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A TV/Radio Icon, Larry King, Has Passed....

Praying for him and his family. Fight the good fight Larry. We need you around to witness the post-pandemic side of 2021!
 
I felt a bit sorry for Larry King during his final few years at CNN, as there were rumblings of "this old guy needs to hang it up and retire" and I'd read Op-Eds in major newspapers, most likely written by people with less experience in the media business than King had in his thumb, making a mockery of him and calling for his retirement.

In the end, whether it was King's own decision or choice to go, they got what they wanted....And they quickly saw that there was really no one who could replace him. Kudos to Larry for remaining active, even if it was sometimes playing himself in late-night infomercials.
 
RIP to one of the greatest legends in cable news. CNN shot up in popularity because of him, and the world will never be the same without him.
 
Larry revived the concept of national radio. He replaced Long John Nebel in 1978, and he took a late night talk show from about 200 stations to over 500 stations at one point. He was on some of the biggest and most influential radio stations of the day, at a time when big radio stations didn't want to carry national shows. He opened the door for other national shows earlier in the evening. Just as AM radio was starting to decline, he added the CNN show in 1985. He was the original King of All Media, before Howard Stern.
 
My earliest memory of him was during the hostage crisis prior to the Reagan/Carter election. Strictly late-night radio stuff.
Probably most who think of him today likely only consider his TV career.

His personal life was unhinged. Maybe he began making so much money things got under control but he seemed to stabilize once he left radio.
 
QED said:
His personal life was unhinged. Maybe he began making so much money things got under control but he seemed to stabilize once he left radio.
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He was married 8 times to 7 different women (he remarried an ex). He married 5 times before starting the national radio show. He would tell stories about his crazy lifestyle in Miami. The famous one was where he left a record playing so he could have a tryst with a woman, and then ran back as the record ended. Except he forgot his keys.

He only married two more times after his success, and he married his current wife in 1997. By that point, Mutual was airing his CNN show on the radio. I would say the thing that got him under control was the heart attack in the 80s.
 
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Larry King set the bar very high. He could Interview actors, musicians, politicians, athletes, etc...

He was dignified and genuine. His show was far superior to the "confrontational" yelling that dominates cable news these days...
 
I loved his old Mutual radio show. I liked his tv show. If you need a quick fun King moment check out the the opening sequence of classic 80’s movie “Lost In America”.
 
I think those late nigh infomercials were the low part of his career. CNN should have let him go out on his own terms. Not throw him to the curb.
 
Don CT said:
I think those late nigh infomercials were the low part of his career. CNN should have let him go out on his own terms. Not throw him to the curb.
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He sort of went out on his own terms with the radio show. He was the one who wanted to move to afternoons. The response wasn't very good, he recognized it, and left. After CNN, he looked into returning to radio, but got a much better deal doing infomercials. You may not like them, but they pay very well for very little work.
 
TheBigA said:
He sort of went out on his own terms with the radio show. He was the one who wanted to move to afternoons. The response wasn't very good, he recognized it, and left. After CNN, he looked into returning to radio, but got a much better deal doing infomercials. You may not like them, but they pay very well for very little work.
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King also said he didn't play golf. He needed something to do. Infomercials probably paid for his alimony and gave him a hobby.

I don't know if he felt that CNN treated him badly. He had a 25 year run there...
 
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