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Larry King: interesting facts from the life of a TV presenter. Larry King

Larry King: interesting facts from the life of a TV presenter. Larry King

17.06.2019

The legendary Larry King, TV and radio star, has mastered how to communicate, ask questions and listen to the interlocutor. This time he acted as a speaker, telling Entrepreneur columnist Kelsey Humphreys the secrets of his success.

“You have to tell that Oprah story,” Larry King told Joe Dickey, the current CEO of Ora TV, as we sat in the King awards room at his Beverly Hills home. King told how Oprah Winfrey once shared with him a story about her safari in Africa. The locals did not recognize Oprah, and she began to list other celebrities to understand who they know. At some point, one of the locals interrupted her and asked: “Do you know Larry King?”

Source: TVGuide

His fate is the real embodiment of the American dream: a boy from a Jewish family dreams of getting on the radio, and gets a job as a cleaner at a local station. One day, the disc jockey fell ill, and King takes on a pseudonym, successfully performs on his debut broadcast and then manages to conduct more than 60 thousand interviews during his career. He has received a Peabody Award, several Cable ACE Awards and numerous Emmy nominations. King is a member of the National Broadcasting Hall of Fame, the Television Hall of Fame and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also wrote articles for several newspapers and magazines and became a New York Times bestselling author.

At 83, King is still in great shape and hosts Larry King Now on Ora TV, a digital channel he co-owns with billionaire Carlos Slim. King has become a media industry icon and a major talk show host on both radio and television.

If you're wondering if I was excited about interviewing him, my answer is absolutely. I knew he could teach me the art of speaking, writing and interviewing. What advice can he give, what secret tricks can he teach? How did he manage to turn his radio success into a TV success, and then build his own TV network around it?

During our hour-long interview, King answered all these questions and more. Here are nine communication secrets from Larry King himself.

1. First of all - get started

If you're dreaming of a career as a professional speaker, whether it's radio, television, or the press, King recommends starting as soon as possible. He himself got into the industry only because, when he accidentally met the CBS announcer, he immediately told him about his desire to work on the radio and asked how he could get there. He was advised to go to Miami, a new, nascent market, where there were much more opportunities for newcomers. Arriving there, King got a job at a small radio station as an assistant, ran errands and did the cleaning.

Lesson - take any job that will get you into the business. And once you've done it: "Work hard. Do whatever you are told. Work weekends. Come early and don't give up."

2. Keep getting experience

King took on any job offer in the media industry because he didn't want to miss any chance to practice and improve his speaking, writing and interviewing skills. Its success in the local market led to its first nationwide broadcast, the first ever national radio show. Soon he was invited to the then young CNN channel.

3. Stay true to principles

According to King, one of the reasons for his success is that he did not allow himself to forget where he came from, and always remained true to principles.

“I could be interpreted in different ways, but I always did everything the same way,” he says. Who, what, when, where and why. I ask questions." He cites one of his favorite interviews as an example.

“We have Frank Sinatra in the studio, the most famous person in the world. I sit opposite him. The lights come on and I say, "Welcome to The Larry King Show. Frank Sinatra is my guest tonight. What brings you here?" I didn't start talking nonsense like "this is my old friend."

Nowadays, it is customary for a communications specialist to play several roles at once: a host can also be a producer, a guest can also be a consultant, a writer can be a coach, and so on. However, King advises delegating responsibilities if possible. He relies entirely on assistants - technicians, producers, publishers and others - so that he can do his job when the lights come on.

4. Know your role in the conversation

Sometimes you need to tell your story or opinion, but there are times when you need to relax and just act as an intermediary. Despite the fact that King wrote more than one book and acted as a speaker, for most of his career he listened to others. In his opinion, listeners love him for his style of "questions from the street" and the ability to be outside the discussion - something that modern presenters lack, as King admits.

Source: adweek

“The job of a journalist in an interview is to extract information [from a guest],” he says. “I have never put myself above a guest. I never say "I" when I'm interviewing. I'm just an intermediary."

5. Stay Curious

To be a good conversationalist, you have to be curious, hungry for information, says King. Ask questions, read as much as you can to follow people and trends.

“You have to be curious - I'm the kind of person you wouldn't want to be in the next seat with on a plane. I do this in my life too."

6. Live for today

King advises journalists to think only about the present.

“Forget about yesterday's interview, it's over. Forget about tomorrow's interview, there's still time before it, he says. “If today I have a conversation with a worker on strike, and tomorrow with the president, now I will not think about the president.”

7. Trust your instincts

King's intuition did not fail at his first interview with a real celebrity in 1958.

