American Jewish TV presenter, Larry King, passed away at the age of 87 after falling ill in Corona. One of the most successful television interviewers in history, was hospitalized at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, more than a month ago.
“With deep sorrow, Ora Media hereby announces the death of our co – founder, host and friend Larry King who died this morning at the age of 87,” King’s official Twitter page read.
“For 63 years, on television, radio and digital platforms, the thousands of interviews, awards and global acclaim it has received are a testament to his unique talent as a media man,” the statement said. “We would like to send our condolences to his children and family. Details of the date of the funeral and memorial service will be provided later in coordination with his family requesting to respect her privacy,” it read.
King, born in November 1933 to an Orthodox Jewish family in Brooklyn, was at high risk not only because of his advanced age but also his medical record. In 1987 he underwent bypass surgery after suffering a heart attack and over the years has been involved in dealing with heart disease in interviews and books he has published.
Just recently King lost two of his children, Andy who died in late July at the age of 65 from a heart attack and an animal who died three weeks later in August at the age of 52 after battling lung cancer. The two were born to King and his third wife, Aline Akins, whom he married twice during the 1960s.
King is survived by three other sons. Larry Jr., 59, who gave birth to his second wife Annette Kay and whom King only discovered in the ’90s, and two younger sons from his current marriage to his seventh wife Sean Southpic, Chance (21) and Canon (20). The couple filed for divorce in 2010 but returned them and declared peace at home. Last year King again filed for divorce. In addition to his sons, King also left behind nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Since retiring from CNN in the last decade, he has begun presenting the “Larry King Now” interview program on the billion-dollar Carlos Slim pay-per-view service, which is also available on the Hulu streaming service in the United States.