Larry King ends 25 years of broadcasting tonight
USA Today reports: A broadcast icon signs off tonight. After 25 years of interviewing presidents, movie stars and regular folks on CNN's signature talk show, Larry King will host the last of roughly 7,000 episodes of Larry King Live (9 p.m. ET/6 PT). Piers Morgan succeeds King in January.
Bill Maher, who has appeared on the show "zillions of times," says the finale will mark the end of an era.
"He's one of those giants, that when they go, take it with them," he says. "He brought a style, which I would describe as minimalist, that is in sore need these days when interviewers talk too much and forget they're doing the interviewing."
King, 77, who still will have four CNN specials a year, is engraved in popular culture, but his departure is more significant for the legacy than for its effect on today's broadcasting scene, says Michael Harrison of Talkers magazine, which follows talk media. Once a ratings topper, King has lost significant audience recently.
"Larry King is a historic broadcasting figure ... one of the most important pioneers of both radio and television talk programming," Harrison says. "His program on CNN established the genre of cable-news talk television as being one of the town meetings of America."
King's array of political guests have included Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Putin and each president since Nixon, while celebrities run the gamut from Barbra Streisand to Lady Gaga.
"It's not who's been on. It's who hasn't been," says executive producer Wendy Walker, who worked with the host for 17 years. "It's just amazing to me to see historically what we've been able to watch from that set."
Bill Maher and Ryan Seacrest will be on set for tonight's finale, which will feature surprise appearances.
All the interviews and accolades haven't affected King, Maher says. "He's just a guy from Brooklyn who hit it big and never forgot who that guy was, or stopped being that guy."
Bill Maher, who has appeared on the show "zillions of times," says the finale will mark the end of an era."He's one of those giants, that when they go, take it with them," he says. "He brought a style, which I would describe as minimalist, that is in sore need these days when interviewers talk too much and forget they're doing the interviewing."
King, 77, who still will have four CNN specials a year, is engraved in popular culture, but his departure is more significant for the legacy than for its effect on today's broadcasting scene, says Michael Harrison of Talkers magazine, which follows talk media. Once a ratings topper, King has lost significant audience recently.
"Larry King is a historic broadcasting figure ... one of the most important pioneers of both radio and television talk programming," Harrison says. "His program on CNN established the genre of cable-news talk television as being one of the town meetings of America."
King's array of political guests have included Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Putin and each president since Nixon, while celebrities run the gamut from Barbra Streisand to Lady Gaga.
"It's not who's been on. It's who hasn't been," says executive producer Wendy Walker, who worked with the host for 17 years. "It's just amazing to me to see historically what we've been able to watch from that set."
Bill Maher and Ryan Seacrest will be on set for tonight's finale, which will feature surprise appearances.
All the interviews and accolades haven't affected King, Maher says. "He's just a guy from Brooklyn who hit it big and never forgot who that guy was, or stopped being that guy."
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