Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021)<ref name="JVL">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> was an American TV and radio host presenter, author, and former spokesman. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in 1978, gained national prominence as host of The Larry King Show, an all-night nationwide call-in radio program heard over the Mutual Broadcasting System.<ref name=wdvm/> From 1985 to 2010, he hosted the nightly interview television program Larry King Live on CNN.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> King hosted Larry King Now from 2012 to 2020,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which aired on Hulu, Ora TV, and RT America. He hosted Politicking with Larry King, a weekly political talk show, on the same three channels from 2013 to 2020. King conducted over 50,000 interviews on radio and television.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
King was born and raised in New York City to Jewish parents who immigrated to the United States from what is now Belarus in the 1920s. He studied at Lafayette High School, a public high school in Brooklyn.
During his career, King also appeared in television series and films, usually playing himself. He remained active until his death in 2021. His awards and nominations include two Peabodys, an Emmy, and 10 Cable ACE Awards.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> King was also awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 32nd Annual News and Documentary Emmys.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On January 2, 2021, King was hospitalized with COVID-19 at the Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. King recovered from the virus, but died on January 23 from sepsis at the age of 87.<ref name="Kreps">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Early life and educationEdit
King was born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger on November 19, 1933,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in Brooklyn, New York City. His parents were Orthodox Jews who immigrated to the United States from Soviet Belarus in the 1920s.<ref name="JVL"/><ref name="Telegraph">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was one of two sons of Jennie (née Gitlitz), a garment worker who was born in Minsk in the Russian Empire in present-day Belarus, and Aaron Edward Zeiger, a restaurant owner and defense-plant worker who was born in Pinsk<ref name="test">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (also in modern-day Belarus). During his early childhood, the family lived at 208 Howard Avenue, a rowhouse in a section of the borough alternatively characterized as part of Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Brownsville or Ocean Hill.
King attended Lafayette High School, a public high school in Brooklyn.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When King was nine years old, his father died of a heart attack.<ref name=Saner>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=nyt15>Template:Cite news</ref> This resulted in King, his mother, and brother going on government welfare.<ref name=Saner/> King was greatly affected by his father's death, and subsequently lost interest in his schoolwork.<ref name=bde>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Throughout King's adolescence, his family lived at 2136 83rd Street in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn.
After graduating from high school, King worked to help support his mother.<ref name="BHoF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> From an early age, he desired to work in radio broadcasting.<ref name="BHoF"/>
CareerEdit
Miami radio and televisionEdit
A CBS production supervisor, James F. Sirmons, suggested he go to Florida, which was a growing media market with openings for inexperienced broadcasters. King went to Miami. After initial setbacks, he gained his first job in radio at a small station, WAHR<ref name="fussman">Template:Cite video</ref> (now WMBM),<ref name=dn21>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Miami Beach, hired him to clean up and perform miscellaneous tasks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> When one of the station's announcers abruptly quit, King was put on the air. His first broadcast was on May 1, 1957, working as the disc jockey from 9 a.m. to noon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also did two afternoon newscasts and a sportscast. He was paid $50 a week.Template:Cn
He acquired the name Larry King when the general manager declared that Zeiger was too difficult to remember,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> saying it was "too German, too Jewish and not showbusiness enough".<ref name="Telegraph"/> Minutes before airtime, Larry chose the surname "King", which was inspired from a Miami Herald advertisement he saw for King's Wholesale Liquor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Within two years, he legally changed his name to Larry King.<ref name=ss2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
King began to conduct interviews on a mid-morning show for WIOD from Pumpernik's Restaurant in Miami Beach.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He would interview whoever walked in. His first interview was with a waiter at the restaurant.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Two days later, singer Bobby Darin, in Miami for a concert that evening, walked into Pumpernik's<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> having heard King's radio show; Darin became King's first celebrity interview guest.<ref name="Brounstein"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
