Nicholas Parsons was born on October 10 1923 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. He attended St. Paul's School in London. Although he wanted to become an actor from when he was young, his family wanted him to go into engineering. It was after he left school, then, that he spent five years as an engineering apprentice at Drysdales, a manufacturer of marine pumps, in Clydebank, a town near Glasgow, Scotland. During World War II he had been offered a position in the Merchant Navy, but he had to decline after falling ill with pleurisy.
It was while he was still working as an engineering apprentice that he was discovered by talent scout and radio personality Carroll Levis. Following World War II, Mr. Parsons became a full time actor. His stage debut was in The Hasty Heart at the Aldwych Theatre on the West End in 1945. He made his television debut in 1946 in the production Hay Fever. He made his feature film debut in The Master of Bankdam in 1947. On stage he spent two years in repertory at Bromley. On television he the television short "The Princess and the Woodcutter" and guest starred on BBC Sunday-Night Theatre.
In the Fifties Nicholas Parsons was a regular on the television shows The Eric Barker Half-Hour, Look at It This Way, Here and Now, and the children's puppet show Four Feather Falls. He was a host on the shows What's It All About?, They're Off!, and Dial M for Music. Mr. Parsons was a regular on The Arthur Haynes Show. He guest starred on The Passing Show, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Adventures of the Big Man, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Presents, Saturday Playhouse, and Saturday Spectacular. He appeared in the feature films To Dorothy, a Son (1954), Simon and Laura (1955), An Alligator Named Daisy (1955), The Long Arm (1956), Eyewitness (1956), Brothers in Law (1957), Happy is a Bride (1958), Too Many Crooks (1959), Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959), Upstairs and Downstairs (1959), Let's Get Married (1959), and Doctor in Love (1960).
In 1967 Nicholas Parsons began hosting the comedy panel radio show Just a Minute. He would continue to do so until 2019. Nicholas Parsons appeared on every single show, either as the host or a panellist without interruption until 2018, when he missed two shows because of illness. He would later host a television version of Just a Minute starting in 1994. In the Sixties Mr. Parsons was also the host of the television show Know Your Onions. Beginning in 1969 and until 1974 he was the announcer and a regular on The Benny Hill Show. He continued to appear on The Arthur Haynes Show. He appeared in the mini-series Night Train to Surbiton. He was a regular on The Very Merry Widow and How and the American sitcom The Ugliest Girl in Town. He guest starred on Vacation Playhouse. He appeared in the movies Carry On Regardless (1961), Murder Ahoy (1964), Every Day's a Holiday (1964), The Wrong Box (1966), The Ghost Goes Gear (1966), and Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968).
Starting in 1971 Nicholas Parsons began hosting the British version of the American game show Sale of the Century, something he would continue to do until 1983. He continued to appear on The Benny Hill Show until 1974. He was a guest on such shows as Password, The Golden Shot, This is Your Life, Those Wonderful TV Times, and Star Games, 3-2-1. He guest starred on Comedy Playhouse and The Morecambe & Wise Show. He appeared in the films Danger Point (1971) and Spy Story (1976).
In the Eighties Nicholas Parsons hosted Super Troupers and Blankety Blank. He was a guest on such shows as Look Who's Talking, Family Fortunes, The Russell Harty Show, Punchlines!, Looks Familiar, A Question of Entertainment, Scruples, You Bet!, Roland's Rat Race, The Joke Machine, and Laughlines. He guest starred on The Little and Large Show, Who Dares Wins, Roland Rat: The Series, and Doctor Who.
In the Nineties Mr. Parsons was the presenter on TV shows Kappatoo and Cluedo. Starting in 1994 and until 1999 he was the host of the television version of Just a Minute. He also appeared on such shows as A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Spatz, TV Squash, Public Enemy Number One, The Music Game, Auntie's Bloomers, The Clothes Show, Surprise Surprise!, Cryer's Crackers, Countdown, Give Us a Clue, Our House, and The Weakest Link.
In the Teens Mr. Parsons guest starred on Comedy Lab. He was the voice of Dagon on the mini-series Good Omens. He was a guest on The Alan Titchmarsh Show, Pointless Celebrities, The Ronnie Barker Comedy Lecture, and Rebirth of a British Icon V7497.
Nicholas Parsons's last edition of Just a Minute was on September 23 2019. He had been the show's host for fifty-two years.
In the United Kingdom there can be no doubt that Nicholas Parsons will always be remembered as the host of Just a Minute and Sale of the Century. Tony Hall, the outgoing director of the BBC said of Mr. Parsons, "Very few people have done so much to entertain audiences over the decades, and no one deserves to be called a broadcasting legend more than Nicholas Parsons. His charm, inventive intellect and ability to create laughs were unsurpassed..." On Twitter Stephen Fry tweeted, "He ruled Just A Minute for Just a Lifetime. A stunning achievement: never scripted, always immaculate. From comedian's sidekick to great institution, via Sale of the Century and much more. Unrivalled continuity, professionalism and commitment." It seems likely that Nicholas Parsons's run on Just a Minute will never be surpassed.
While Just a Minute and the British version of Sale of the Century were unavailable in the United States, Americans would be familiar with Nicholas Parsons through his film and television appearances. He was a wonderful actor, his years as a straight man giving him a knack in particular for comedy. He was delightful as Army officer Alan Frazer Scrope in The Wrong Box, and he gave a moving performance as the vicar Reverend Wainwright in the Doctor Who serial "The Curse of Fenric." Even when a particular movie wasn't very good, as in the case of The Ghost Goes Gear, Nicholas Parsons always was. In the end Nicholas Parsons was an extraordinarily talented man, as a straight man, an actor, and a game show host.
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