“One day the great Bobby Darin came in… [and] after about a third of the interview I felt a rhythm, something clicked inside of me,” he recalls. “Then others started coming.”

King felt the same way after ten minutes of the first broadcast on CNN. Throughout his career, he listened to his intuition, and this led to a strong-willed decision to stay on CNN. It was a risky move, because the channel was then just a small startup, and King could earn more anywhere.

“It doesn't matter what industry you're in, if you're happy, don't leave,” he says. “Don’t do anything just for the money and trust your instincts.”

8. Be yourself

Know your strengths. Are you better at printed materials? Or an interview? Do you look better live or recorded? King knew in advance that his talent was "to feel at home in the studio." He credits this knowledge as one of the reasons for his success, along with some advice he received from Arthur Godfrey.

“You can't make the audience love you, so just be yourself,” he repeats the advice. “The only secret is that there is no secret. Be yourself."

9. Never give up

King assured prospective correspondents that while it was a very competitive environment, with the right talent, determination, and patience, they could make it. To succeed, King says, you need to be "restless", because even now he still thinks: "What else can be done?"

“You will be rejected, you will be fired,” he says. But never give up.

The main reward for King was the journey to the top itself, with all its ups and downs.

“The best part [of my career] is the climb itself, every little step,” he says. More important than the result is the process itself. The struggle, all those ups and downs. That's the whole point."

Larry King

HOW TO TALK TO ANYONE, ANYWHERE, ANYWHERE

our team

No book is published through the efforts of the authors alone. We interviewed and wrote the text, but the contribution of other members of our team was no less significant. For this we express our gratitude to them, in particular:

Peter Ginn, our editor at Crown Publishers in New York;

Judy Thomas, Larry's assistant and co-producer of the CNN talk show Larry King Live;

Maggie Simpson, director of communications for Larry King Live;

Pat Piper, who for many years produced The Larry King Show on the Mutual Broadcasting System radio station;

Stacey Wolfe, Larry's agent, who actually made this book possible;

Russell Galen, the literary agent who helped Bill Gilbert get his books published for years.

Introduction

We all need to speak

Which would you rather jump out of a plane without a parachute or be at a table at a dinner party next to a stranger?

If you chose the first answer, don't despair. You are far from alone. We have to talk every day, but there are many situations where it is very difficult, as well as circumstances in which we could act better. The road to success, whether at home or professionally, is paved with conversation, and if you lack the confidence to communicate, the road can be bumpy.

To make this road smoother, I wrote my book. For thirty-eight years now, as conversation, conversation, communication - my daily bread, during the radio - and television programs I had to talk with a variety of people - from Mikhail Gorbachev to Michael Jordan. In addition, I regularly speak to a fairly diverse audience - from sheriffs to merchants. Next, I will tell you about how, in my opinion, you should talk - whether it be with one person or with a hundred.

For me, talking is the main joy in life, my favorite pastime. Here is one of my earliest memories of my Brooklyn childhood: standing on the corner of Eighty-sixth Street and Bay Parkway and loudly announcing the brands of cars passing by. I was then seven years old. My friends called me the Mouthpiece, since then I have not stopped talking.

My best friend of those years, Herb Cohen (who is still my best friend), remembers cheering for the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. I sat in cheap seats away from everyone, took a program and began to "comment" on the game. Then I came home and told my friends about the last match in all details - I'm not joking: exactly like that, in all details. Herb likes to remember now: “If the match at Ebbets Field that Larry saw lasted two hours and ten minutes, so did Larry’s story about this match.” I remember Herbie and I first met in the headmaster's office when we were both ten years old. When I entered the office, Herbie was already there. Now we can’t remember in any way why we were sent there, but both are inclined to believe that it was most likely for talking in class.

And yet, with all my love to talk, I perfectly understand why some people feel uncomfortable during a conversation. They are afraid to say the wrong thing or the wrong thing. One writer remarked: “It is better to be silent and be suspected of stupidity than to open your mouth and immediately dispel all doubts on this subject.” When talking to a stranger or speaking in front of a large audience, such fears increase many times over.

I hope my book will help you get rid of these fears. I was convinced of one thing: with the right approach, you can talk to anyone. After reading this book, you will be able to enter into any conversation with confidence and learn how to effectively communicate your message to others in a business conversation. You will become better at speaking, and with great pleasure.

The book you're about to read provides a wealth of information on this subject, along with advice on how to speak in a variety of situations, from your cousin's wedding to a high society dinner or speaking at a Parent Teacher Association meeting. I will tell you about the experience of those whom I interviewed on the air, and about my experience, which, as you will see, was acquired by me in very difficult conditions.