King's Miami radio show brought him local attention. A few years later, in May 1960, he hosted Miami Undercover, airing Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m. on Miami television station WPST-TV.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
King credited his success on local television to the assistance of comedian Jackie Gleason, whose national television variety show was being taped in Miami Beach, beginning in 1964. "That show really took off because Gleason came to Miami," King said in a 1996 interview he gave when inducted into the Broadcasters' Hall of Fame. "He did that show and stayed all night with me. We stayed till five in the morning. He didn't like the set, so we broke into the general manager's office and changed the set. Gleason changed the set, he changed the lighting, and he became like a mentor of mine."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
During this period, WIOD gave King further exposure as a color commentator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, during their 1970 season and most of their 1971 season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On December 20, 1971, he was dismissed by both WIOD and television station WTVJ as a late-night radio host and sports commentator following his arrest for grand larceny by a former business partner, Louis Wolfson.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=ss3/> Other staff covered the Dolphins' games into their 24–3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl VI. King also lost his weekly column at the Miami Beach Sun newspaper. The charges were later dropped.<ref name=ss3>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=gq09/> King was later rehired by WIOD.<ref name=ss3/> For several years during the 1970s, he hosted a sports talk-show called Sports-a-la-King, featuring guests and callers.<ref name="Brounstein">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Larry King ShowEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
On January 30, 1978, King began hosting a nightly coast-to-coast radio program on the Mutual Broadcasting System,<ref name=ad2/> inheriting the talk show slot that had begun with Herb Jepko in late 1975, then followed by "Long John" Nebel in 1977.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> King's Mutual show rapidly developed a devoted audience,<ref name=c82/> called "King-aholics".<ref name=tb81>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Larry King Show<ref name="ad2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Alt URL</ref> was broadcast live Monday through Friday from midnight to 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time. King would interview a guest for the first hour, with callers asking questions that continued the interview for the next two hours.<ref name=tb81/> At 3 a.m., the Open Phone America segment began, where he allowed callers to discuss any topic they pleased with him,<ref name=c82/><ref name=dr21>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> until the end of the program when he expressed his own political opinions. Many stations in the western time zones carried the Open Phone America portion of the show live, followed by the guest interview on tape delay.<ref name=dn21/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Some of King's regular callers used pseudonyms or were given nicknames by King, such as "The Numbers Guy",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "The Chair", "The Portland Laugher",<ref name=c82>Template:Cite news</ref> "The Miami Derelict", and "The Scandal Scooper".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> At the beginning, the show had 28 affiliates,<ref name=latobit>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but eventually rose to over 500.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> King occasionally entertained the audience by telling amusing stories from his youth or early broadcasting career.<ref name="fussman"/><ref name=dr21/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=ss1>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Wishing to reduce his workload, King began hosting a shorter, daytime version of the show in 1993. Jim Bohannon, King's primary fill-in host, took over the late night time slot. After 16 years on Mutual, King decided to retire from the program. The final broadcast of The Larry King Show was heard on May 27, 1994; Mutual gave King's afternoon slot to David Brenner<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Mutual's affiliates were given the option of carrying the audio of King's new CNN evening television program. After Westwood One dissolved Mutual in 1999, the radio simulcast of the CNN show continued until December 31, 2009.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Larry King LiveEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Larry King Live began on CNN in June 1985. King hosted a broad range of guests, from figures such as UFO conspiracy theorists and alleged psychics,<ref>One notable guest was Sylvia Browne, who in 2005 told the Newsweek magazine that King, a believer in the paranormal, asks her to do private psychic readings. Template:Cite news</ref> to prominent politicians and entertainment industry figures, often giving their first or only interview on breaking news stories on his show. After broadcasting his CNN show from 9 to 10 p.m., King then traveled to the studios of the Mutual Broadcasting System to do his radio show,<ref name=91int>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> when both shows still aired.
