LOS ANGELES – Larry King, a renowned US televangelist who rose to fame for interviewing key political figures and celebrities, has died at the age of 87 in Los Angeles.
Ora Media, a firm he co-founded, confirmed his death in a statement shared on Larry’s Twitter handle.
The celebrated talk show host died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles while the cause of death was not mentioned in the statement.
However, US media reports claim he lost life’s battle to coronavirus. He had faced multiple health complications in recent years, including heart attacks.
— Larry King (@kingsthings) January 23, 2021
The deceased television host was married eight times to seven women and had five children. Two of them died last year within weeks of each other – daughter Chaia died from lung cancer and son Andy of a heart attack, BBC reported.
“For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry’s many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster,” Ora Media said in a statement.
King had interviewed every US president from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama. He had also conducted interviews of Dr Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Lady Gaga and other famous personalities.
Born in 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, Larry King shot to fame in the 1970s with his radio programme The Larry King Show.
In 1985 he launched Larry King Live on CNN.
