In the wake of Larry King’s death on Saturday, CNN talent and execs took to social media to pay tribute to the self-made man from Brooklyn who spent six decades proudly winging it as an interviewer on the radio and as the host of his own nightly talk show on CNN.
King died Saturday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to a statement posted to his social media accounts. A cause of death was not specified, though King was hospitalized with COVID-19 earlier this month.
The television icon hosted Larry King Live on CNN from June 1, 1985, until Dec. 18, 2010, earning a listing in the Guinness Book of Records as having the longest-running show with the same host in the same time slot.
CNN went live with the news shortly after 8 a.m. ET, as New Day Weekend turned toward remembering one of their own.
CNN president Jeff Zucker released a statement on the passing of King. “We mourn the passing of our colleague Larry King. The scrappy young man from Brooklyn had a history-making career spanning radio and television,” the statement reads. “His curiosity about the world propelled his award-winning career in broadcasting, but it was his generosity of spirit that drew the world to him. We are so proud of the 25 years he spent with CNN, where his newsmaker interviews truly put the network on the international stage. From our CNN family to Larry’s, we send our thoughts and prayers, and a promise to carry on his curiosity for the world in our work.”
Ted Turner, CNN founder, also shared a tribute to King. “Waking up to the news of the passing of Larry King 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.”
CNN’s chief domestic affairs correspondent Jim Acosta shared Saturday morning on Twitter that the “broadcasting legend and longtime CNN host” had died. “He will be missed by so many CNN employees past and present.”
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter