first Australian version ofThis Is Your Life. From 1973, Willessee partnered with former Sydney crime reporter and Canberra government Press Secretary and political advisor, Phil Davis, as his Executive Producer, from which partnershop he presented a nightly current affairs program calledWillesee at Seven which claimed a victory overA Current Affair in the same timeslot and led to that program being axed in 1978. "Willesee at Seven" became the leading current affairs program in Australia and won several Logie Awards, resulting also in Willessee winning the Gold Logie.Willesee at Seven later becameWillesee '81 andWillesee '82 before it ended in 1982. Willesee and Davis also produced documentaries for the Seven network before Willesee left Seven for the Nine network and Davis became head of News and Current Affairs at Seven after creating a new current affairs program, TWT, with Mike's brother, Terry, as anchor.
He was known for a long-running friendship with a disabled boy namedQuentin Kenihan, who hadosteogenesis imperfecta. He was also known for sparring with theOrange People, who recruited in Australia during the 1980s. In 1987 theCommittee of Skeptical Inquiry (CSICOP) presented Willesee with theResponsibility in Journalism award.[2]
He returned to Nine in 1984 to revisit the nightly current affairs genre withWillesee 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 famousBirthday Cake Interview in 1993, with then leader of the Liberal Party,John Hewson. With the1993 Federal Election to take place in only ten days, Willesee asked Hewson numerous questions about the proposedGoods and Services Tax (GST) that theCoalition wished to introduce. Hewson struggled to answer the simple question of whether abirthday cake would cost more or less under his government as a result of the GST. Willesee's unrelenting questioning along with Hewson's indecisive answers and his frequent stuttering made it appear that Hewson had little understanding of one of his own major policies.[4] Hewson would go on to lose the election againstPaul Keating and the Coalition would remain out of government for three more years, Many political analysts believed that the interview cost Hewson's chance of winning what his supporters dubbed the 'unloseable election'. However, others counter that opinion polls held up until election day still predicted a Coalition victory.
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 the1993 Cangai siege. Many held the opinion that his actions were reckless and endangered the children's lives. This event was subsequently parodied byABC TV'sFrontline 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 forJana Wendt onA 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 theRoman Catholic faith of his upbringing.[5] He has reported on religious topics, and in 1998, he made a report entitledSigns From God on the appearance ofstigmata displayed by a woman, Katya Revas, inBolivia. This documentary was watched by an audience of 28 million in the United States.[6] In 1999, Willesee won theBent Spoon Award from theAustralian Skeptics forSigns From God. The rationale for Willesee receiving the award was that the show was "seeking to capitalise on the irrational millennial fears of many people".
In 2002, Willesee became the 19th inductee into theTV Week Logies Hall of Fame.
On 21 August 2006, Willesee appeared onAndrew Denton's TV showEnough Rope and spoke about his dedication to discovering what science can ascertain about theShroud of Turin; specifically, whether it contains the blood ofJesus Christ.
In 2012, Willesee joined theSeven Network'sSunday Night to do high-profile interviews. His first encounter was with Prime MinisterJulia Gillard. In early 2013 he interviewed billionairecasino ownerJames Packer.[7]
In 2017, Michael Willesee spoke about his battle with throat cancer on the TV programAustralian Story.[8] He also revealed how he had returned to hisCatholic 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]
Mike Willesee married and divorced three times, to Joan Stanbury, Carol and Gordana, and had six children, including Michael Willesee Jr., Amy Willesee, Jo Willesee, Lucy Willesee and Katie Willesee.
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