New York (CNN)Larry King often came across as the guy who sat next to somebody on an airplane and started up a conversation by asking: “So what do you do?”
Except sometimes that person was Vladimir Putin, or Marlon Brando. And they wouldn’t get annoyed.That was King’s gift — he didn’t grill people, he chatted them up. He was someone who actually wanted to know what hooked some British actor on Shakespeare or some Indiana farmer on believing in UFO’s.
Larry King, legendary talk show host, dies at 87King was a throwback, a fish out of water from the start of his career at CNN, because even as he put cable television news on the map he was, down to his shoes, a broadcaster. He looked for wide appeal and he had wide appeal. He didn’t parade his views, because that’s not what broadcasters looking for the widest reach could ever do.He also had a broadcaster’s voice — deep, resonant, memorable. King, who gained fame first as a radio host in Miami, joked all his life about having a face made for radio. But even with an accent engraved with the sounds of Brooklyn’s streets, he had the booming voice, tailor-made for radio stardom. It made people turn their heads and listen: “Hello, Ashtabula, you’re on the air!”Read MoreHis life turned out to be colorful, too, full of celebrity stories, news-making moments, health scares and numerous wives — eight marriages in all, including one wife he married twice. But always he retained his ability to relate, and managed to connect with both high-brow (Nelson Mandela) and low (Kato Kaelin.)
A simple interviewing technique
His method was simple: no method. Don’t overthink the job, don’t over-prepare for the interview. Keep the questions short. King always said things like, “If I’m talking, I’m not learning.” So he stressed simple, direct questions: “What made you get into public life?” “Do you like pets?” He let his guests dominate his airtime.Contrast that with interviews on most cable news shows today: Hosts who often ask convoluted, digressive, minutia-filled questions that leave guests wondering, “When is he/she going to get to the question here?” King did not belabor; he rarely seemed even to labor.He was often satirized, especially on the late-night shows, for his seemingly bland style, and the “what’s your favorite ice cream” level of some of his questions. And, of course, for his openly confessed lack of interest in reading any of the books that authors came on his show to plug. That didn’t matter — millions of books were sold off of Larry King interviews.
Celebrities and newsmakers are paying tribute to broadcasting legend Larry KingLaziness or genius? Whatever it was, it worked. King said he was playing the role of the viewer who knew nothing about the book, allowing the author to prove it was worth reading. Authors rarely turned down the chance to talk to Larry King. Neither was just about anyone else. King’s other technique was providing comfort instead of confrontation. Guests at every level, including presidents — King talked to every one starting with Nixon — and global heads of state sat down with him knowing they would not be overly pressed, never really put on the defensive.That didn’t make the interviews uninteresting (well, sometimes it did.) Mostly it made them diverting rather than divisive. Again, it was a shrewd approach. Guests who are comfortable come back. They also tell their associates: “That’s a show you should do.”Timing is everything, and it certainly was a factor in King’s success. He emerged at CNN when cable news was not yet a shoutfest or an ideological armed camp. The competition wasn’t an outraged rant on Fox News. It was the latest hit comedy on Must-See TV: “Frasier,” “Cheers,” or “Seinfeld.” If the entertainment shows in prime time were less popular, or there was a repeat that night, a viewer might prefer a light-hearted conversation with Miss Piggy — or something meatier with Ross Perot.In that era, King didn’t have to chase “breaking news” every night, but if the story had the right legs, he was all over it. Never more than during the O.J. Simpson saga, from the infamous 1994 car chase to chaotic trial the following year. The nightly coverage on King’s CNN show presaged the saturation news coverage of cable news shows to come. All O.J., all the time.
