Sorrow from those who loved talk host
Legendary talk show host Larry King was fondly remembered Saturday by many of the prominent guests who happily answered his questions across the decades.
“RIP Larry King ... one of the only talk show hosts who let you talk,” tweeted actress Kirstie Alley, one of the estimated 50,000 guests who sat for a chat with the Brooklyn-born media veteran during his long run.
King was lauded by an assortment of politicians, fellow talk show hosts and celebrities welcomed to a seat opposite the familiar host during his long and formidable career.
Fellow talk show great Oprah Winfrey and fellow Brooklynite Barbra Streisand sent condolences, while former President Bill Clinton recalled sitting for 20-plus interviews with King.
“He had a great sense of humor and a genuine interest in people,” tweeted Clinton. “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.”
Talk show host Andy Cohen paid homage to King’s style over the legendary interviewer’s decades of querying world leaders and Hollywood royalty with equal aplomb.
“RIP Larry King !!!! ” he tweeted. “I loved the easy breezy format of his CNN show, and his amazing voice.”
Not everyone was as kind. Broadcaster Piers Morgan, who replaced King on CNN in 2011, created a social media storm with a barbed recollection of his predecessor.
“Larry King was a hero of mine 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.’ (He married 8 times so a mother-in-law expert),” tweeted Morgan. “But he was a brilliant broadcaster & masterful TV interviewer.”
The Morgan remarks were an outlier on a day of widespread sadness over King’s demise. “Star Trek” cast member and gay rights activist George Takei offered a thank you for his “countless interviews” with King.
“You understood human triumph and frailty equally well, and that is no easy feat,’ tweeted Takei. ”There was no one else like you, and you shall be missed. Rest with the heavens now.”
Meghan McCain, co-host of “The View” and daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, captured the feeling of loss that came with King’s death at the age of 87.
“The world is far less interesting without you,” she tweeted. “Thank you for absolutely everything.”
NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson fondly recalled his multiple sitdowns for a Q&A with King.
“‘Larry King Live’ changed CNN in the ’80s blending entertainment with news & I loved being on the show,” said the ex-Lakers legend. “Always made the interviews fun, serious, & entertaining!”
Queens-born Gov. Cuomo, whose father, Mario, appeared on King’s first CNN show in 1985, paid homage to his fellow denizen of the outer boroughs.
“Larry King was a Brooklyn boy who became a newsman who interviewed the newsmakers ... [and] informed Americans in a clear and plain way,” he wrote. “New York sends condolences to his family and many friends.”