LARRY KING: LIVE! EVEN IN DEATH
LARRY KING: LIVE! EVEN IN DEATH
Larry
King was born Lawrence Leibel Harvey Zeiger in Brooklyn, New York City to
immigrant parents. His father was from Austria and his mother was from Belarus.
Both parents were Orthodox Jews.
He
died January 23, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The American talk-show host
whose easygoing interviewing style helped make Larry King Live (1985–2010) one
of CNN’s longest-running and most popular programs.
King
grew up in Brooklyn, where he remained for several years after high-school
graduation to help support his mother, who had been widowed when he was a young
child.
In
his early twenties King left New York for Florida in the hopes of breaking into
radio. He worked as a disc jockey in South Florida, honing his conversational
interview style doing on-location interviews with random citizens. In 1960 he
broke into television with a Miami-based talk show. King also wrote for a
number of Miami newspapers during that period.
In
the early 1970s he worked in public relations and as a sports commentator, and
in 1975 he started to regain his foothold in Miami media.
From
1978 to 1994 King hosted the popular national radio talk show The Larry King
Show, and from 1985 he hosted the television talk show Larry King Live on CNN,
then a young network. The program was television’s first live phone-in show
with an international audience. It became known for King’s off-the-cuff
interview style. He prided himself on doing very little research on his guests
but for its popularity as a platform for political candidates. Notably, Ross
Perot announced his presidential candidacy on the show in 1992.
Though
Perot failed to secure the presidency, the following year he and Vice President
Al Gore used King’s show as a forum for debating the North American Free Trade
Agreement.
Over
time King became an internationally recognized figure, as famous as the
celebrities, news makers, and world leaders that he interviewed.
In
December 2010 Larry King Live ended its run, after 25 years on the air. British
tabloid journalist Piers Morgan was chosen to take over for King. King resumed
interviewing notable personalities on Larry King Now, a talk show that
premiered on the Web site Hulu in 2012, and the following year he added the
talk show PoliticKING with Larry King.
King
appeared as himself in a number of television shows, including 30 Rock and
Sesame Street, and in such films as Ghostbusters (1984). King also did voice
work in several of the animated Shrek films (2004, 2007, and 2010) and in Bee
Movie (2007). In addition, he participated in documentaries, including 1989:
The Year That Made Us (2019) and Dispatches from Quarantine (2020).
After
suffering a heart attack in 1987, he wrote books on heart disease.
His
autobiography, My Remarkable Journey, was published in 2009.
In
2011 he received a News & Documentary Emmy Award for lifetime achievement.
King’s
marital life was as interesting as his interviews.
Larry
King married eight times. His wives were
1.
Freda Miller
(1952–1953)
2.
Annette Kaye (1961)
3.
Alene Akins
(1961–1963)
4.
Mickey Sutphin
(1963–1967)
5.
Alene Akins
(1967–1972)
6.
Sharon Lepore
(1976–1983)
7.
Julie Alexander
(1989–1992)
8.
Shawn Southwick (from
1997)
Larry
King had a few underlying health conditions that led to his death on Jan. 23 at
age 87.
He was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after he contracted COVID-19 in December, although the novel virus was not his cause of death.
King's
immediate cause of death was sepsis, according to his death certificate
obtained by PEOPLE.
The
Larry King Live host also had two underlying conditions that led to sepsis,
including acute hypoxic respiratory failure – meaning he did not have enough
oxygen in his blood – and end stage renal disease also known as kidney failure.
What
stands Larry King out among others is his fearlessness, fairness, neutrality
and unambiguity.
I
see little bits of Larry King in a few of Nigerian Journalists and interviewers
but none of them has all those attributes together.
Nigerian
journalists are usually victims of those who pay the piper dictating the tune.
Most
Television and Radio stations in Nigeria are owned by governments and
individuals with known political leanings.
Their
programs and program ideas are therefore tailored to the dictates of the owners
of the stations.
Government
interference and undue influence have also impaired the freedom of the press.
Laws and interpretations are often twisted to arm-twist the press struggling to
be free.
Lack
of consistency and unprofessional conducts are also banes. Many journalists
jump from one station or medium to another thereby losing their original
concepts.
There
are also the “Jacks of all trades” who are not known specifically for a
particular program or concept.
Larry
King’s style was unique and he was consistent. Piers Morgan tried to fit into
Larry’s shoes but couldn’t produce the ‘real McCoy’.
No
to say there aren’t good ones on our airwaves. Yes, very good ones that would
make you run to the alternative power supply if one fails.
For me, three people have me; Seun Okinbaloye, Edmond Obillo and Isaac Brown. The program for me is Journalists Hangout. In Yoruba, It’s the veteran Bolade Salami.
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