Two of his best-remembered interviews involved political figures. In 1992, billionaire Ross Perot announced his presidential bid on the show. In 1993, a debate between Al Gore and Perot became CNN's most-watched segment until 2015.<ref name="Miller">Template:Cite news</ref>
Unlike many interviewers, King had a direct, non-confrontational approach. His reputation for asking easy, open-ended questions made him attractive to important figures who wanted to state their position while avoiding being challenged on contentious topics.<ref name=NYT120110>Template:Cite news</ref> King said that when interviewing authors, he did not read their books in advance, so that he would not know more than his audience.<ref name=wdvm>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref name=91int/> Throughout his career, King interviewed many of the leading figures of his time. According to CNN, King conducted more than 30,000 interviews in his career.<ref name="fastfacts">Larry King Fast Facts CNN. May 5, 2013</ref>
An avid sports fan, King wrote a regular column for The Sporting News during the 1980s. King also wrote a regular column in USA Today for almost 20 years, from shortly after that first national newspaper's debut in Baltimore–Washington in 1982 until September 2001.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The column consisted of short "plugs, superlatives and dropped names" but was dropped when the newspaper redesigned its "Life" section.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The column was resurrected in blog form in November 2008<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and on Twitter in April 2009.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
During his career, King conducted more than 60,000 interviews.<ref name="Levin">Template:Cite news</ref> CNN's Larry King Live became "the longest-running television show hosted by the same person, on the same network and in the same time slot", and was recognized for it by the Guinness Book of World Records.<ref name="Martinez">Template:Cite news</ref> He retired in 2010 after taping 6,000 episodes of the show.<ref name="Kludt">Template:Cite news</ref>
DepartureEdit
On June 29, 2010, King announced that after 25 years, he would be stepping down as the show's host. However, he stated that he would remain with CNN to host occasional specials.<ref name="bbcshowend">Template:Cite news</ref> The announcement came in the wake of speculation that CNN had approached Piers Morgan, the British television personality and journalist, as King's primetime replacement,<ref name="morganapproach">Template:Cite news</ref> which was confirmed that September.<ref name="signcnn">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="cnncit">Template:Cite news</ref>
The final edition of Larry King Live aired on December 16, 2010.<ref name="endcnn">Template:Cite news</ref> The show concluded with his last thoughts and a thank you to his audience for watching and supporting him over the years. The concluding words of Larry King on the show were, "I... I, I don't know what to say except to you, my audience, thank you. And instead of goodbye, how about so long."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On February 17, 2012, CNN announced that he would no longer host specials.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Shows on Ora TVEdit
Template:Further In March 2012, King co-founded Ora TV, a production company, with his wife Shawn Southwick-King and Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On January 16, 2013, Ora TV celebrated their 100th episode of Larry King Now. In September 2017, King's agent stated that King "looks forward to working for another 60 years."<ref name="lungcancer">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ora TV signed a multi-year deal with Hulu to exclusively carry King's new talk-oriented web series, Larry King Now, beginning July 17.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On October 23, 2012, King hosted the third-party presidential debate on Ora TV, featuring Jill Stein, Rocky Anderson, Virgil Goode, and Gary Johnson.<ref>"Third-party candidates face off in US debate". Al Jazeera English. October 23, 2012.</ref>
In May 2013, the Russian government-owned RT America network announced that they struck a deal with Ora TV to host the Larry King Now show on its network. King said in an advertisement on RT America: "I would rather ask questions to people in positions of power, instead of speaking on their behalf." The show continued to be available on Hulu.com and Ora.tv.<ref>Byers, Dylan Larry King joins Russian channel RT, Politico, May 29, 2013.</ref>
When criticized for doing business with a Russian-owned TV network in 2014, King responded, "I don't work for RT", commenting that his podcasts, Larry King Now and Politicking, are licensed for a fee to RT America by New York-based Ora TV. "It's a deal made between the companies ... They just license our shows. If they took something out, I would never do it. It would be bad if they tried to edit out things. I wouldn't put up with it."<ref>Larry King's Russian TV Dilemma The Daily Beast March 6, 2014.</ref>
Other venturesEdit
King remained active as a writer and television personality thereafter.
King guest starred in episodes of Arthur, 30 Rock and Gravity Falls, had cameos in Ghostbusters and Bee Movie, and voiced Doris the Ugly Stepsister in Shrek 2 and its sequels.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also played himself in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and appeared as himself in an episode of Law and Order: Trial by Jury.
