Two presidents, four television news anchors and a 10-year-old son who looked ready to take dad’s place behind the microphone turned out to bid Larry King farewell as he pulled the curtain down on his CNN talk after 25 years.
King, 77, was serenaded by Tony Bennett singing “The Best is Yet to Come” via remote from Louisiana.
King had announced this summer he would leave, ushered out by a struggling network. Once the dominant voice in cable television news, King has faded in a sea of sharp talkers. British talk-show host and “America’s Got Talent” judge Piers Morgan takes over the 9 p.m. Eastern time slot in January.
“You’re not going to see me go away, but you’re not going to see me on this set anymore,” King said. “I don’t know what to say except to you, my audience, thank you, and instead of goodbye, how about so long?”
Except for an agreement to host four specials a year at CNN, it’s not clear what his work future holds. He’s talked of doing comedy, or going back to some radio work.
A parade of guests stopped by, including news anchors Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters and Brian Williams, who were in CNN’s New York studio. President Barack Obama delivered a taped message, and former President Bill Clinton made his 29th appearance on the show, via remote from Little Rock, Ark.
(Source: CNN and HuffingtonPost.com)
