American TV personality, Larry King has died at the age of 87. No cause of death has yet been revealed, though King was hospitalised with COVID-19 at the start of the month.
The news of his death was revealed on via his official Twitter account by his representatives, Ora Media, on Saturday January 23. No official cause of death has yet been announced.
“With profound sadness, Ora Media announces the death of our co-founder, host, and friend Larry King, who passed away this morning at age 87 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,” King’s official Twitter announced on Saturday morning.
“For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry’s many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster. Additionally, while it was his name appearing in the shows’ titles, Larry always viewed his interview subjects as the true stars of his programs, and himself as merely an unbiased conduit between the guest and audience. Whether he was interviewing a U.S. president, foreign leader, celebrity, scandal-ridden personage, or an everyman, Larry liked to ask short, direct, and uncomplicated questions. He believed concise questions usually provided the best answers, and he was not wrong in that belief.”
No cause of death was provided, but King’s death came weeks after it was revealed that the 87-year-old television/radio host and paid spokesman, was battling coronavirus.
Over the years, King has battled other health problems including prostate cancer and type-two diabetes. In 1987, he suffered a heart attack that required quintuple-bypass surgery, and in 2017 he underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor in his lung.
In August 2020, two of his adult children – son Andy and daughter Chaia – died within weeks of each other.
The Brooklyn-born began his career in the late 1950s as a newspaper journalist and Miami DJ before expanding his radio repertoire to celebrity interviews and sporting event commentary. In 1978, King launched his nationwide Larry King Show broadcast, which he continued to host even after his Larry King Live television show began airing on CNN in 1985.
He interviewed several celebrities, politicians, conspiracy theorists, psychics, and other newsmakers on his CNN show which aired nightly from June 1985 to December 2010.He was recognized with awards including two Peabodys, an Emmy award, and 10 Cable ACE Awards.
Larry King was married to seven different women and divorced eight times. (He married one of his ex-wives twice.) His three surviving children are: Larry Jr., in his late 50s, Chance, 21, and Cannon, 20.
