LOS ANGELES—On Saturday January 23, longtime CNN host Larry King passed away at the age of 87 years old.
King hosted the CNN series “Larry King Live” for 25 years. The host sat down for 6,000 episodes with 30,000 interviews. Interviews included former Presidents Gerald Ford to President Barack Obama to every day individuals. He retired back in 2010.
Chance King, King’s son confirmed to the public of the journalist passing on Saturday via Facebook.
“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. 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,” the statement read.
No exact cause of King’s death has been disclosed to the public at this time. He surrendered from several heart attacks over the years, had several underlying health conditions. Recently, King was admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 in December 2020, stated a source close to the family.
In 1987, King underwent quintuple bypass surgery, at which inspired him to create the Larry King Cardiac Foundation. The foundation was a resource to help those without insurance.
In 2017, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent surgery to treat it. Couple years later 2019, underwent another procedure to address his angina.
“The world knew Larry King as a great broadcaster and interviewer, but to us he was ‘Dad.’ He was the man who lovingly obsessed over our daily schedules and our well-being, and who took such immense pride in our accomplishments — large, small, or imagined,” reads an official statement from King’s sons. “Through it all, we knew without a doubt in the world that he loved us more than life itself. He was an amazing father, and he was fiercely loyal to those lucky enough to call him a friend. We will miss him every single day of our lives.”
His sons have asked all flower donations be made to the American Heart Association or the Beverly Hills Fire Department EMS.
CNN founder Ted Turner said in a statement about King’s death, “[it] felt like a punch to the gut. Larry was one of my closest and dearest friends and, in my opinion, the world’s greatest broadcast journalist of all time. If anyone asked me what are my greatest career achievements in life, one is the creation of CNN, and the other is hiring Larry King. Like so many who worked with and knew Larry, he was a consummate professional, an amazing mentor to many and a good friend to all. The world has lost a true legend.”
King’s journalist background and distinct style in print was featured in his column in USA Today, which ran for 20 years until 2001.
