The rumors had been swirling, but Larry King made it official Tuesday evening – he will retire from his daily CNN show this fall. The 76-year-old talk show veteran opened “Larry King Live!” with a statement that was also posted on his website.
“Before I start the show tonight, I want to share some personal news with you. 25 years ago, I sat across this table from New York Governor Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast of Larry King Live.
Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end Larry King Live, the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games.
I’ll still be a part of the CNN family, hosting several Larry King specials on major national and international subjects.
I’m incredibly proud that we recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot. With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders.”
Now the rumors will being swirling about who will replace King.
RBR-TVBR observation: No doubt the very last “Larry King Live!” will be quite an event. We wonder who the guests will be. RBR-TVBR Executive Editor Jack Messmer recalls attending the last Larry King radio show, when he decided to devote full-time to TV, and thus got to meet Tiny Tim (among others). But seriously, Larry gave credibility to CNN in primetime when it was still very new and no matter how much we joke about his softball questions, he was and is a broadcasting institution.
