JournalismPakistan.com | Published 4 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
WASHINGTON —Larry King, the broadcast interviewer whose non-confrontational style attracted celebrities and newsmakers as guests and made him the star of a top-rated US cable talk show, has died. He was 87.
King died on Saturday morning (Jan 23) at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, according to a statement on his official Twitter account.
The cause of death was not provided but he had spent time recently undergoing treatment for Covid-19. He had bypass surgery following a heart attack in 1987 and later was treated twice for cancer.
King, the host of a popular night-time radio call-in show in the 1970s and 1980s, vaulted into nationwide prominence after CNN owner Ted Turner persuaded him to join his fledgling network in 1985.
His show, Larry King Live, became a popular TV interview program whose fans included former president George H.W. Bush. King interviewed every sitting president from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama.
After 25 years on cable, King announced in 2010 that he would retire, having slipped behind Sean Hannity at Fox News and Rachel Maddow at MSNBC in cable ratings. By the time he left, he estimated he had done about 50,000 interviews during more than a half-century on radio and television. He won an Emmy award for lifetime achievement in 2011.
In his CNN program, King got a rating spike from Mr. Ross Perot, who announced on the air in 1992 that he would run for the president as an independent. In 1993, Vice-President Al Gore and Mr. Perot debated the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) on King’s show, the highest-rated cable program for more than a decade.
King interviewed world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, performers such as Lady Gaga, and an assortment of athletes, actors, national heroes, and unknown individuals suddenly tossed into the limelight. Marlon Brando famously kissed King on the lips on-air – as did his onetime girlfriend Angie Dickinson, the sultry TV actress.
King said he left it to his producers to pick his guests and did not prepare much, preferring to ask simple questions and listen carefully to the answers.
President Putin on Saturday offered his condolences.
“King repeatedly interviewed Putin. The president has always appreciated his great professionalism and unquestioned journalistic authority,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by state RIA Novosti news agency.
King, who pitched a variety of products on radio and TV, used his show to raise funds for disaster relief after natural disasters hit New Orleans and Haiti.—Agencies/Photo: AFP
November 06, 2025: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar’s job offer to Nukta staff draws criticism as hundreds of journalists across Pakistan face layoffs, salary delays, and job insecurity.
November 06, 2025: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announces jobs for 37 laid-off Nukta employees, saying they will be placed at digital platforms within 48 hours amid growing media uncertainty.
November 05, 2025: PTI’s Faisal Chaudhry’s witty reply to Gharidah Farooqi on GTV’s “G for Gharidah” goes viral as a clip from their debate over the 27th Amendment sparks reactions online.
November 05, 2025: Digital platform Nukta lays off 37 employees in Pakistan, including journalists and producers, highlighting the financial struggles facing new media ventures in a shrinking job market.
November 04, 2025: Talat Hussain denies airing the viral clip showing Sher Afzal Marwat’s vulgar remark, saying it was not part of his Samaa TV show.
November 03, 2025: PFUJ recalls November 3, 2007, as Pakistan’s darkest day under Musharraf, urging protection for journalists and the abolition of laws threatening press freedom.
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
November 02, 2025: Impunity for crimes against journalists deepens worldwide as Pakistan reports a 60 percent surge in attacks and weak enforcement of safety laws.
November 05, 2025 The Pulitzer Center is offering global reporting grants for journalists worldwide, funding high-impact projects on underreported issues with rolling applications in 2025.
November 04, 2025 Journalist Rana Ayyub receives death threats over calls demanding a column on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as CPJ urges swift action to protect journalists in India.
November 04, 2025 TV8 journalist Mariana Rata in Moldova receives a death threat after interviewing politician Renato Usatii on-air, raising concerns about journalist safety.
November 03, 2025 Global journalist unions condemn the Indonesian agriculture minister’s lawsuit against Tempo, calling it a threat to press freedom and demanding that the case be withdrawn.
November 02, 2025 Independent outlet All About Macau to halt print and online operations amid rising pressure, financial strain, and legal threats, sparking press freedom concerns in the city.