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}} Christopher Nicholas Parsons, (born 10 October 1923) is an English radio and television presenter and actor. His long career in television, radio and theatre has made him a household name and he has been described as "the ultimate quiz show host" because of his "geniality, clarity of diction and the speed with which he rattled through questions". Best known today for his long-standing position as host of the comedy radio game show ''Just a Minute'', Parsons is also famous as the long-term host of ''Sale of the Century'', a show whose audience peaked at over 21 million viewers (a record for an ITV game show). ==Early life== Parsons was born at 1 Castlegate, Grantham, Lincolnshire; he was the middle child of the family, having an older brother and a younger sister. His father was a general practitioner, whose patients included the parents of Margaret Thatcher. His mother, born in Bristol to a founder of local company WB Maggs & Co, was training as a nurse when she met Parsons' father at University College Hospital, London. Parsons was born left-handed but was made to write with his right hand. As a child, he had a stutter, which he managed to control as he grew older, and was slow to learn owing to dyslexia.〔The Daily Telegraph, 24 Sep 2013, page 11〕 He also suffered from migraines but nevertheless excelled at school. After education at Colet Court and St Paul's School in London, Parsons' initial career plan was to become an actor. However, his parents believed that a career in engineering would be better, as he had repaired grandfather clocks as a young man and was creative with his hands.〔 While at school he was best friends with Admiral Sir John Devereux Treacher KCB who was to become Commander-in-Chief Fleet. At school Parsons' nickname was "Shirley" after the then burgeoning talent of Shirley Temple.〔Parsons, N. (2010), ''With Just a Touch of Hesitation, Repetition and Deviation: My Life in Comedy'', Mainstream Publishing, ISBN 978-1845967123〕 After he had left school, his family contacted relatives in Scotland, who arranged a job for him on Clydebank near Glasgow, where he spent five years employed as an engineering apprentice at Drysdales, a maker of marine pumps.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Drysdale & Co )〕 While there, he also spent two six-month periods studying engineering at the University of Glasgow. He never graduated, but finished his apprenticeship and gained sufficient qualifications to become a mechanical engineer. He was offered a position in the Merchant Navy during the Second World War, which he never took up due to illness. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nicholas Parsons」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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