POSH ICON: LARRY KING

Lawrence Harvey “Larry” King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933) is an American television and radio host. He is recognized in the United States as one of the premier broadcast interviewers. King has conducted some 40,000 interviews with politicians, athletes, entertainers, and other newsmakers. He has won an Emmy Award, two Peabody Awards, and ten Cable ACE Awards.

King began as a local Florida journalist and radio interviewer in the 1950s and ’60s. He became prominent as an all-night national radio broadcaster starting in 1978, and then began hosting the nightly interview TV program Larry King Live on CNN, which started in 1985.

In 1985, the fledgling Cable News Network put Larry King Live on television, the first international live phone-in television program. King interviewed athletes, actors, writers, politicians and foreign dignitaries. The breadth of his influence was demonstrated conclusively when billionaire Ross Perot chose to announce his presidential candidacy live on the air on King’s show. In the 1992 election, the King show became a favorite forum for candidates. In 1993, the program made history again when Vice President Al Gore agreed to appear on the program, with Ross Perot, to debate the controversial North American Free Trade Agreement, then being considered by Congress. In national elections ever since, leading candidates have chosen King’s program to air their ideas before the public. Today, Larry King makes his home in Beverly Hills, California, where he enjoys almost instantaneous access to leading figures in mass media and the entertainment industry.

In 2007, Larry King celebrated his 50th year in broadcasting. He has conducted more than 30,000 interviews, his weekly column in USA Today is read all over the United States, and his daily radio and television shows are seen and heard by millions around the world.