How newsmakers and news hosts are remembering Larry King

Celebrities, news anchors and politicians were among the many people remembering Larry King, the host of the CNN program “Larry King Live,” who died on Saturday at 87.

“Larry King was a giant of broadcasting and a master of the TV celebrity/statesman-woman interview,” Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, tweeted.

“His name is synonymous with CNN and he was vital to the network’s ascent,” she said. “EVERYONE wanted to be on Larry King Live.”

Oprah Winfrey said: “It was always a treat to sit at your table. And hear your stories. Thank you Larry King.”

Wolf Blitzer, host of “The Situation Room” on CNN, called King “an amazing interviewer and a mentor to so many of us.”

Read: Iconic TV and radio interviewer Larry King passes away

Television host Ryan Seacrest said he had “lost a dear friend and mentor. Truly an American treasure.”

“He taught me so much,” former CBS late-night host Craig Ferguson said.

“He was a true mensch,” Ferguson added. “He probably even taught me that word.”

“Larry King touched my life in a big way,” tweeted Bill Maher, the host of HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher.” “Dozens of times he gave me the whole hour on his CNN show when that show ruled smart TV.”

Jimmy Kimmel, host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” said, “When I was a young morning DJ, I listened to Larry King’s overnight radio show every night on my way to work.”

Ted Turner, founder of CNN, said that “the world has lost a true broadcasting legend.”

From 1985 to 2010, King anchored “Larry King Live,” CNN’s highest-rated and longest-running program. He interviewed a disparate range of subjects, from President Richard M. Nixon to royalty to “experts” on UFOs and paranormal phenomena.

He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. A statement from his company, Ora Media, did not specify a cause of death, but King had recently been treated for COVID-19. In 2019, he was hospitalized for chest pains and he said he had also suffered a stroke.

A tweet from television host Piers Morgan raised eyebrows on Saturday. “Larry King was a hero of mine,” he wrote, “until we fell out after I replaced him at CNN & he said my show was ‘like watching your mother-in-law go over a cliff in your new Bentley.’”

But, Morgan continued, “he was a brilliant broadcaster & masterful TV interviewer.”

Former President Bill Clinton said he enjoyed his “20+ interviews” with King, adding, “He gave a direct line to the American people and worked hard to get the truth for them, with questions that were direct but fair.”

Former Vice President Al Gore said King had a “talent for putting his guests at ease while getting answers to the most important questions of interest to the millions who tuned in each night.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York honoured King as “a Brooklyn boy,” tweeting that “New York sends condolences to his family and many friends.”

Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, hailed King as a broadcast pioneer.

“I always loved doing his TV shows and occasionally he would ask me to guest host while he was on vacation,” Gingrich tweeted, noting that an episode featuring animals from the Columbus Zoo was among his favourites.

Celine Dion said King “made all of us feel as though we were speaking with a lifelong friend. There will never be anyone like him, and he will be missed by many.”

Basketball star Magic Johnson said he had known King since arriving in Los Angeles 42 years ago.

“Larry King Live” changed CNN in the 1980s, with its blend of entertainment and news, he said. “I loved being on the show,” he said. “Larry was one of the best interviewers on TV.”

Greta Van Susteren, host of “Full Court Press,” tweeted that a New York Times news alert referring to King’s interviews with “presidents, psychics, movie stars and swindlers” showed “he had so much breadth.”

“Unlike some who can only interview one type of guest (e.g., politicians),” she said, “Larry could interview ANYONE and he did and he interviewed EVERYBODY.”