Surrounded by some of his favorite guests, Larry King signed off for the last time Thursday night. After 25 years, King hung up his suspenders and ended his iconic interview show, 'Larry King Live.'
Led by friend and protégé Ryan Seacrest, a star-studded collection of guests were on hand (or sent videos) thanking the legend for his years of service to journalism. Regis Philbin, Donald Trump, Phil McGraw, Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Bill Maher and others stopped by the studio while former President Bill Clinton and Anderson Cooper said their special goodbyes via satellite. President Barack Obama sent his regards via pre-taped video.
Near the end of the show, King brought out his wife and two sons and was treated to a special performance by Tony Bennett. The show concluded with the talk show host sharing his final thoughts--and thanking his audience for watching him over the years.
Early last June, CNN celebrated 25 years of 'Larry King Live' with a week of shows whose A-list guests included President Obama, LeBron James, Bill Gates and Lady Gaga.
It was hyped to the hilt and suitably eventful, even as King and Gaga regarded each other with the bemusement of a human encountering an alien life form.
Then, at the end of June, King suddenly announced he was retiring from his show -- a weeknight fixture at 9PM EST since June 1, 1985. He told viewers, "It's time to hang up my nightly suspenders."
After Thursday's edition, King will indeed hang it up, suspenders and all.
The lineup for this farewell hour should be stellar, though no names have been announced. The mood should be spirited and flowing with emotion.
But until now, it's been an oddly subdued leave-taking. The promotion machine at a network can make noise over most anything. Or try. CNN isn't bothering. Having paid King his tribute last June, before he even said he would be stepping down, CNN now is treating him as a lame-duck star, a chapter the network is rushing to move past.
The focus is on Piers Morgan, whom CNN named as the new guy in September. It is busily promoting his January debut. Morgan, a 45-year-old British journalist and TV personality known mainly in the U.S. as a judge on NBC's 'America's Got Talent,' promises that 'Piers Morgan Tonight' will be "exciting and slightly dangerous." He is the future -- or so CNN hopes.
King, who has never been exciting or dangerous (nor tried to be), is clearly seen by CNN as yesterday's news.
Sure, it would be easy to argue that the 77-year-old King waited too long to hang up those suspenders.
Once the leader in cable TV news, he now ranks third in his time slot behind Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity and MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. His show was seen by 700,000 viewers this year, less than half the nightly audience his peak year, 1998, when 'Larry King Live' drew 1.64 million viewers. As recently as 2003, he was averaging 1.54 million.
Wide-eyed and nonconfrontational, King's regular-guy approach to interviewing feels dated in an era of edgy, pushy or loaded questioning by other hosts.
"I ask short questions, I have no pretense at intellectuality, I don't pretend to know it all," King said years ago in explaining his style. "Not, 'What about Geneva or Cuba?' I ask, 'Mr. President, what don't you like about this job?' Or 'What's the biggest mistake you made?' That's fascinating."
Fascinating, until it seems sluggish or toothless or like automatic pilot.
It has become easy for the viewer to lose patience with King's accommodating, hunched-at-his-desk Q-and-A's with his guests.
As recently as last week, he landed Wesley Snipes for an interview just days before the actor began serving a three-year prison sentence for failure to file income tax returns. But the ponderous interlude served mostly as a platform for Snipes to complain about his mistreatment at the hands of the media and the judicial system. King was ill-equipped to cut to the heart of the matter: How Snipes could have gotten himself into such a jam.
King's famous avoidance of over-preparation -- he has always opted to approach each interviewee fresh, unburdened by too many facts -- has begun to catch up with him in recent years. His occasional flubs have made him seem out of touch. Or worse. (A prime example from three years ago found King asking Jerry Seinfeld if he had voluntarily left his sitcom or been canceled by his network, which, as everybody else knows, had been ready to hand him the keys to the treasury to stay. "I was the No. 1 show in television, Larry," replied Seinfeld with a flabbergasted look. "Do you know who I am?")
At its start, 'Larry King Live' was based in Washington, which gave the show an air of gravitas. King, too. He was the plainspoken go-between through whom Beltway bigwigs could reach their public, and they did, earning the show the reputation of a place where things happened, where news was made.
Then in 1997 he moved to Los Angeles, which seemed a nod to show biz over substance -- not to mention a more convenient routine for King. A man who once had hosted a nationwide radio program in the wee hours of the night, now he was done with 'Larry King Live' at 7 p.m. local time.
After Thursday's show, he's flat-out calling it a day. The points of light that form his dotted world-map backdrop will be dark.
The end of 'Larry King Live' is undeniably a cultural milestone, the end of a remarkable run. King, the suspenders-sporting everyman, is a pioneer in cable and a TV institution.
