Michael J. Fishel (September 27, 1943 – November 4, 2018),Mike Parker, trusted anchor, reporter at CBS 2 for 35 years, dead at 75
''Chicago Sun-Times'', November 5, 2018 known professionally as Mike Parker, was a news anchor and reporter for

WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Str ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Early life and education

A native of Rock Island, Illinois, Parker earned a degree from

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...

Professional career

Parker worked as the news director and as a reporter for

KFI KFI (640 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel station, clear-channel List of ...

-AM radio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

from 1969 until 1972. He also worked as an anchor, investigative reporter and general assignment reporter at KNXT (now KCBS-TV) in

, from 1977 until 1980. In January 1980, Parker joined

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as a weekend news anchor and weekday general assignment reporter. He remained at WBBM-TV until 1985, when he chose not to renew his contract in order to join his wife, Mary Nissenson, who was working as a reporter for

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios in the Lincoln Square neig ...

in New York. Parker then joined WABC himself as a general assignment reporter, remaining in New York until late 1986, when he returned to WBBM-TV as a weekend anchor. In 1987, Nissenson returned to Chicago, taking a reporting and substitute anchor job at WBBM-TV. In 1992, Parker was demoted as weekend news anchor and was replaced by Jay Levine, and filled in as a news anchor where needed. However, the bulk of his job involved being one of WBBM's star reporters, including on the ill-fated non-tabloid 10 p.m. newscast anchored by

Carol Marin Carol Marin (pronounced "''marine''") (born October 10, 1948) is a television and print journalist based in Chicago, Illinois. Career Marin began her journalism career in 1972 at WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee working as a reporter, anchor, an ...

that ran for nine months in 2000. Parker was at WBBM-TV longer than any other full-time on-air personality. He retired from the station on May 31, 2016.

Personal and death

Parker was married and had two children in Los Angeles, when he began his relationship with his second wife, the television news anchor and reporter, Mary Nissenson. They divorced in 1989. Parker married his third wife, Marian Ambrose, in 1992. They lived in the Beverly neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. Parker was off the air for an extended period in 2001 after undergoing coronary bypass surgery and related complications. He eventually made a full recovery. Parker died on November 4, 2018, at the age of 75.

References

External links

WBBM-TV Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Mike 1943 births 2018 deaths People from Rock Island, Illinois Television anchors from Chicago American television reporters and correspondents Los Angeles City College alumni American male journalists