Skip to main content

Five Fantastic 'Larry King Live' Interviews

"Larry King Live" signs off Thursday after 25 years on CNN and more captivating moments than we can count. In recognition, here are five of the best of Larry: solid political interviews, bizarre celebrity disclosures, and lots of reminders that the last word in the show's title is "Live." Thanks for the memories, Mr. King. Especially the awkward memories.

1. Marlon Brando: Kiss the King
King visits Marlon Brando in his Beverly Hills home for an interview that goes off the rails in wonderful ways. As King tries to pin Brando down on his greatest roles, they're interrupted by Brando's 180-pound dog, Tim. It almost seems like Brando has scheduled the unleashing of the hound to avoid talking about his career. "How heavy is Tim?" King asks, changing subjects. "We'll be right back with Marlon and Tim." The interview ends with a song and a kiss.

2. Jerry Seinfeld: "Do you know who I am?"
Seinfeld is stunned when King can't quite remember whether his hit series went out on top… or was cancelled. "I was the No. 1 show on television, Larry. Do you know who I am? Seventy-five million viewers, last episode. There's a big difference between being cancelled and being No. 1."
3. Ross Perot and Al Gore: NAFTA
Perot and the then-Vice President discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement in a single-issue 1993 debate that's informative, thoughtful, and engrossing. The folksy aphorisms fly. "Could I finish?"
4. Carrie Prejean: "Inappropriate King Live continues."
Former Miss California Carrie Prejean takes off her mic and threatens to leave the show because King asks her about a confidential settlement. Or because he goes to a caller, who happens to want to ask about gay marriage. It's never very clear, but gosh is it uncomfortable.

5. Lady Gaga: "Should I call you Larry or should I call you King Larry?"
King and Lady Gaga form a weirdly great rapport that feels based on mutual awkwardness. "Should I call you Larry or should I call you King Larry?" she asks at the top of their talk. Later, she gives a surprisingly detailed answer to the question, "Do you have lupus?" Call him King Larry.

Bonus: Larry on Larry
King talks to Anderson Cooper about some of the most famous people he’s interviewed, from Barack Obama to Frank Sinatra. Hilary Clinton: "Smart as a whip. Funny. It should come across more. Great sense of humor." Obama: "Impossible not to like. You can disagree with him, not like his policies, even think he's a socialist. You can not not like him." Sinatra: "Every essence of what you want in a good interview." Richard Nixon: "Haunting, doubting, brilliant, nervous, and extremely fearful of 'What do you want?'"
More from The Wrap:

Read More TV Coverage From The Wrap

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

China Gas Truck Explosion

BEIJING: At least 20 people were killed and 14 others injured on Friday in an explosion caused by a leak of an oil tank truck in south China s Guangdong province.'The explosion, which sparked a massive fire, took place on an expressway in the provincial capital of Guangzhou around 5.15am local time, a spokesman with the city s public security bureau said.He said 20 people were killed in the explosion.State-run Xinhua news agency reported that the 14 others who were injured in the incident have been hospitalised.The fire caused by the blast was brought under control around 8.30am local time, according to firefighters.

Washing Machine Accident

An Oregon family is devastated after a tragic accident took the life of their toddler. Tiffany Hebb was doing laundry, while her 21-month-old Ollie kept her company. When she left the room briefly, he crawled into the washing machine and drowned. A frantic Hebb found her son minutes later trapped in the water-filled basin and tried desperately to resuscitate him. After suffering severe brain damage, he died the following day in the hospital. "It was the worst day of my life," the grieving mother told a local Fox affiliate through tears. Now Tiffany and her husband Chris are on a mission to educate parents about the dangers of the seemingly innocuous household appliance. "I want to make mothers and fathers aware that it's a possibility," she said. Read more: Toddler's trauma highlights laundry room dangers Between 2005 and 2009, two children under the age of five lost their lives in laundry room accidents , according to a report by the Consu...

Three Chinese Astronauts Returned to Earth

BEIJING: Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday after achieving China s first manual docking in orbit, a milestone in the country s effort to build a space station by the end of the decade.The return of the trio, including the country s first female astronaut, to a landing zone in remote grasslands of northern China was broadcast to a national audience on state television.