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

Blake Griffin with his head at the rim

After knocking himself out of the 2009-10 season after hurting his knee during a dunk attempt, it's still OK to cringe a bit every time you see Blake Griffin (notes) readying a launch. And apparently, now we have to worry about his head knocking the rim just as much as his knees handling the descent. It speaks to the level of credibility that the Dunk Contest owns these days that when word hit Wednesday that Blake Griffin was open to the idea of entering the NBA's annual stuffing show, we were actually more concerned than excited. Would Griffin, clearly the master of the in-game dunk just two months into his NBA career, be able to in any way match his prowess in an exhibition setting? Was there a risk of him needlessly hurting himself in the process? About 11 minutes into Wednesday's Rockets/Clippers matchup, the worries became outright fears. Because Blake went and did this. That's a 6-9 guy jumping off a surgically repaired kneecap with his head at th...

Payroll tax cut worries Social Security advocates

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's plan to cut payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers, but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the retirement program's finances. The plan is part of a package of tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would get a $1,000 tax cut; those making $100,000 would get a $2,000 tax cut. The government would borrow about $112 billion to make Social Security whole. Advocates and some lawmakers worry that relying on borrowed money to fund Social Security could eventually force it to compete with other federal programs for scarce dollars, leading to cuts. Social Security taxes "ought to be held sacrosanct," said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., chairman of the House Ways and Means subco...

Look at Kim Kardashian's Engangement Ring

Behold, the $2 million, 20.5 carat ring Kris Humphries gave to Kim Kardashian . Humphries designed the ring with jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, who is a "longtime Kardashian friend." Kardashian gushed about the rock to People . "In high school I went to Macy's and bought this fake ring, my 'perfect' ring, and this is almost the exact same," she said. "It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It's perfect." Kim said she wanted something that would be "her own," distinct from sister Khloe's $850,000, radiant-cut ring. So they went for an emerald cut, with a 16.5-carat center stone and a couple of two-carat trapezoid stones surrounding it. As for Humphries, it seems the basketball player had one thing on his mind in selecting the perfect ring. "I just knew I wanted it to be big!" he told People . And in that, he undoubtedly succeeded. Bauergriffinonline.com has more photos of Kim Kardashian and ...