Jewish Ledger
Larry King, legendary Jewish TV interviewer, dies at 87
By Ron Kampeas
(JTA) — Larry King, the iconic Jewish radio and TV interviewer who never met a subject he didn’t seem to like, died Saturday, Jan. 23 in Los Angeles. He was 87. Though the cause was not cited, King had been hospitalized recently with the coronavirus.
King often recalled — sometimes with elaborate embellishment — his roots as a poor Jewish kid in Brooklyn, where he was born Lawrence Zeiger. One of his first broadcast employers, in Miami, had him change his name to King, saying Zeiger sounded too ethnic.
King, whose most famous talk show aired on CNN from 1985-2010, was known for his genial interviews. He would ask an open-ended question and let his respondents answer at length. He was an affable presence — no jacket, always in suspenders, dress shirt sleeves rolled up, leaning forward. His guests, perhaps not consciously, were drawn into the ambience and also leaned forward.