columns are regularly satirized in Viz with the byline "Tony Parsehole", in which the photo byline comprises the upper half of Parsons' head, with human buttocks replacing the lower half. The columns typically focus on Parsehole's feigned grief about the recent death of a public figure, contain multiple requests for "subs" to fill in details Parsehole can't be bothered to research, and end with a word count (usually 500 words) and the phrase "invoice enc". Personal life Parsons married fellow NME journalist Julie Burchill in 1979. They had both answered the same advert in the paper in 1976, requesting "hip, young gunslingers" to apply as new writers. He and Burchill collaborated on the book The Boy Looked at Johnny published in 1979. After the collapse of their marriage in 1984, periodic clashes in the media between Burchill and Parsons erupted for many years. Parsons became a single parent caring for their four-year-old son, Robert Kennedy Parsons. The experience of being a young man caring for a small child influenced his best-selling novel Man and Boy. Parsons' father died of cancer in 1987, and his mother died of cancer in 1999, just weeks before the publication of Man and Boy. The book is dedicated to Parsons's mother. In 1992, Parsons married Yuriko, a Japanese translator. They have one daughter, Jasmine. He lives with his wife and daughter in London. References External links Tony Parsons' column at The Mirror Let's get personal – The Guardian, 27 August 2005. In depth interview and profile with extract from his new novel Stories We Could Tell. 1953 births 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers English male journalists 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists English music journalists Living people English male novelists English journalists NME writers