Larry King signs off

 
 
The man behind the microphone has hung up his suspenders.

After a quarter of a century (and more than 6,000 shows), CNN's “Larry King Live” ended its run Thursday night.

“It’s not very often in my life that I’ve been without words,” King, clad in red suspenders and a red-and-white polka-dot tie, said at the close of his show. “I never thought it would last this long or come to this.”

A gathering spot for ambitious politicians and repentant celebrities for 25 years, the cable news network's showpiece in prime time bid adieu with a gaggle of guests, with King protege Ryan Seacrest serving as a veritable ringmaster. Bill Maher and Phil McGraw ("Dr. Phil") joined Seacrest and King in the L.A. studio; others including President Obama, former President Clinton, Katie Couric, Donald Trump, Regis Philbin and Tony Bennett joined in via satellite. 

At the start of the show, Maher cautioned against eulogizing King: "This is the end of a show, not the end of this man.”

While some people have criticized the veteran host’s interview style over the course of his career as too lenient or lacking in preparation, on Thursday night he was king.

As he rested his chin on his hand, his trademark move, each guest lauded his impact on broadcast TV.  Brian Williams, host of “NBC Nightly News,” noted how King’s show was “America’s confessional.” Veteran broadcaster Barbara Walters joked that his departure meant less competition for her. The Rev. Billy Graham, in a letter read by Seacrest, said King’s absence would be “greatly missed in my evening routine.”

There’s no denying King's gift for gab: He's done nearly 50,000 interviews in a broadcasting career that included a stint in radio prior to joining CNN.

But the tech-savvy 77-year-old host announced in late June, via Twitter, that he would end his nightly CNN gig. King is not abandoning the network completely; he will host specials on CNN.

His decision to sign off from his evening duties comes as the network has experienced a steep decline in the ratings this year. CNN for the year to date ranks in third place in prime time, and is a distant No. 2 to Fox News in total-day ratings (1.1 million vs. 435,000 average). Once cable TV’s top-rated program, “Larry King Live” averaged just 700,000 viewers this year.

Despite King's broadcasting legacy, the end of his reign was met without hullabaloo from the channel he spearheaded. The CNN promotion machine, instead, has switched its focus to the future of the network: British talk show host and "America's Got Talent" judge Piers Morgan, who will take over the time slot in January with “Piers Morgan Tonight.”

But King, after all, is a minimalist. In his signature style, he ended things simply: “Instead of goodbye, how about ‘so long’?

Always asking the questions.

-- Yvonne Villarreal
twitter.com/villarrealy

RELATED:

As CNN says goodbye, Larry King's greatest gaffes, goofs and bloopers
On the eve of Larry King exit, CNN tries to paint happy face on record low ratings

 

Photo: Larry King. Credit: CNN

 

Comments

[electric_fish]

an era of softball questions has come to an end.

[B]

Nobody can take this away from him: he had the best show on radio.

[mv]

ok not a big lost , who cares , cnn have lost it .

[Lou Grant]

Those who mock or ridicule Larry King have no idea what it means to be a broadcaster for over 50 years. It takes skill, tenacity, flexibility, and intelligence. And critics who pick out a few of his silly shows or mistaken comments are idiots.....because those moments are a tiny part of thousands of shows. No one will ever have the radio and TV presence that King has had. He is a broadcaster who connects with people. Maybe the last one.

[phoenixandrew]

Larry, we hardly knew ye.

[Verbalocity]

Who cares about Larry King? Both he and CNN are irrelevant now.

[anders ekman]

2 words...WHO CARES!

[anders ekman]

2 words...WHO CARES

[Big_Cadillac]

I think that Larry King is the worst interviewer in history, I can't watch him.

Tell me (Barbra Streisand), were you always politically active, I mean as a child?

What an insipid question, and there are thousands more where that one came from.

[Lila]

I think he did great interviews and I will miss his show.

[anil kumar]

I am an ardent fan.. He doesnt know it. .bUt I have borrowed ideas and profited ,from his shows. without paying him....LOL....I salute HIM....

[mIKE D]

Tech-Savy? Hmmm.. That's being Very Kind :) None the Less.. he brought us TONS of Entertainment... Shall miss his shows.

[Mike]

Wish I would have read this headline 20 year ago. Never understood what anyone saw in his approach to topics.

[Bob Douglass]

Wow, I can't believe the Larry King haters here. This guy invented cable news interviews, not to mention his 50 years in the business. As a kid, I used to go to the Doral Hotel at Mimi Beach and watch him interview people. He's one of the best interviewers in history. Softball questions? Some of them were, some weren't. But you always found out amazing details. Plus, putting people at ease was a brilliant way to get at the harder truths. And oh, I'm sorry, NOBODY does softball interviews on Fox News with fascists? Haters, go watch the paint dry. Larry is a much better man than you'll ever pretend to be. He's a class act and always will be.

[Jay]

Ah, good. So I'm not the only one who never liked his style of interviewing. And now I'm learning that he didn't prepare his interviews. In order to keep this "child like interest" or so? Gee! That's not how journalists should do their work. No wonder questions seemed silly to me. Not preparing an interview, not looking into a persons history before taking some of their time means lack of respect to them. People like to be questioned, yes. But they don't want to be asked the same questions over and over again and they like it when they feel someone has already shown an interest in them by preparing.
Still, 50 years in TV is sth. not many can show.

[Andrew in Maplewood NJ]

Better late than never..folks seem to forget that as King as aged, he got lazy and less and less prepared for interviews, allowing his staff to do spotty research and just pile the questions on his desk...there is no journalism here...jus suspenders and bad hair dye

[yehudi]

Thanks Larry King for all the work you did for these 25 years. I've enjoyed many of your interviews. You'll be missed for many positive reasons. Best of wishes for you in your other endeavors, and to your family also.

[Dave M]

Thank you Larry King for putting the camera on the high life and low life's of modern America. Now it is time to cash in with a book of what you really think!

[F. Drebin]

About the replacement. A British talk show host? What is it with all the British and Aussies taking over the airwaves. Their accents are horrid. I happened on skating with the stars and that guy was horrible. Does the US not have any competent people for TV??

[waskoma]

Never watched his show....isnt he married to some 20 year old?