Larry King, America’s most iconic interviewer, who smooched Marlon Brando on-air and even conducted Mideast peace talks during his eponymous CNN show, has died, his official Twitter account announced Saturday morning.
The former CNN interviewer died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
King, 87, a multiple cancer survivor, had contracted coronavirus earlier this year, but it was not reported as a cause of death. In recent days he had appeared to be recovering, and was moved out of the ICU and breathing on his own.
“For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media Larry’s many thousands of interview awards and global acclaim, stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster,” read a statement from Ora Media, his most recent employer.
“Larry always viewed his interview subjects as the true stars of his programs.”
Though he most recently worked for Ora TV, an on-demand digital television network he founded with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim in 2012, King was most famous for his television show “Larry King Live” which he hosted on CNN from 1985 to 2010.
“Larry King was a giant of broadcasting and a master of the TV celebrity/statesman-woman interview,” said former colleague Christiane Amanpour. “His name is synonymous with CNN and he was vital to the network’s ascent.”
For over 25 years King, wearing signature suspenders and looming over an outsized desk mic, was must-see TV for his long-form sitdowns with the biggest celebrities and newsmakers of his day. He interviewed every US president from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump.
The memorable moments — too numerous to count — ran the gamut from smooches with Marlon Brando to a live MIddle East Peace summit with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Jordan’s King Hussein and Palestinian terror boss Yasser Arafat. During one 1989 appearance, Donald Trump accused King of having a bad case of halitosis and asked to sit back.
During his career he won two Peabody Awards, 10 CableACE awards and was inducted into both the National Radio Hall of Fame, and Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame
“Larry King was a Brooklyn boy who become a newsman who interviewed the newsmakers. He conducted over 50,000 interviews that informed Americans in a clear and plain way,” Gov. Cuomo said. “New York sends condolences to his family and many friends.”
In his final months, the LaFayette HS alum’s life had been dominated by personal drama. After suffering a stroke in May, King became embroiled in a bitter divorce from his wife of more than two decades, Shawn Southwick King. It was his eighth marriage and seventh wife.
Born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger, King grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and never lost his trademark accent. In 2012 the city landmarks commission briefly considered preserving his childhood home. He had a difficult upbringing. His father died from heart disease when King was just 9, forcing his family to rely on government assistance. He worked his way up from Florida radio stations in the 1950s and ’60s, eventually hosting his own national call-in show before moving to CNN.
“We mourn the passing of our colleague Larry King,” CNN President Jeff Zucker said in a statement. “His curiosity about the world propelled his award-winning career in broadcasting, but it was his generosity of spirit that drew the world to him. We are so proud of the 25 years he spent with CNN, where his newsmaker interviews truly put the network on the international stage.”
Not all of King’s former colleagues remembered him so fondly. Piers Morgan said the two had fallen out after he replaced King in 2010.
“He said my show was ‘like watching your mother-in-law go over a cliff in your new Bentley.’ (He married 8 times so a mother-in-law expert) But he was a brilliant broadcaster & masterful TV interviewer,” Morgan said in a tweet — sparking some criticism online.
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMESֱ
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