Broadcasting legend Larry King died at the age of 87 on Saturday at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. The talk show host and interviewing maestro who wore his patented suspenders and no suit jacket on his CNN show that he reigned over for a quarter century had been hospitalize with infection from COVID-19.
King lived in very rarified air space during his heyday, as famous and influential as the nightly cavalcade of A-list Hollywood stars, world leaders, criminals, celebrities, athletes and business icons. During his run from 1985 through 2010 on CNN hosting Larry King Live, King hosted over 6,000 episodes, all live.
His career began in 1957 as a talk show host and disc jockey on a station in Miami. His television debut came in 1964, roughly the same time he began writing newspaper columns. His weekly column in the USA Today during the 1990’s famous for top of mind random thoughts by King that were a must-read in the paper.
King was also famous for his multitude of marriages. He was married a total of eight times to seven different women, most recently Shawn King, whom he had filed for divorce from in 2019.
Late in his career, King founded a network called Ora Media, which issued a statement on his death Saturday. “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.”
King was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he won two Peabody Awards and 10 Cable Ace Awards.
Add comment