Larry King's Career Highlights: Interviewing Presidents, Kissing Brando, Winning an Emmy
Legendary broadcaster and talk show host Larry King passed away on Saturday at the age of 87. In a career spanning decades, King's unique style won over audiences and saw him create many iconic TV moments.
King hosted Larry King Live, a live call-in show on CNN for 25 years beginning in 1985. His very first interview on the show as with then Governor of New York Mario Cuomo, father of the current governor, Andrew Cuomo.
He went on to interview many of the world's most important political and cultural figures, including several U.S. presidents, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Civil Rights hero Rosa Parks.
In 1994, veteran actor Marlon Brando famously planted a kiss on King when he interviewed The Godfather star at his home in Coldwater Canyon in Los Angeles County, California.
King was celebrated for his years in journalism in 2011 when he won the Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award.
"I was lucky enough to be in a business where I really didn't have to work. It was unbelievable to go in every night and meet people and ask them questions. It was a privilege," an emotional King told the audience at the time.
King was a familiar face in the U.S. political scene. He interviewed then President George H.W. Bush in 1992 and his son, former President George W. Bush in 2006. He moderated a 2000 presidential primary debate featuring Bush and the late Senator John McCain, and he participated in a 2007 Democratic primary debate with future President Barack Obama.
But King didn't shy away from popular culture, either. Brando was only one of the famous names who faced down King's trademark braces. Hollywood royalty Elizabeth Taylor sat down with King in 2003 and showed him a diamond ring given to her by her former husband, the no less iconic actor Richard Burton.
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey, socialite and heiress Paris Hilton and founder of Playboy magazine Hugh Heffner all sat down for interviews with King, while Heffner was joined by his three girlfriends for an appearance on Larry King Live in 2005.
Two of the most memorable interviews of King's career were with Parks, known to history for her role in the 1955-1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement, and his 2006 conversation with Mark Felt. Known as "Deep Throat" and anonymous for decades, Felt's role in revealing the Watergate scandal helped to bring down President Richard Nixon.
King was declared "King of Brooklyn" in 1995 but the borough where he was born and raised won't be the only place mourning the passing of giant of modern journalism known for his unique look and endearing mannerisms.