Speech is the most important form of communication, it is speech that distinguishes people from animals. It is estimated that a person speaks about eighteen thousand words every day, and I have no doubt that this figure is correct (in my case, it should probably be increased). So why don't we try to develop our conversational abilities and get the most out of them? Let's start right now. Turn the page - and forward.

Hey Herbie, listen to me!

Larry King

Fundamentals of Success in Conversation

Honesty

The right approach

interest in the interlocutor

Frankness

Talking is like playing golf, driving a car, or running a store: the more you do it, the better it comes out and the more fun it is. But first you need to learn the basic principles.

In the art of speaking, I was fortunate enough to achieve some success. Perhaps that is why you, reading this book, think to yourself: “Well, of course, he can say that talking is a pleasure. He does it well."

Of course, the propensity to talk was laid in me by nature, but even those who have natural abilities have to work to develop them. This is how talent turns into skill. Ted Williams, the greatest baseball player I have ever seen, a man more naturally gifted than any of my contemporaries, trained as well as the average player. Nature endowed Luciano Pavarotti with an amazing voice, and yet he took vocal lessons.

I have a tendency to talk in my blood, but I also had many cases when the conversation did not go well.

My infamous debut

If thirty-seven years ago you were next to me in the radio studio and were present at my first broadcast, you would certainly be ready to bet anything that I would not be able to hold on to anything, much less succeed in the spoken genre.

It happened in Miami Beach on the morning of May 1, 1957, at a small WAHR radio station across from the First Street police station just off Washington Street. For the past three weeks, I've been roaming the premises, hoping to fulfill my dream of breaking into the air. CEO Marshall Simmonds told me that he likes my voice (another circumstance that I had no control over), but now they say there are no vacancies. This didn't discourage me. I was ready to wait as long as necessary, which I told the director. To this, he replied, they say, it’s good, if I’m always at hand, he will take me to the first vacancy that opens.

I had just arrived in Miami Beach from Brooklyn, and I knew that before my big chance came, I could live in an apartment with Uncle Jack and his wife, from where I could walk to the radio station. I didn’t have a cent in my pocket, and in general I didn’t have anything, except for a roof over my head, but every day I went to the radio station and watched how disc jockeys work on the air, how announcers talk about the latest news as a sports commentator acquaints listeners with the news of sports life.

Holding my breath, for the first time in my life, I watched with my own eyes how fresh news reports from the AP and UPI agencies arrived on the teletype. I myself wrote a few short notes in the hope that they will be useful to one of the commentators. So three weeks passed, and suddenly the host of the morning program quit. On Friday, Marshall called me into his office and told me that from Monday he was hiring me for this job at fifty-five dollars a week. I'll be on the air weekdays from nine to twelve. In the afternoon I will read the latest news and sports news, and my working day will end at five o'clock.

My dream has come true! I had to work on the radio and broadcast a three-hour program in the morning; Plus, I'll be going on the air six times a day. That means my total airtime will be the same as Arthur Godfrey, the superstar of the famous national commercial broadcaster CBS!

Larry King Live ("Larry King Live") - talk show hosted by Larry King (1985-2010); popular TV program CNN , known not only in the USA . The content of the program is a live conversation that Larry King has with any celebrity: a prominent politician, businessman, actor, etc. A total of 6120 issues have been released.

Story

For 25 years on air on CNN, the show has not changed either the time of release (21:00) or the presenter and, on this basis, got into the Guinness Book of Records:

Its creator has conducted more than 40 thousand interviews with politicians, stars, businessmen from all over the world during his career.

Write a review on the article "The Larry King Show"

Notes

An excerpt characterizing The Larry King Show

- Are you a colonel? shouted the chief of staff, with a German accent, in a voice familiar to Prince Andrei. - Houses are lit in your presence, and you are standing? What does this mean? You will answer, - shouted Berg, who was now assistant chief of staff of the left flank of the infantry troops of the first army, - the place is very pleasant and in sight, as Berg said.
Prince Andrei looked at him and, without answering, continued, turning to Alpatych:
“So tell me that I’m waiting for an answer by the tenth, and if I don’t get the news on the tenth that everyone has left, I myself will have to drop everything and go to the Bald Mountains.
“I, prince, only say so,” said Berg, recognizing Prince Andrei, “that I must obey orders, because I always fulfill them exactly ... Please excuse me,” Berg justified himself in some way.
Something crackled in the fire. The fire subsided for a moment; black puffs of smoke poured from under the roof. Something else crackled terribly in the fire, and something huge collapsed.
– Urruru! - Echoing the collapsed ceiling of the barn, from which there was a smell of cakes from burnt bread, the crowd roared. The flame flared up and illuminated the animatedly joyful and exhausted faces of the people standing around the fire.
A man in a frieze overcoat, raising his hand, shouted:
- Important! go fight! Guys, it's important!
“This is the master himself,” voices said.
“So, so,” said Prince Andrei, turning to Alpatych, “tell everything as I told you.” And, without answering a word to Berg, who fell silent beside him, he touched the horse and rode into the alley.