King hosted the educational television series In View with Larry King from 2013 to 2015, which was carried on cable television networks including Fox Business Network and Discovery<ref name="broadwayworld">"Larry King's IN VIEW Television Show to Feature Help Hospitalized Veterans" Retrieved November 2015.</ref> and produced by The Profiles Series production company.<ref name="businessreport">Greater Baton Rouge Business Report Retrieved November 2015.</ref>
King and his wife Shawn appeared on WWE Raw in October 2012, participating in a storyline involving professional wrestlers The Miz and Kofi Kingston.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
King became a very active user on the social-networking site Twitter, where he posted thoughts and commented on a wide variety of subjects. King stated, "I love tweeting, I think it's a different world we've entered. When people were calling in, they were calling into the show and now on Twitter, I'm giving out thoughts, opinions. The whole concept has changed."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
After 2011, he also made various television infomercials, often appearing as a "host" discussing products like omega-3 fatty acid dietary supplement OmegaXL with guests, in an interview style reminiscent of his past television programs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ProPublica reported that in 2019 King had been manipulated into starring in a fake interview with a Russian journalist containing disinformation about Chinese dissident Guo Wengui, which was subsequently spread by Chinese government associated social media accounts.<ref name="king">Template:Cite news</ref>
Charitable worksEdit
Following his 1987 heart attack, King founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, a non-profit organization<ref name="FoxBus">Template:Cite news</ref> which paid for life-saving cardiac procedures for people who otherwise would not be able to afford them.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On August 30, 2010, King served as the host of Chabad's 30th annual "To Life" telethon, in Los Angeles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He donated to the Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden, where his name is on the monument.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Personal lifeEdit
King resided in Beverly Hills, California.<ref name="wsjonhispathfrombrooklyn">Template:Cite news</ref> A lifelong Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers fan, he was frequently seen behind home plate at the team's games.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was part of an investment group that attempted to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to Buffalo, New York, in 1990.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He lost $2.8 million to Bernie Madoff.<ref name=gq09>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2009,<ref name=gq09/> 2011,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and several times in 2015,<ref name=Reason2015/><ref name="Gariano2015">Template:Cite news</ref> King said that he would like to be cryonically suspended. He discussed the issue with his family two years before his death, and "after much consideration," he decided that he did not want to undergo the procedure.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In the early 1980s, King took human growth hormone daily.<ref name=nyt15/><ref name="Gariano2015"/>
After describing himself as a Jewish agnostic in 2005,<ref name="Larry King">Template:Cite book</ref> he stated that he was fully atheist in 2015.<ref name=Reason2015>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2017, he told The Jerusalem Post, "I love being Jewish, am proud of my Jewishness, and I love Israel".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2019, King sued Nate Holzapfel, a Shark Tank contestant and entrepreneur, alleging that he had misrepresented himself and his reasons for filming a short interview with King. The interview had been edited without King's permission to make it appear that Holzapfel had appeared on Larry King Now. A default judgment was entered in King's favor, and he was awarded fees and $250,000 in damages.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Marriages and childrenEdit
King was married eight times to seven women.<ref name="NYP">Template:Cite news</ref>
King married high school sweetheart Freda Miller in 1952, at the age of 19.<ref name=dailynews4/> That union ended the following year at the behest of their parents, who reportedly had the marriage annulled.<ref name=dailynews4>"Larry King divorces Shawn Southwick: Meet the TV icon's slew of ex-wives" Template:Webarchive. Daily News. April 16, 2010. p. 4 of 25.</ref>
King was married to Annette Kaye,<ref name=dailynews4/> who gave birth to his son, Larry Jr., in November 1961. King did not meet Larry Jr. until the latter was in his 30s.<ref name="ac360">Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1961, King married his third wife, Playboy Bunny Alene Akins, at one of the magazine's eponymous nightclubs. He adopted Akins' son Andy in 1962; the couple divorced the following year.<ref name=dailynews4/>
In 1963, King married his fourth wife, Mary Francis "Mickey" Sutphin, who divorced him in 1967.<ref name=dailynews4/>
King remarried Akins in 1969; the couple had a daughter, Chaia, before divorcing again in 1972.<ref name=dailynews4/> In 1997, Dove Books published a book written by King and Chaia, Daddy Day, Daughter Day. Aimed at young children, it tells each of their accounts of his divorce from Akins.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On September 25, 1976, King married his fifth wife, mathematics teacher and production assistant Sharon Lepore. The couple divorced in 1983.<ref name=dailynews5-6>Daily News, slide show Template:Webarchive. Daily News. pp. 5–6.</ref>
On August 1, 1989, King proposed to businesswoman Julie Alexander on their first date.<ref>Cedar Rapids Gazette, August 23, 1989.</ref> Alexander became King's sixth wife on October 7, 1989, when the two were married in Washington, D.C.<ref name=dailynews7-8>Daily News, slide show Template:Webarchive. Daily News. pp. 7–8.</ref> They lived in different cities, with Alexander in Philadelphia and King in Washington, D.C., where he worked. The couple separated in 1990 and divorced in 1992.<ref name=dailynews7-8/>
