On Thursday Dec. 16, Larry King ended his record-setting show, Larry King Live, with all the suspenders and stars that we have come to expect of the “broadcasting giant” (Obama’s words, not ours). (via Tuned In)
“Welcome to the last Larry King Live. It’s hard to say that,” were King’s opening words and he was joined for the last time on his prime-time spot, which has run for a quarter of a century, by comedian Bill Maher and television host Ryan Seacrest on the set. King and guests tried to maintain an upbeat show but with tributes flooding in from President Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tony Bennett, it was hard to shy away from the fact that the show marked the end of an era. Maher picked up on the turn and announced, “This is not Larry’s funeral. Larry is hopefully going to be in our living rooms for years to come. This is the end of a show, not the end of a man.”
(See clips of the Top 10 Larry King Moments.)
The show was full of surprises, including comic Fred Armisen dressing up as King and interviewing him in his own style. Armisen asked King, “Now Larry, what has been my favorite interview?”, to which King replied, “You know you’ve done so many, it’s hard to pick one out,” which is true of the 50,000 interviews over 6,120 shows over 25 years behind the microphone with CNN. Joining talk show host Barbara Walters in New York the news anchors Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, and Brian Williams expressed their gratitude and tributes to King by naming themselves his protégés and presented him with a new pair of custom suspenders, which other than his broadcasting career, interview style and show is what King is most recognized for.
Other highlights included Schwarzenegger unofficially proclaiming Thursday “Larry King Day”, Former president Bill Clinton comparing King to himself and King’s 10 year old son, Cannon, almost stealing the show with an impression of his dad. It all amounted to an emotional farewell and actually, one heck of a good show.