Mike Willessee
| Michael Willesee | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Michael Willesee 29 June 1942 Australia |
| Other names | Mike Willesee |
| Occupation | Television presenter |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Don Willesee, Gwen Clark Willesee |
Michael "Mike "Willesee (born 29 June 1942) is an Australian television presenter.
Willesee came to prominence in 1967 as a reporter for the ABC's new nightly current affairs program This Day Tonight (TDT), where his aggressive style quickly earned him a reputation as a fearless political interviewer. His wife Australian actress Carol Willesee, who was originally cast in the role of Pippa Fletcher in Home and Away, and had filmed scenes for the pilot episodes (which were later reshot with Vanessa Downing), died in 2006, aged 59, from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease after being misdiagnosed by hospital.
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 Chairman 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 Labor Senator; in November 1973 he would become Foreign Minister in Gough Whitlam's Labor government) was politically biased. Holt's remarks backfired, as they provoked strong protests from both Willesee and the Australian Journalist's Association.
After TDT, Willesee hosted the ABC's flagship current affairs program Four Corners from 1969 to 1971. He then moved to the Nine Network, where he hosted A Current Affair, another popular Australian current affairs program. He was known for a long-running friendship with a disabled boy named Quentin Kenihan, who has osteogenesis imperfecta. He was also known for sparring with the Orange People, who recruited in Australia during the 1980s.
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