As CNN says goodbye, Larry King's greatest gaffes, goofs and bloopers

With Larry King set on Thursday night to leave CNN's "Larry King Live" after 25 years behind the microphone, we can't help reminiscing about the interviewer's moments of greatness. Or at least moments of great confusion. What follows is a sampling of the host's memorable goofs and gaffes: 

1. Marlon Brando: "You can't see my feet, can you?"

During this classic 1994 encounter, King gets punked by one of the world's great actors, as Brando needles King about sweating too much ("Give this guy a Kleenex") and his wardrobe ("I wore some red suspenders in your honor").  As King attempts to ask him if he regretted taking any roles, Brando suddenly interrupts: "You can't see my feet, can you? I forgot to put my shoes on." Their memorable interaction was subsequently spoofed in a "Saturday Night Live" skit that had King applying massage oil to Brando's feet. WEIRDNESS FACTOR: 10 out of 10

 

2. Paul McCartney: "George? This is Ringo!"

In 2007, King sat down with the surviving Beatles and asked them about their reactions to the deaths of their two bandmates. After McCartney described where he was when he heard the news that John Lennon had been shot, King turned to the world's most famous drummer, seated to McCartney's left, and said: "George, where were you?" "George?" a surprised McCartney said, as Ringo Starr broke into an embarrassed smile. "This is Ringo!" When King attempted to recover, McCartney persisted: "He got your name wrong; we're on national television!" Former Beatle George Harrison died in 2001. WEIRDNESS FACTOR: 4 out of 10

 

3. Jerry Seinfeld: "Do you know who I am?"

Another classic from 2007, as King tries to nail down, as no one had previously suggested, that "Seinfeld" — one of the biggest comedy hits in TV history — may have been axed by the bosses at NBC. "You're not aware of this?" an astonished Jerry Seinfeld says. "No, I'm asking," King replies. "You think I got canceled?" Seinfeld asks. "Are you under the impression I got canceled?" An exasperated Seinfeld finally barks: "Do you know who I am?" King, mystifying to the end, says: "Jewish guy, Brooklyn?" WEIRDNESS FACTOR: 8 out of 10 

 

4.Jake Brown: "The board's one of the main things."

At the 2007 X Games, skateboarder Jake Brown careered up a ramp, flipped off the board and then, legs kicking, fell 40 feet to a horrifying crash — and walked away. Almost as impressive was his recovery when King queried him about the sport and wondered: "How important is the board?" Brown: "The board's one of the main things." Maybe not the main thing, mind you, but right up there. If you're not interested in King showing off his extensive research on the subject of competitive skateboarding, just skip to about 3:55 in the video. WEIRDNESS FACTOR: 5 out of 10

 

— Scott Collins (Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT)

Photo: Larry King leaves his CNN talk show Thursday. Credit: Rose M. Prouser/Associated Press.

Comments

[Ridunculous]

How ridiculous is it that this man who is known for flubbing interviews, not doing his research and for his numerous gaffes commands the respect he does? Any idiot could do his job the way he does it. He is an embarrassment to journalism.

[elizabeth schumann]

Hear hear!!!

[August West]

How could is it possible not to include, "Roman didn't murder my sister!"

What a maroon.

[SmartAssProducts.com]

One of the goofs I remember most wasn't FROM Larry King, but TO him. David Lee Roth was on [as I recall, via satellite], and he kept calling Larry, Charlie. I remember him saying at one point, "frankly, Charlie..." Still cracks me up, even though I felt sorry for Larry at the time. Talk about being unprepared!

[Uncle Dean]

I can't believe that this incompetant, talentless hack is getting all the kudos concerning his "career." For that matter, I can't believe that this uninspired clown lasted as long as he did at CNN.

[Valerie]

Larry King reminds me of my uncle. The resemblance is uncanny. And I LOATHE my uncle.

[Ian Jackson]

OK, Larry King blundered many times but come on, the Seinfeld interview wasn't one of them. It was quite apparent that he knew Seinfeld hadn't been cancelled, he was simply bringing out to the viewers the fact that Seinfeld himself pulled the plug. " You cancelled them", was the last thing King said before Seinfeld jumped up on his high horse. In other words King had asked a rhetorical question which Seinfeld completely misinterpreted.