The troops continued to retreat from Smolensk. The enemy was following them. On August 10, the regiment, commanded by Prince Andrei, passed along the high road, past the avenue leading to the Bald Mountains. The heat and drought lasted for more than three weeks. Curly clouds moved across the sky every day, occasionally obscuring the sun; but towards evening it cleared again, and the sun set in a brownish-red mist. Only heavy dew at night refreshed the earth. The bread remaining on the root burned and spilled out. The swamps have dried up. The cattle roared from hunger, not finding food in the meadows burned by the sun. Only at night and in the forests the dew still held, it was cool. But along the road, along the high road along which the troops marched, even at night, even through the forests, there was no such coolness. The dew was not noticeable on the sandy dust of the road, which was pushed up more than a quarter of an arshin. As soon as it dawned, the movement began. Convoys, artillery silently walked along the hub, and the infantry ankle-deep in soft, stuffy, hot dust that had not cooled down during the night. One part of this sandy dust was kneaded by feet and wheels, the other rose and stood like a cloud over the army, sticking to the eyes, hair, ears, nostrils and, most importantly, the lungs of people and animals moving along this road. The higher the sun rose, the higher the cloud of dust rose, and through this thin, hot dust it was possible to look at the sun, not covered by clouds, with a simple eye. The sun was a big crimson ball. There was no wind, and people were suffocating in this still atmosphere. People walked with handkerchiefs around their noses and mouths. Coming to the village, everything rushed to the wells. They fought for water and drank it to the dirt.
Prince Andrei commanded the regiment, and the structure of the regiment, the well-being of its people, the need to receive and give orders occupied him. The fire of Smolensk and its abandonment were an epoch for Prince Andrei. A new feeling of bitterness against the enemy made him forget his grief. He was completely devoted to the affairs of his regiment, he was caring for his people and officers and affectionate with them. In the regiment they called him our prince, they were proud of him and loved him. But he was kind and meek only with his regimental officers, with Timokhin, etc., with completely new people and in a foreign environment, with people who could not know and understand his past; but as soon as he ran into one of his former staff members, he immediately bristled again; became malicious, mocking and contemptuous. Everything that connected his memory with the past repulsed him, and therefore he tried in the relations of this former world only not to be unjust and to fulfill his duty.

Larry King

Larry King in September 2010
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey Zeiger

Occupation:	journalist, TV presenter
Date of Birth:
Citizenship:	USA

He was married eight times to seven women. Four children from three wives.

Awards and honorary titles

Bibliography

My Remarkable Journey, 2009
The People's Princess: Cherished Memories of Diana, Princess of Wales, From Those Who Knew Her Best, 2007
My Dad and Me: A Heartwarming Collection of Stories About Fathers from a Host of Larry's Famous Friends, 2006
Taking on Heart Disease: Famous Personalities Recall How They Triumphed Over the Nation's #1 Killer and How You Can, Too, 2004
Remember Me When I'm Gone: The Rich and Famous Write Their Own Epitaphs and Obituaries, 2004
Love Stories of World War II, 2002
Anything Goes! : What I've Learned from Pundits, Politicians, and Presidents, 2000
Powerful Prayers: Conversations on Faith, Hope, and the Human Spirit with Today's Most Provocative People, 1999
Future Talk: Conversations About Tomorrow with Today's Most Provocative Personalities, 1998
Daddy Day, Daughter Day, 1997
The Best of Larry King Live: The Greatest Interviews, 1995
How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere: The Secrets of Good Communication, 1995
When Your From Brooklyn: Child Art, 1994
On the Line: The New Road to the White House, 1993
tell me more, 1992
Tell It To The King, 1989
Larry King, 1984

Books in Russian

Larry King What am I doing here? The path of a journalist = My Remarkable Journey. - M .: "Alpina Publisher", 2010. - 290 p. - ISBN 978-5-9614-1242-0
Larry King How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere = How to Talk to Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere. - M .: "Alpina Publisher", 2011. - 204 p. - ISBN 978-5-9614-1713-5

Notes

Childhood and youth of the future showman Larry King

Lawrence Harvey Zeiger, this is the real name of Larry King, was born in New York, in Brooklyn, in a family of immigrants. Jenny - Larry's mother was from Belarus, Edward Zeiger, father - from Austria. Little is known about Larry's early childhood and school years. The boy had brothers: the elder Irwin died at the age of six from acute appendicitis, Marty was born after the birth of Larry.

