Movies & TV / News

TV Host & Broadcast Legend Larry King Passes Away at 87

January 23, 2021 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris

Ora Media confirmed in a statement today that TV host, broadcaster, and interviewer Larry King has passed away. According to an official press release, King passed away earlier this morning (Jan. 23) at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He was 87 years old.

King’s cause of death was not announced, but he was reportedly hospitalized due to COVID-19 earlier this month (via The Hollywood Reporter).

King, (nee Lawrence Harvey Zeigler), began his broadcasting career as a DJ-news reader for WAHR in Miami, Florida, working for $50 a week. He took on the name Larry King after his station manager suggested that Larry Ziegler was “too ethnic,” and suggested he call himself “Larry King” instead after noticing an advertisement for King’s Wholesale Liquors. The name stuck. Eventually, King would go on to have his own national radio talk show and had a weekly audience in the range of three million to five million viewers.

King would go on to have a long TV career with CNN, as he hosted Larry King Live on the cable network from June 1, 1985 until December 18, 20210. King earned a spot in the Guinness Book of Records as having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot.

CNN anchor Brian Stelter read the following statement from CNN President Jeff Zucker earlier today after the news was announced (via THR):

“We mourn the passing of our colleague Larry King. The scrappy young man from Brooklyn had a history-making career spanning radio and television. 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. From our CNN family to Larry’s, we send our thoughts and prayers, and a promise to carry on his curiosity for the world in our work.”

He won a Peabody Award in 1982 for his work on The Larry King Show. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the News & Documentary Emmy Awards for his work in 2011. His interviews of politicians, world leaders, actors, filmmakers, and celebrities number in the tens of thousands.

He made a multitude of film and TV appearances over the years as well. He was active in media until his passing, hosting Larry King Now and Politicking With Larry King for Ora Media.

King is survived by his wife Shawn Southwick, whom he married in 1997, along with his children Larry King Jr., Chance, Cannon, and the rest of the King family.

On behalf of 411, we send our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Larry King.

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Larry King, Jeffrey Harris