JOIN USLarry ends CNN stint with nostalgia, family
“Good evening and welcome to the last ‘Larry King Live’,” the 77-year-old broadcast icon said at the outset of his hour-long swan song. “It is hard to say that. I knew this day was coming. These words are not easy to say.”
With comedian Bill Maher and “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest sitting across from him providing comic relief, King played the straight man professing to be surprised as the tributes rolled in.
In a pre-taped segment, President Barack Obama called King “one of the giants of broadcasting”.
King announced his retirement in June, saying he wanted to spend more time with his seventh wife, Shawn, and their two young sons.
Besides returning to CNN for the occasional special, King has revealed aspirations to enter the bagel and standup comedy arenas. Sporting bold red suspenders, he vowed to keep wearing his trademark accoutrements in his retirement.
“Larry King Live” was an obligatory stop for politicians, moguls and celebrities since it launched when CNN was barely five years old.
Movie stars and rock stars on the promotional trail could be assured of a platform to hawk their wares without having to fend off any probing questions. King proudly claimed that he never prepared for interviews, and it showed in 2007 when he managed to rankle unflappable comedian Jerry Seinfeld by suggesting that his top-rated sitcom had been cancelled. On another occasion, he mistook former Beatle Ringo Starr for his late bandmate George Harrison.
Still, King appears to be beloved by his news media peers.
“We are your groupies, your proteges, your Pips—as Gladys would say,” said ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, referring to the soul combo Gladys Knight and Pips.
She was joined at a New York-based tribute by Barbara Walters—whom King cut off mid-sentence—and her rivals at NBC and CBS. Other guests included TV personality Regis Philbin, real estate investor Donald Trump, and former President Bill Clinton.
Perhaps the most intriguing guests were the show’s last ones: King’s wife and their sons, Chance, 11, and Cannon, 10.
As the hour wound down, King sat alone in the studio. Staring into the camera, he struggled to hold back tears as he signed off with: “Instead of ‘goodbye’, how about ‘so long’?”
The studio went dark and a light shone on the trademark prop microphone that separated him from some of the most intriguing people of the times.