14 DAY TRIAL // After 25 years hosting the incredibly popular nighttime CNN show Larry King Live, Larry King has decided it’s about time he hung up his suspenders and call it a day – or a night, more like it. The talk show host made the announcement before he began his regular show, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family, his wife and his children. He would remain a part of the CNN family, he insisted.
Rumors of Larry King thinking of stepping down as host of the show first started to circulate a couple of weeks ago, when the media somehow got wind of how Piers Morgan was in negotiations with the network for the job. At the time, it was said Morgan had been offered no less than £5 million to take up King’s position on the show, and that he was already making plans of relocating to the US and have his business in the UK concluded by that time.
CNN later rubbished these reports, saying Larry King wasn’t going anywhere but, as it turns out, he’ll soon step down from the show. “I want to share some personal news with you. 25 years ago, I sat across this table from New York Governor Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast of Larry King Live. Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end Larry King Live, the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games,” King said on the show and also in a written statement that was sent out to the media.
“I’m incredibly proud that we recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot. With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders,” he added. “He will end his run with Larry King Live on his own terms, sometime this fall. Larry is a beloved member of the CNN family and will continue to contribute to our air with periodic specials,” Jon Klein, president of CNNUS, says by means of confirmation of King’s retirement plans.
In the video below, Larry King also talks of remaining with the network for future projects, though he doesn’t say which these are in detail. However, since his departure is literally around the corner, more on this is bound to emerge soon, so make sure you keep an eye on this space.