Mike Willesee facts for kids

Michael Robert Willesee, AO (29 June 1942 – 1 March 2019) was an Australian television journalist, interviewer and presenter.

Early life and family

Willesee was born the son of politician, Western Australian ALP senator and foreign minister Don Willesee who served during the tenure of the Whitlam government and his wife Gwendoline Clark Willeesee.

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.

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 the 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 Quentin Kenihan, who had osteogenesis imperfecta. He was also known for sparring with the Orange People, who recruited in Australia during the 1980s. In 1987 the Committee of Skeptical Inquiry (CSICOP) presented Willesee with the Responsibility in Journalism award.

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. One of the most significant interviews conducted by Willesee was the famous Birthday Cake Interview in 1993, with then leader of the Liberal Party, John Hewson. With the 1993 Federal Election to take place in only ten days, Willesee asked Hewson numerous questions about the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) that the Coalition wished to introduce. Hewson struggled to answer the simple question of whether a birthday 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. Hewson would go on to lose the election against Paul 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 his fifties, Willesee rediscovered the Roman Catholic faith of his upbringing. He has reported on religious topics, and in 1998, he made a report entitled Signs From God on the appearance of stigmata displayed by a woman, Katya Revas, in Bolivia. This documentary was watched by an audience of 28 million in the United States. In 1999, Willesee won the Bent Spoon Award from the Australian Skeptics for Signs 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 the TV Week Logies Hall of Fame.

On 21 August 2006, Willesee appeared on Andrew Denton's TV show Enough Rope and spoke about his dedication to discovering what science can ascertain about the Shroud of Turin; specifically, whether it contains the blood of Jesus Christ.

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.

Personal life

Wife Carol Willesse's casting as Home and Away's original Pippa Fletcher

Willesee's second wife was Scottish-born Australian Carol Willesee (nee Brent), a former model, whom he married in 1976. Brent had started modelling at sixteen and married a schoolteacher and moved to Singapore but was divorced after four years. After living in Sydney, Australia and her marriage to Willesee, she again took up modelling. She then decided she wanted to become an actress and trained in a 3-year drama course at the Ensemble Acting Studio. Post graduation, she appeared in a stage production "Never in My Lifetime", to rave reviews, after which she received numerous acting offers, but turned them down due to unsuitability.

Carol however was offered what she called the opportunity of a lifetime, when her agent June Cann, suggested her for an upcoming TV series to be launched by the Seven Network called Home and Away, in the role of foster mother Pippa Fletcher, she was excepted the role with series producer John Holmes stating "Carol has a big future in television", after which she had filmed scenes for the pilot episodes (which were later reshot with Vanessa Downing), but finding the filming schedule to hectic and also requested a clause in her contract so she could spend a certain number of hours per week with her real family. This was not permissible as she was required on set as obliged with creator Alan Bateman, stating you do not make TV serials from 9.00 and 3.30, Bateman was also furious with the soap losing revenue with the delay in production, but was happy with at least the local and international publicity the scandal created, with headlines such as "Willesee Wife Quits and "Carol loses TV Role" Struck off from the role, the role was recast immediately and given to Vanessa Downing, who had attended the initial auditions. with Caroles scene all refilmed with Downing.

Downing's background was as a highly experienced theatre actress, who was also a singer, at the time performing an acapella group at the Sydney Opera House, whilst filming Home and Away by day. She stated at the time that she was surprised by the workload, as an experienced actress, so could understand that Carol had found the schedule overwhelming, considering she was very inexperienced.

Carol Willesee died in 2006, aged 59, from Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, after being misdiagnosed.

In 2017, Michael Willesee spoke about his battle with throat cancer on the TV program Australian Story. 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, New South Wales, Australia at the age of 76.