LARRY KING

On January 30, 1978, Larry King began a nightly midnight-to-dawn program in 28 cities over the Mutual Broadcasting System. The show helped launch a remarkable career.

By the 1980s, The Larry King Show was being carried by more than 250 affiliates, claiming a weekly audience of between 3 and 5 million.

Born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger on November 19, 1933, in Brooklyn, NY, Larry would spend many boyhood hours listening to Walter Winchell, Bob & Ray, and his hero, Arthur Godfrey.

At age 23, Larry got his first job, sweeping floors at WAHR/Miami. When one of the station’s disc jockeys suddenly quit, Larry got his big break by replacing him on May 1, 1957, and he changed his name to King at that time.

In 1958, he joined WKAT/Miami in the morning drive-time slot. Soon he was hired by Pumpernik’s Restaurant to host a four-hour remote broadcast. It was the turning point in his career.

In 1962, King moved to WIOD/Miami, began hosting a local television program and started writing a regular newspaper column. Personal setbacks during the mid-70s sent his career downward. But King was able to survive until 1985, when he joined CNN.

Larry King was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1989.

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