Larry King biography

By the late 1970s, the incident had blown over, and he was able to return to Miami broadcasting. He was rehired by WIOD in 1978, starting a nightly coast-to-coast talk show, The Larry King Show, on the Mutual Radio Network. The show featured guest interviews and call-ins from the listening audience, and became very successful, growing to over 500 affiliate satiations. This work caught the attention of media mogul Ted Turner,

who hired King to host his own talk show on the then-fledgling Cable News Network in 1985.

Larry King Live became the first international TV call-in show. Over the course of the next 25 years, King developed a loyal audience who tuned in to watch the talk show host interview presidents, athletes, actors, national heroes, foreign dignitaries and obscure individuals who were thrust into the limelight. The show soon became the highest-rated talk show on air, and a requisite stopover for celebrities plugging any project. King's direct, non-confrontational interview style has proven to be a hit with audiences and guests alike. As a testament to its influence, Ross Perot chose to announce his 1992 presidential bid on Larry King Live. In addition, King has also used his show as a portal for other fundraising events, including the support of disaster relief in New Orleans and Haiti.

In June 2010, King announced he'd be ending his reign as host of the CNN talk show after 25 years. In September the same year, CNN named British media personality, Piers Morgan, as King's successor.

Outside his career at talk show host, King has appeared as himself in several movies and television shows. He's also done voice work in such animated films as Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Bee Movie (2007). He's also written several books on heart disease after he suffered a heart attack in 1987. King's autobiography, My Remarkable Journey, was published in 2009.

Larry King also became well known for his repeat trips to the altar, marrying a total of eight times—twice to the same woman. King has been in and out of marriages most of his adult life, beginning with his marriage to his high-school sweetheart Freda Miller when he was 19. During his subsequent seven marriages he has fathered four children. In 1997, King married his seventh wife, Shawn Southwick, a former singer and television host, in King's Los Angeles hospital room three days before he underwent heart surgery. Southwick is 26 years King's junior. The couple has two children together, Chance and Cannon. Southwick has a son, Danny, from her former marriage. The couple announced their separation, and impending divorce, on April 14, 2010. The couple has since stopped proceedings, however, claiming they did so for the sake of the children.

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