King became engaged to actress Deanna Lund in 1995 after five weeks of dating, but they did not marry.<ref name=dailynews10>Daily News, slide show Template:Webarchive. Daily News. p. 10.</ref>
In 1997, King married his seventh wife, Shawn Southwick,<ref name=dailynews11>Daily News, slide show Template:Webarchive, ibid., p. 11 of 25</ref> a singer, actress, and TV host who is the sister of musician Paul Engemann.<ref name="nydailynews.com">Template:Cite news</ref> The couple wed in King's Los Angeles hospital room three days before he underwent heart surgery to clear an occluded blood vessel.<ref name=nyt0414>"CNN Host Larry King, 7th Wife File for Divorce". Associated Press (via The New York Times). April 14, 2010.</ref> The couple had two children: Chance, born March 1999, and Cannon, born May 2000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> King was stepfather to Arena Football League quarterback Danny Southwick.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On King and Southwick's 10th anniversary in September 2007, Southwick joked that she was "the only [wife] to have lasted into the two digits".<ref name="nydailynews.com"/> The couple filed for divorce in 2010, but later reconciled<ref name=nyt0414/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> only to file for divorce again on August 20, 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> King and Southwick were estranged and going through divorce proceedings at the time of King's death in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
At the time of his death, King had five children, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.<ref name="Crowley">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Yasharoff">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His children with Alene Atkins, Andy and Chaia, died within weeks of each other in August 2020. Andy died at 65 from a heart attack, and Chaia died at 51 from lung cancer.<ref name="Yasharoff"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EstateEdit
At the time of his death, in February 2021, it was reported that his estranged wife Shawn Southwick had gone to court to contest King's 2019 handwritten will, which had left his estate (valued at $2 million) to his five surviving children. Southwick alleged that her stepson, Larry King Jr., exerted undue influence over his father towards the end of his life, and that the handwritten will conflicted with a will King signed in 2015 in which Southwick was named executor of his estate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This does not include more valuable "assets that were held in trusts".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Southwick ultimately reached a settlement with King's business management firm, Blouin & Company, and its executives in court in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Health problems and deathEdit
On February 24, 1987, King suffered a major heart attack and underwent a successful emergency quintuple-bypass surgery.<ref name=ss1/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following this, he wrote two books about living with heart disease. Mr. King, You're Having a Heart Attack: How a Heart Attack and Bypass Surgery Changed My Life (1989, Template:ISBN), which was written with New York's Newsday science editor B. D. Colen, and Taking On Heart Disease: Famous Personalities Recall How They Triumphed over the Nation's #1 Killer and How You Can, Too (2004, Template:ISBN), which features the experience of various celebrities with cardiovascular disease, including Peggy Fleming and Regis Philbin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> King quit smoking after he had the heart attack, having smoked three packs of cigarettes a day until then.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
King related his heart attack experience in an interview in the 2014 British documentary film The Widowmaker, which advocates for coronary calcium scanning to motivate preventive cardiology and highlights the financial conflicts of interest in the widespread use of coronary stents.<ref name="Lenzer2015">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He received annual chest X-rays to monitor his heart condition. During his 2017 examination, doctors discovered a malignant tumor in his lung. It was then successfully removed with surgery.<ref name="lungcancer"/>
On April 23, 2019, King underwent a scheduled angioplasty and also had stents inserted. It was erroneously reported that he had another heart attack along with heart failure; these claims were later retracted.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He returned to Politicking with Larry King on August 15 of the same year. On November 27 of the same year, King said he had a stroke in March, and was in a coma "for weeks".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Later, King admitted that he had a contemplated suicide following a stroke, telling Los Angeles television station KTLA, "I thought I was just going to bite the bullet. I didn't want to live this way."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On January 2, 2021, it was reported that King had been admitted to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles due to severe COVID-19 infection, but had moved out of the ICU.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Three weeks later, on January 23 of the same year, at the age of 87, King died of sepsis due to the prior health issues (such as a clinical syndrome of life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated response to bacterial infection), though he had survived from the virus.<ref name="Kludt"/><ref name="auto">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name=obittweet>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref name="Miller"/><ref name="Kreps"/> His estranged wife, Shawn Southwick-King, told Entertainment Tonight that King died from a sepsis infection, which was unrelated to COVID-19.
