Famous radio and broadcast host Larry King, born November 19, 1933, passed away on Jan. 23.
In 1978 King began gaining popularity and continued hosting until 2020.
King’s parents were Orthodox Jews who immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus, a federal unit of the Soviet Union, in the 1930s. King’s father died when King was nine years old, in 1942, from a heart attack. This greatly affected King, as he then lost all interest in his schoolwork.
King was hired by a small radio station in 1957 to clean up and perform miscellaneous tasks. However, when one of the station’s announcers abruptly quit, King was put on the air. His first broadcast was May 1, 1957. King started out interviewing whoever would walk into the radio station. Bobby Darin became the first celebrity that King interviewed.
King was dismissed from the radio station as of December 20, 1971, when he was accused and arrested for grand larceny by a former business partner. The charges were dropped, however, and King was rehired.
He began hosting The Larry King Show on January 30, 1978 and did not stop hosting until he stepped down in 1994.
The show began with King interviewing a guest for 90 minutes, and then listeners would call in and keep the interview going for another 90 minutes. Some of the regular callers on King’s show gave him nicknames such as ‘The Chair’ and ‘The Scandal Scooper.’
Larry King Live, King’s TV show, began in June 1985. When King was doing his TV show and radio show, King would do Larry King Live from 9 to 10 p.m., followed by The Larry King Show from midnight to 5:30 a.m.
Larry King Live was CNN’s most–watched and longest–running program, airing from 1985-2010.
His first guest on Larry King Live was then governor of New York, Mario Cuomo.
Another notable episode of the show was aired on November 9, 1993, and featured a debate between billionaire Ross Perot and politician Al Gore on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The episode was watched by 11.2 million households, which was the largest audience ever for a program on an ad-supported network until the 2006 New York Giants versus Dallas Cowboys game.
The final episode of Larry King Live aired on December 16, 2010, with co-hosts Ryan Seacrest and Bill Maher and appearances by then-President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton and CNN anchors Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer, Katie Couric and Brian Williams.
King also has cameos in the movies Ghostbusters and Bee Movie. And he voiced Doris the ugly stepsister in Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After.
Following his 1987 heart attack, King founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, which pays for life–saving cardiac procedures for those who are not able to afford them.
On Jan. 2, it was revealed that King had been hospitalized ten days earlier due to contracting COVID-19. King passed away on Jan. 23 at the age of 87.
King’s wife told Entertainment Tonight that he recovered from COVID-19, but the infection left him unable to recover from sepsis.
Not only was King a popular TV show host, but he was also a prominent voice on the radio and a trailblazer in the broadcasting industry. His interview style and manner was unlike what America had seen before.
King was direct with his guests, always asking straight-forward questions, because, as many believe, he felt his listeners/viewers deserved clear answers.
One of a kind, King will forever be remembered as one of the most popular radio show hosts of all time.