The Zeiger family could not be called prosperous, but everything changed for the worse after the death of his father. Eddie was only 44 when he died of a heart attack. Jenny and her children found themselves in an extremely difficult situation, it was extremely difficult to make ends meet. Larry had to drop out of school and work to help his mother. Dreams of a career on the radio and unheard-of popularity, which overwhelmed Larry almost from the cradle, seemed unrealistic when the teenager, sparing no effort, took on any job that turned up to him.

Wish Fulfillment, Larry King on Radio

Having become an adult, Larry went to Miami. The young man was accepted to the Wahr radio station, where at first he had to work as a cleaner and carry out small assignments from higher-ranking employees. One day, one of the presenters did not come to work, and Larry received an offer to replace him. On May 1, 1957, the people of Florida first heard the voice of a man who, decades later, would become the most recognizable in the country.

Zeiger's performance must have impressed the station's management, as the young man was immediately given airtime and a salary of $55 a week. At the same time, the surname "Zeiger" seemed unpronounceable and unmemorable to the general director of the radio station, which he hastened to inform the new subordinate about. The young man, not particularly tormented, chose a pseudonym. Later, Larry admitted that while thinking about it, he accidentally came across a flyer for King's Wholesale Liquor.

Larry King Now: Brain Fitness

Soon Larry King became the most popular radio host in the southern regions of Florida. In 1960, his first program on Miami Television premiered and was highly acclaimed by local viewers. Later, columns in the entertainment sections of the Miami News and Miami Herald joined the work on radio and television. In addition, Larry met television legend Jackie Gleason, who at the time was the producer of a hit TV show in Miami Beach. Years later, King remembers his mentor and friend with gratitude.

Larry King's TV debut

In December 1971, Larry was charged with grand larceny, which was initiated by his former business partner. King instantly lost his job. In 1972, all charges were dropped, but the TV presenter was already mired in debt and lost the favor of his viewers. Over the next few years, King worked hard, trying to catch up. He wrote articles for magazines and broadcast on West Coast radio stations.

By the end of the 70s, the incident began to be forgotten, and King decided to return to Miami. In 1978 he was again accepted to the WIOD radio station. King soon opened a new late-night "Larry King Show" broadcast by Mutual Radio Network. Larry's guests, whom he interviewed, took part in the program, then together they answered questions from listeners who called the studio. The show quickly gained immense popularity and caught the attention of media mogul Ted Turner, who approached King to host his own talk show on the newly formed Cable News Network (CNN) relay network.

Glory to the Larry King Show

"Larry King Live" was the first national television show. Over the past decades, King has captivated millions of viewers who dropped everything to hear the shocking revelations of actors, athletes, national heroes, high-ranking representatives from around the world and suspicious personalities with a dubious reputation. The program has won the highest rating in the country, and King has earned the respect and trust of both viewers and guests of the show. Ross Perot chose The Larry King Show in 1992 to announce his decision to run for President of the United States. King also often used his TV show as a platform for all sorts of charity events. It was on his initiative that a fundraiser was announced for victims of natural disasters in New Orleans and Haiti.

Exclusive interview. Larry King

In June 2010, King announced that his time on the CNN show was coming to an end. Arnold Schwarzenegger was a guest on Larry's last show. And in September of the same year, the name of the successor of the "King" was named - the British TV presenter Piers Morgan.

In addition to his talk show activities, King has appeared in several films where he played himself, and has appeared on other television shows as a guest. His professionally trained voice sounds in the animated films "Shrek 2" (2004), "Shrek the Third" (2007), "Bee Movie: Honey Plot" (2007), "Shrek Forever After" (2010). The showman has written several books on heart disease since he suffered an acute heart attack in 1987. King's autobiography, My Wonderful Journey, was published in 2009.

Personal life of Larry King

Larry King became famous for his regular trips to the altar. In total, he was married eight times, and twice - to the same lady. He has four children in different families. King has been in a state of marriage or divorce his entire adult life. At the age of 19, the future showman married his college girlfriend Freda Miller. In 1997, Larry married for the seventh time - with Sean Southwick, a former singer and TV presenter. The wedding took place in a hospital room in Los Angeles, three days before Larry's heart surgery.

Sean is 26 years younger than her husband, they now have two children together - Chance and Canon. Southwick has a son from his first marriage, Denny. In April 2010, the couple announced their divorce. However, the divorce proceedings were interrupted, as the couple decided to save the family for the sake of the children. Whether Larry and Sean were going to leave is still unknown ...