Michael Robert Willesee, AO[1] (29 June 1942 – 1 March 2019) was an Australian television journalist, interviewer and presenter.
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.
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.
[2] 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.
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.
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.
This event was subsequently parodied by ABC TV's Frontline where main character Mike Moore interviewed a gunman and his hostage daughter.
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.
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.