Larry King, decades-long fixture of U.S. TV interviews, dead at 87

[rooster59]

Larry King, decades-long fixture of U.S. TV interviews, dead at 87

 

FILE PHOTO: CNN talk show host Larry King speaks at ceremonies unveiling comedian Bill Maher's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, U.S, September 14, 2010. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Larry King, who quizzed thousands of world leaders, politicians and entertainers for CNN and other news outlets in a career spanning more than six decades, has died aged 87, his media company said in a statement on Saturday.

 

King had been hospitalized in Los Angeles with a COVID-19 infection, according to several media reports. He died at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Ora Media, a television production company founded by King, said in a post on Twitter.

 

"For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry's many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster," it said.

 

Millions watched King interview world leaders, entertainers and other celebrities on CNN's "Larry King Live", which ran from 1985 to 2010. Hunched over his desk in rolled-up shirt sleeves and owlish glasses, he made his show one of the network's prime attractions with a mix of interviews, political discussions, current event debates and phone calls from viewers.

 

Even in his heyday, critics accused King of doing little pre-interview research and tossing softball questions to guests who were free to give unchallenged, self-promoting answers. He responded by conceding he did not do much research so that he could learn along with his viewers. Besides, King said, he never wanted to be perceived as a journalist.

 

"My duty, as I see it, is I'm a conduit," King told the Hartford Courant in 2007. "“I ask the best questions I can. I listen to the answers. I try to follow up. And hopefully the audience makes a conclusion. I'm not there to make a conclusion. I'm not a soapbox talk-show host... So what I try to do is present someone in the best light."

 

PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS

 

King's guests included U.S. presidents dating back to Gerald Ford, international leaders such as PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, and entertainers ranging from Bob Hope to Snoop Dogg.

 

King never hid his old-fashioned proclivities and liked to reminisce about performers such as Frank Sinatra and Arthur Godfrey. In 2006 he admitted to a guest that he had never searched the internet, saying: "“What do you do - punch little buttons and things?"

 

But by 2012 King was on the internet himself with his "Larry King Now" show on Ora TV, and later Hulu's streaming service. He also was a regular presence on Twitter, promoting his interviews and tossing out random thoughts - "I have no desire to eat an artichoke," "My favorite flavor of Jell-O is lime" and "I love to say 'sacre bleu!'" - in what was essentially an online version of the column he had once written for USA Today.

 

King was an established radio talk-show host when he made his first television broadcast for CNN from Washington on June 3, 1985, five years after Ted Turner started the network.

 

“"Larry King Live" would become one of CNN's highest rated shows. He left CNN amid falling ratings in 2010 after 25 years with the news network, but stayed busy with his Ora TV show.

 

"I've known a lot of people who were experts in six or 12 things but Larry seems to be an expert in everything," Don Hewitt, creator of "60 Minutes", told the Hollywood Reporter. "He's also never confrontational, which is majorly important. In an age when so many people are miserable, he seems to be one of the happy ones."

 

MIAMI RADIO BEGINNINGS

 

King was born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger on Nov. 19, 1933, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. He said at age 5 he knew he wanted to be on the radio and in 1957 he moved to Miami, which he had been told had a burgeoning radio market.

 

King started doing odd jobs at a Miami station and one day was asked to fill in for an announcer who walked off the job. Before he went on the air, the station manager urged him to change his last name to King because it was easier to pronounce and less ethnic than Zeiger.

 

King became a fixture in Miami but as his reputation grew, so did his troubles.

 

In 1971 he was arrested on a grand larceny complaint filed by Miami financier Lou Wolfson, who had been in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Wolfson allegedly paid King in hopes of gaining influence on the administration of then-U.S. President Richard Nixon.

 

The charge against King was dropped because the statute of limitations had expired, but the scandal knocked him off the air for some three years. He did public relations work for a Louisiana racetrack until station WIOD in Miami hired him.

 

King rebounded and the Mutual radio network gave him a nationwide audience in 1978. He relocated to Washington, a move that led to the CNN job.

 

He suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery in 1987, prompting him to start the Larry King Cardiac Foundation a year later. He had surgery in 2007 to clear a blocked artery, was treated for prostate cancer in 2010 and said in 2017 that he had been treated for lung cancer.

 

King was married eight times to seven women, most recently to singer Shawn Southwick, who was 26 years younger. He had five children, two of whom died in 2020.

 

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Scott Malone and Bill Trott; Editing by Dave Gregorio, Rosalba O'Brien and Alex Richardson)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-24

 

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[bkk6060]

7 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

King was married eight times to seven women,

Wow, sounds like some kind of record. Hope he had a few prenups along the way.

He did interview some of the most famous people in the world but darn, Covid got him.

RIP.

[ezzra]

Larry king, the man the world watched and listen to for many decades, who did over 30,000 interviews and has 150-200 suspenders,now in haven with a chance to do some more interviews, start with the all mighty and the first question: why?...

[ThailandRyan]

12 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Wow, sounds like some kind of record. Hope he had a few prenups along the way.

He did interview some of the most famous people in the world but darn, Covid got him.

RIP.

I can only think that Elizabeth Taylor was married as many times just to 8 men 7 times.  He was an Icon that is for sure.  Nothing was very taboo for him.  Wonder if he was the inspiration for a few of the Shock jocks currently on air.  He will live forever in shows that have been archived and much like Paul Harvey, he always tried to tell the rest of the story.

Edited January 24, 2021 by ThailandRyan

[TSF]

RIP, I enjoyed watching his interviews over the years.

[poohy]

Must admit i thought he was or  had been dead for years, but i did like his braces 

What i dont understand is

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

was married eight times to seven women,

was some one lucky enough to get him twice??

[John Drake]

6 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Wonder if he was the inspiration for a few of the Shock jocks currently on air. 

 

Never thought of King as a shock jock. Just the opposite. I remember he would put out opinions on his radio call in show decades ago, but on television, his interviews were notable because he did not put himself between his questions and the answers he was getting. His questions themselves were short, to the point, and displayed background knowledge. He was on TV what I always imagined a meaningful journalistic interview show should be. I loved his last interview with Marlon Brando.

[TheFishman1]

 I remember I was either 12 or 13 and Larry king was kind of an advisor to a youth group I’m a one story a bunch of us were checked in for different rooms at the same hotel and being young and a little bit mischief one of the guys in my room through the gum Ball machine I think was a penny gumball machine into the swimming pool the managers were there to kick us out and then there came Larry who basically smooth everything over I do remember that his wife at the time was very beautiful he did do a lot of mentoring work in Miami back then

[jingjai9]

When asked about his multiple marriages, King replied, : I love falling in love."

 

[rumak]

9 hours ago, rooster59 said:

He suffered a heart attack and had bypass surgery in 1987, prompting him to start the Larry King Cardiac Foundation a year later. He had surgery in 2007 to clear a blocked artery, was treated for prostate cancer in 2010 and said in 2017 that he had been treated for lung cancer.

 

Of course the headlines in most places read      Larry King dies of Covid  .     

 

 

[Antonymous]

How interesting that Reuters doesn’t even mention Larry King’s 8 years with RT America.

This is the official RT statement regarding King’s death. To put the record straight:

 

“Today the world lost a legend and RT lost a dear colleague and friend. Larry King was a staple on TV screens for decades, shaping the face of news and current affairs for millions, and inspiring generations of journalists. He hosted two landmark shows on RT, PoliticKing and Larry King Now, and we proudly worked with him since 2013. Countless famous faces, world leaders and loyal viewers will feel his absence from the airwaves deeply.”