He has estimated that he's conducted 50,000 interviews during his half-century-long broadcasting career. Maybe so. And maybe he should have stopped a couple thousand earlier. But that doesn't mean King (and his nightly suspenders and the safe space he created for his thousands of guests) won't be missed after Thursday, when he's gone.
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Larry King looks like a lizzard..... He's a sicky,old man that makes a lots of money by interviewing people from all over the world. By the way he's from Queens...years ago he went to jail......
The list of luckiest people in the world begins with Larry King. How he managed to have the level of success he's had is beyond explanation. Worst interviewer in history.
Others who should thank God every night for being filthy rich due to luck or being in the right place at the right time include: > Chevy Chase (Hey... I liked Fletch and the Vacation movies too but he really isn't that funny, just a decent character actor.) > Bill Murray (Again... a lot of mileage from Caddyshack where he doesn't play a large role) > Meatloaf (Has anyone gotten more mileage out of one good album?) > Jimmy Buffett (I know.... Parrotheads will have a meltdown but c'mon...... Buffett has 3 good songs and most of the others sound just like 'em) > Bill Gates (Not saying he isn't smart but his purchase of the original Windows program was a stroke of luck not seen since the magic bullet that killed Kennedy) > Kardashian sisters (Proof that being born into the right family trumps talent every time) > Alex Trebek/Pat Sajak/Bob Barker (Do I have to explain?)
If you have others to add to the list, please post. Should be fun! And yes...... maybe I am a little jealous but it still has an air of "truthiness"
I don't blame him for retiring, he's had a good run. I just wish his BFF Barbara Walters would follow suit. I do not find her likeable anymore, just old and cranky!
I have to admit that I hardly ever watched his show, but it is kind of sad that another TV Icon is leaving. I may even watch tonight just for the heck of it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, Mr. King.
The fight was over 10 years ago, but Larry held on. Now O'Reilly's lead in the rstings will expand against what's his name. CNN will still throw softballs, just a new pitcher,
It was always a surprise to see who was on that night. I will miss the show -now there is too much ET and Hollywood gossip garbage about prople no cares about. LK caught eveyone off guard by asking easy questions!!! The Stevie Wonder interview was wonderful.
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Larry King Live,
I never watched his show. It probably was showing late at night and I was sleeping. What was his show like?
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Overland Park Kansas you're on the air.... Snooze fest! Thank goodness! Never watched the show, but I have heard funny bloopers on the Stern show.
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good luck larry. You sure were everyone's friend.
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Larry King looks like a lizzard.....
He's a sicky,old man that makes a lots of money by interviewing people from all over the world.
By the way he's from Queens...years ago he went to jail......
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He's from Brooklyn.
Larry is a sickly old man that looks like a LIZZARD
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Thank God King is finally off the air
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The list of luckiest people in the world begins with Larry King. How he managed to have the level of success he's had is beyond explanation. Worst interviewer in history.
Others who should thank God every night for being filthy rich due to luck or being in the right place at the right time include:
> Chevy Chase (Hey... I liked Fletch and the Vacation movies too but he really isn't that funny, just a decent character actor.)
> Bill Murray (Again... a lot of mileage from Caddyshack where he doesn't play a large role)
> Meatloaf (Has anyone gotten more mileage out of one good album?)
> Jimmy Buffett (I know.... Parrotheads will have a meltdown but c'mon...... Buffett has 3 good songs and most of the others sound just like 'em)
> Bill Gates (Not saying he isn't smart but his purchase of the original Windows program was a stroke of luck not seen since the magic bullet that killed Kennedy)
> Kardashian sisters (Proof that being born into the right family trumps talent every time)
> Alex Trebek/Pat Sajak/Bob Barker (Do I have to explain?)
If you have others to add to the list, please post. Should be fun! And yes...... maybe I am a little jealous but it still has an air of "truthiness"
Reply
THEY ABOVE SAYS IT ALL! GOOD NIGHT!
I don't blame him for retiring, he's had a good run. I just wish his BFF Barbara Walters would follow suit. I do not find her likeable anymore, just old and cranky!
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I have to admit that I hardly ever watched his show, but it is kind of sad that another TV Icon is leaving. I may even watch tonight just for the heck of it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, Mr. King.
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Ill miss him like a tooth ache !!!!!
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thank god!!! another leftest gone!!!!!!!
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Good God, Larry please take ms.walter,behar and leslie stahl with you. dont these people EVER retire? it would really help the unemployment rate!
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The fight was over 10 years ago, but Larry held on. Now O'Reilly's lead in the rstings will expand against what's his name. CNN will still throw softballs, just a new pitcher,
Reply
It was always a surprise to see who was on that night. I will miss the show -now there is too much ET and Hollywood gossip garbage about prople no cares about. LK caught eveyone off guard by asking easy questions!!! The Stevie Wonder interview was wonderful.
Reply
IVE NEVER WATCHED A SINGLE SHOW...HE SUX
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