I can't say I was an avid watcher of Larry King Live. I think I watched it more out of boredom or just for unintentional laughs more than anything else. Sometimes he had interesting enough guests to get past his slipshod interviewing style. You have to tip your hat to someone for staying on the air for 25 years hosting the same show in the same time slot (something he is in the Guiness Book Or World Records for). All those caveats sort of diminish it a tad but still. That's a long, long time. In this day and age of plastic surgery and obsession with looks, this was a crotchedy-looking, embarrassing unhip man who, how can I put this diplomatically, wasn't really blessed with an especially handsome mug. Couple that with his gruff, impatient interviewing style, his lack of preparation, and his seeming indifference to actually listening to the answer to the question he just asked as he would often interrupt his guest to ask a completely unrelated question, and its a wonder it lasted so long. But he became an institution, scoring huge guests and pulling in great ratings for many years. I think that is because even with the way the guy looked and the style he had (or didn't have, haha) he still seemed genuine, open-minded and kind. The times, they are a changin' and Larry, at 77, knew it was time to move on... or at least was told it was time to move on. Tonight was his last show. Happy trails, Larry.
I can't say I was an avid watcher of Larry King Live. I think I watched it more out of boredom or just for unintentional laughs more than anything else. Sometimes he had interesting enough guests to get past his slipshod interviewing style. You have to tip your hat to someone for staying on the air for 25 years hosting the same show in the same time slot (something he is in the Guiness Book Or World Records for). All those caveats sort of diminish it a tad but still. That's a long, long time. In this day and age of plastic surgery and obsession with looks, this was a crotchedy-looking, embarrassing unhip man who, how can I put this diplomatically, wasn't really blessed with an especially handsome mug. Couple that with his gruff, impatient interviewing style, his lack of preparation, and his seeming indifference to actually listening to the answer to the question he just asked as he would often interrupt his guest to ask a completely unrelated question, and its a wonder it lasted so long. But he became an institution, scoring huge guests and pulling in great ratings for many years. I think that is because even with the way the guy looked and the style he had (or didn't have, haha) he still seemed genuine, open-minded and kind. The times, they are a changin' and Larry, at 77, knew it was time to move on... or at least was told it was time to move on. Tonight was his last show. Happy trails, Larry.
