The legendary talk show host Larry King passed away on Friday night. He was 87 years-old.

King’s death was confirmed to CNN by his production company Ora Media. While no cause of death was given, it was revealed earlier this month that King had tested positive for COVID-19, and that he had received supplemental oxygen while also being moved out of intensive care, according to the Associated Press.

“With profound sadness, Ora Media announces the death of our co-founder, host and friend Larry King, who passed away this morning at age 87 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,” Ora Media’s statement said. “For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry’s many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster.”

CNN President Jeff Zucker released a statement addressing King’s death as well.

“We mourn the passing of our colleague Larry King,” Zucker said. “The scrappy young man from Brooklyn had a history-making career spanning radio and television. His curiosity about the world propelled his award-winning career in broadcasting, but it was his generosity of spirit that drew the world to him. We are so proud of the 25 years he spent with CNN, where his newsmaker interviews truly put the network on the international stage. From our CNN family to Larry’s, we send our thoughts and prayers, and a promise to carry on his curiosity for the world in our work.”

King hosted “Larry King Live” on CNN from 1985 until 2010, interviewing every president from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama during his career. During that time, he became one of the most famous television journalists in all of America.

“I’ve never learned anything,” King liked to say, “while I was talking.”

King’s influence is still felt today, as many reporters and podcasters mimic his conversational style of journalism.

“A good interview — you know more than you do before you start. You should come away with maybe some of your opinions changed,” King said in 2018. “You should certainly come away entertained — an interviewer is also an entertainer.”

King left CNN in 2011, and he expected that he would be retiring. Instead, he kept working until his death, hosting “Larry King Now.” In the end, King just never wanted the interview to end, and it never did.

“I just love what I do,” he said, “I love asking questions, I love doing the interviews.”
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