R.I.P. broadcasting legend Larry King

Larry King, the broadcasting luminary who had established his legacy through a number of radio and TV talk shows over the course of over 50 years, has died. Per CNN, Ora Media—the production company that King co-founded—announced his death with an official statement on Facebook. “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,” it reads. “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.” King was recently hospitalized with COVID-19 for over a week; however, an official cause of death has not been released. He was 87.
Brooklyn-born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger began his news and broadcasting career in Miami, Florida, where he landed his first job in radio. At first, he was hired to clean and perform miscellaneous tasks. When one the the station’s announcers unexpectedly quit, King was tapped on the spot to replace him, which led to his first broadcast in 1957. When it was clear that he had every intention of remaining on the air, Zeiger was urged to change his last name, which was deemed “too difficult” to resonate at the time. Just before returning to the airwaves, the burgeoning host landed on the surname King—a name inspired by a Miami Herald advertisement for King’s Wholesale Liquor. He legally changed his name to Larry King to years later.
As he began to establish himself as a local personality, King started to conduct interviews. His first celebrity interview was with singer Bobby Darin, who was in town for a show and was familiar with King’s work. He would continue to expand his professional portfolio with work in sports commentary and late-night radio hosting. In 1978, he got his first national radio gig with Mutual Broadcasting System, which gave him a nightly show that was first helmed by Herb Jepko. As is the case with his early foray into broadcasting, King quickly gained a devoted following that grew attached to his affable style of questioning and straightforward insight. After gaining a certain level of prominence, he was given his own show—Larry King Live—by CNN in 1985.