Larry King, the monumental American television and radio host, died over the weekend at the age of 87.
On Sunday morning, his family released a statement notifying his millions of fans across the globe that he had passed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after receiving treatment for coronavirus.
The tragic news was announced on Larry’s official Twitter page.
King was hospitalised shortly before Christmas after he tested positive for coronavirus.
He also suffered from Type 2 diabetes, lung cancer, angina and heart attacks in recent years.
A statement from his representatives said: “With profound sadness Ora Media announces the death of our co-founder, host and friend Larry King, who passed away this morning at age 87 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
“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.
“Additionally while it was his name appearing in the shows’ titles, Larry always viewed his interview subjects as the true stars of his programs, and himself as merely an unbiased conduit between the guest and audience.”
King’s last post on social media was from October 27, mere months before he was hospitalised with COVID-19.
In a photo with his two sons Chance and Cannon, taken the night the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team won the World Series, King wrote: “It’s a good night.”
The beloved TV host was known to be a family man, an avid lover of music and a loyal fan to his hometown team. His biography read: “Fan of Dodgers, suspenders and Frank Sinatra!”
King was married eight times and had five children and was last pictured with his two sons on social media before his health began to seriously suffer.
He passed away after four weeks of treatment for COVID-19.
King was born in New York and started his career as a local journalist in Florida in the 1950s.
He went on to gain worldwide notoriety when The Larry King Show launched in 1978.
He went on to gain global success again when he hosted Larry King Live on CNN from 1985 to 2010.
There was no limit to who King interviewed – he has sat with political leaders, to iconic starlets and actors from the golden age of Hollywood.
Among the celebrities he interviewed over the years were Donald Trump, Marlon Brando, Snoop Dogg, Liza Minnelli, Jerry Seinfeld, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra and Sir Paul McCartney.
The statement announcing his death ended with: “Whether he was interviewing a US president, foreign leader, celebrity, scandal-ridden personage, or an everyman, Larry liked to ask short, direct, and uncomplicated questions.
“Larry’s interviews from his 25-year run on CNN’s ‘Larry King Live,’ and his Ora Media programs ‘Larry King Now,’ and ‘Politicking with Larry King’ are consistently referenced by media outlets around the world and remain part of the historical record of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.”
This article originally appeared on Over60.