FilmographyEdit
FilmEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Ghostbusters | Himself | <ref name=bde/> |
| 1985 | Lost in America | Voice<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| 1989 | Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! | Talk show host | |
| 1990 | Crazy People | Himself | |
| The Exorcist III | |||
| 1993 | Dave | ||
| We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story | Voice | ||
| 1995 | Open Season | ||
| 1996 | The Long Kiss Goodnight | ||
| 1997 | Contact | <ref name=bde/> | |
| Mad City | |||
| The Jackal | |||
| 1998 | Primary Colors | ||
| Bulworth | |||
| Enemy of the State | |||
| 2000 | The Contender | ||
| The Kid | <ref name=bde/> | ||
| 2001 | America's Sweethearts | ||
| 2002 | John Q | ||
| 2004 | The Stepford Wives | ||
| Shrek 2 | Doris | Voice (U.S. Version) | |
| 2007 | Shrek the Third | Voice | |
| Bee Movie | Bee Larry King | Voice<ref name=gq09/> | |
| 2008 | Swing Vote | Himself | |
| 2010 | Shrek Forever After | Doris | Voice |
| 2012 | The Dictator | Himself | |
| 2013 | The Power of Few | ||
| 2015 | Chloe & Theo | ||
| Dude Bro Party Massacre III | Coach Handsey | ||
| 2017 | American Satan | Himself |
TelevisionEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Miami Undercover | Sleepy Sam | Episode: The Thrush |
| 1985–2010 | Larry King Live | Self; Host | 6,076 Episodes |
| 1990–96 | Murphy Brown | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 1991–94 | The Simpsons | Voice; 2 episodes | |
| 1995 | The Larry Sanders Show | Episode: The P.A. | |
| Coach | Episode: Is it Hot in Here or is it Just Me? | ||
| 1996 | Murder One | Episode: Chapter Twenty-One | |
| Bonnie | Episode: Better Offer | ||
| 1997 | Spin City | Episode: An Affair to Remember | |
| Frasier | Episode: My Fair Frasier | ||
| 2002 | The Practice | Episode: The Verdict | |
| Arli$$ | Episode: Standards and Practice | ||
| Arthur | Episode: Elwood City Turns 100! | ||
| 2004 | Sesame Street | Episode: 4074 | |
| 2005 | Boston Legal | Episode: Truly, Madly, Deeply | |
| Law and Order: Trial by Jury | Episode: Day | ||
| 2006 | Law and Order: Criminal Intent | Episode: Weeping Willow | |
| 2007 | Shark | Episode: Wayne's World 2: Revenge of the Shark | |
| The Closer | Episode: Til Death do Us Part - Part II | ||
| 2008 | Ugly Betty | Episode: The Kids Are Alright | |
| 2009 | 30 Rock | Episode: Larry King<ref name=gq09/> | |
| 2011 | Take Two with Phineas and Ferb | Episode: Larry King | |
| 2012–16 | Gravity Falls | Wax Larry King | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | 1600 Penn | Himself | Episode: Marry Me, Baby |
| 2014 | Murder in the First | Episode: Family Matters | |
| 2016 | The People v. O.J. Simpson | 4 episodes |
Awards and nominationsEdit
King received many broadcasting awards. He won the Peabody Award for Excellence in broadcasting for both his radio (1982)<ref name="Miller"/><ref name=p82>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and television (1992)<ref name=p82/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> shows. He also won 10 CableACE Awards for Best Interviewer and for Best Talk Show Series.<ref name="Miller"/>
In 1989, King was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and in 1992 to the Broadcasters' Hall of Fame.<ref name="BHoF"/> In 2002, the industry publication Talkers Magazine named King both the fourth-greatest radio talk show host of all time and the top television talk show host of all time.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In 1994, King received the Scopus Award from the American Friends of Hebrew University.<ref name=JVL/><ref name="latimeskingcrownedwithscopus">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1996, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Art Buchwald.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On May 8, 1997, Larry King was given a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6616 Hollywood Blvd Hollywood, CA.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He was given the Golden Mike Award for Lifetime Achievement in January 2008, by the Radio & Television News Association of Southern California.<ref name="Miller"/>
King was an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Beverly Hills.<ref name="Eric">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was also a recipient of the President's Award honoring his impact on media from the Los Angeles Press Club in 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
King was the first recipient of the Arizona State University Hugh Downs Award for Communication Excellence,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> presented April 11, 2007, via satellite by Downs himself.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2012, King was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame at the Syndeo Institute at the Cable Center.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
King was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by Bradley University; for which he said "is really a hoot". King received numerous honorary degrees from George Washington University, the Columbia School of Medicine, Brooklyn College, the New England Institute of Technology, and the Pratt Institute.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Larry King Live – Transcripts of all interviews since 2000
- [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if:
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- Larry King's Final On-Camera Interview Silver Screen Studios - Dispatches from Quarantine (May 11, 2020)
- Larry King at Find a Grave
Template:Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host Template:CNN Anchors