Larry King
From Philosopedia
King, Larry (Larry Zeiger) (19 Nov 1933 - )
King is one of the best known of American radio and television personalities. He is the Brooklyn-born son of a bar owner who died when Larry was nine, forcing his mother to go on welfare. He barely passed high school, earning one point more than was required to avoid flunking. After working as a United Parcel Service man, he got his first break as a disc jockey on a Miami station, debuting his first program on Miami television in 1960.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, he wrote a newspaper column. In 1971, using funds entrusted to him to investigate the Kennedy assassination, King got into deep trouble, was arrested for theft, and journalists reported that he had squandered the money on gambling debts, cars, and expensive restaurant tabs. He worked to overcome the bad reputation, and by 1978 his Larry King Show succeeded in becoming the first national call-in show.
Billionaire Ross Perot chose in 1992 to announce his candidacy for President of the United States on King’s show. In 1993 Vice President Al Gore debated Perot concerning a controversial North American Free Trade Agreement, and in 1996 the national candidates chose King’s program to air their views.
In 2001, his 44th year, he had interviewed more than 30,000 people and was one of the highest paid individuals on television. In 1992 he was named to the Emerson Hall of Fame of the Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
He has suffered a number of life-threatening heart attacks and chairs the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, which gives grants to individuals with heart disease.
In Powerful Prayers, he ironically makes reference to his agnosticism toward the idea of God and the efficacy of prayer.
On the air, King has stated that he is a non-theist, that during one of his heart attacks there was no bright light at the end of the tunnel “or anything like that.” In a 16 May 2006 program, entertainer Marie Osmond asked, "Do you ever question your faith?" Replied King, "I'm an agnostic. I question all faiths."
