Legendary interviewer & RT host Larry King dies at 87

Beloved US talk show legend Larry King has died in hospital at the age of 87 following a long illness, his family confirmed. The veteran interviewer won stacks of awards during his career and hosted RT America’s Politicking show.

King passed away at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday morning, his production company, Ora Media, said in a statement, extending condolences to his family. Earlier this month, after contracting Covid-19, he was reportedly admitted to the hospital in a serious condition.

The legendary host struggled with ailing health recently. His previous bout with hospitals forced him to spend his 87th birthday, which fell on November 19, in a ward. He thanked fans and well-wishers “for all the kind birthday messages” on Twitter that day.

The renowned conversationalist and household name had been suffering from heart disease for decades and even penned two books describing life with the condition. In November 2019, he suffered a near-fatal stroke and later announced he’d spent “a couple weeks” in a coma.

This is the official RT statement regarding King’s death:

“Today the world lost a legend and RT lost a dear colleague and friend. Larry King was a staple on TV screens for decades, shaping the face of news and current affairs for millions, and inspiring generations of journalists. He hosted two landmark shows on RT, PoliticKing and Larry King Now, and we proudly worked with him since 2013. Countless famous faces, world leaders and loyal viewers will feel his absence from the airwaves deeply.”

RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, has expressed her condolences over Larry King’s death. She called him “the main legend” and a “symbol” of television, as well as “the most recognized TV personality in the world.”

She added that King had always said he would work on TV until his death, and she is very proud that he worked with RT over the last eight years. He was a great man who was very easy to work with, Simonyan said, calling his death a “grievous and irreplaceable loss.”

Illustrious career

Starting in Florida as a local journalist and interviewer back in the 1950s, King first came to national prominence as the host of The Larry King Show – a nationwide all-night call-in radio show in 1978.

He later hosted the internationally-known Larry King Live show on CNN for 25 years between 1985 and 2010, interviewing a wide range of personalities, from movie stars to prominent politicians, discussing everything from their personal lives to breaking news stories.

In 2012, he co-founded a New York-based production company, Ora TV, and started hosting his Larry King Now show there. A year later, RT America struck a deal with Ora TV to host King’s show. At that time, Larry King said he “would rather ask questions to people in positions of power instead of speaking on their behalf.”

Since then, King has been the host of the Larry King Now podcast and the Politicking show broadcast by RT America. 

Over his lifetime, King was the recipient of more than a dozen media awards, including two Peabody awards for excellence in broadcasting in 1982 and 1992 as well as an Emmy Award and 10 CableACE awards for Best Interviewer, as well as Best Talk Show Series. 

Outside of his storied media career, King was also involved in charity work. After he suffered a heart attack and underwent a quintuple bypass in 1987, he founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation which has paid for life-saving cardiac procedures for people who could not afford them, and promotes healthy lifestyle habits.

King married eight times during his life, filing for divorce from his latest wife Shawn Southwick, in 2019. He was father to five children and had nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. 

Two of King's own children, Andy King and Chaia King, died within weeks of each other in July and August of 2020, one from a heart attack and another after a battle with lung cancer.

Asked about his views on his legacy in 2014, King said he would have liked to be remembered as a person that “led to more people having information that they didn't have before.” He said he wanted people to remember him as someone who “taught us a lot” in an enjoyable way and who “brought a great deal of pride to his business.”

As a tribute, RT America will be airing only Larry King’s shows the whole day on Sunday, January 24.

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