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry King
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingLarry King is seen on the set of his CNN show in November 2010.Hide Caption 1 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing was married to Sharon Lepore from 1976 to 1982. King was married eight times in his life, to seven women. Hide Caption 2 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing, right, joined CNN in 1985. He started his career as a radio DJ in Miami in 1957. His late-night radio talk show, “The Larry King Show,” debuted in 1978 and was nationally syndicated.Hide Caption 3 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing in a photo taken in 1989.Hide Caption 4 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing and his wife, Julie, leave the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 1990. At left is ABC News anchorman Peter Jennings.Hide Caption 5 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing has his makeup touched up during a break in his show in 1992. His guest was presidential candidate Ross Perot. Hide Caption 6 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingFirst lady Hillary Clinton shows her wedding ring to King during an episode in 1994.Hide Caption 7 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingActor Marlon Brando plants a kiss on King during an interview at Brando’s home in 1994. They were singing a song together.Hide Caption 8 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing, wearing his trademark suspenders, at his CNN office in 1995.Hide Caption 9 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing is prepped on the set of his show in 1995.Hide Caption 10 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997.Hide Caption 11 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing and his son Chance attend a fundraiser for the Larry King Cardiac Foundation in 2000. Surviving heart problems, including several heart attacks and quintuple bypass surgery in 1987, led King to establish the Larry King Cardiac Foundation to help those without insurance afford medical treatment.Hide Caption 12 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingRussian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with King before appearing on King’s show in 2000.Hide Caption 13 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing interviews Patty Hearst, heiress to the Hearst publishing fortune, in 2001. It was her first interview since President Bill Clinton pardoned her for a bank robbery conviction.Hide Caption 14 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing makes a grand entrance at a benefit for his foundation in 2001.Hide Caption 15 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing gets a little too much powder during a bit at the Emmy Awards in 2002.Hide Caption 16 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing — with his wife, Shawn, and their children Chance and Cannon — signs copies of his mystery novel “Moon Over Manhattan” in 2003.Hide Caption 17 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing throws out the first pitch before a Los Angeles Dodgers game in 2004.Hide Caption 18 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing touches then-real estate developer Donald Trump’s hair during an interview in 2004.Hide Caption 19 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing attends the Democratic National Convention in 2004.Hide Caption 20 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing has his microphone adjusted on the set of his show in 2007.Hide Caption 21 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing interviews media mogul Oprah Winfrey in 2007.Hide Caption 22 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing talks with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 2007 at The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.Hide Caption 23 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing cheers on the Dodgers during a playoff game in 2009.Hide Caption 24 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing poses for a photo with the Dalai Lama during an interview for “Larry King Live” in 2010.Hide Caption 25 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingIn 2010, King announced his decision to retire from his show after 25 years. Here, he looks back at some of his past work: an interview with convicted murderer Karla Faye Tucker.Hide Caption 26 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing interviews former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, in 2010.Hide Caption 27 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing signs autographs at the broadcast of his final CNN show in 2010.Hide Caption 28 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing takes part in a Comedy Central roast of Donald Trump in 2011.Hide Caption 29 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing watches his wife, Shawn, at a red-carpet event in 2014.Hide Caption 30 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing adjusts his tie before speaking at a 2015 Newseum event about his life in broadcasting.Hide Caption 31 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing receives a lifetime achievement award at The Soiree gala in February 2019.Hide Caption 32 of 33
Photos: In pictures: Legendary talk-show host Larry KingKing guest-stars on the TV show “Let’s Be Real” in 2020.Hide Caption 33 of 33
King had panels packed with characters from the Simpson menagerie. I had my own encounter when I got a surprise telephone interview from Simpson a day after his acquittal. As soon as the first edition of The New York Times — with my story at the top — hit the street that night at about 9 p.m. in the East, Larry’s producer was on my phone, asking if I had really talked to O.J.The word “yes” was barely out of my mouth when she said, “You’re on the air!” And there I was, talking to Larry King, my words echoing through the television. That show’s sweep was so vast the next day I had calls from Ireland to Australia to talk about my “scoop.”
I was on with Larry a few other times. It was as billed: Relaxed, direct, a couple of guys from Brooklyn who might as well have been sitting together at the soda fountain sipping egg creams. Did that ever qualify as good television?Well, Larry King was on CNN for 25 years, most of them as the biggest show on cable. The guy knew what he was doing.
Source: edition.cnn.com
