On the TunneySide of Sports February 1, 2021 #833 Up next… Remembering Larry King
After further review… The “King of Talk” has left us. Larry was 87 and died on Saturday, January 23rd. The cause of his death was not listed, but the fact that he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles in December for COVID-19 gives me the feeling that it may have influenced his departure for a new microphone from which to broadcast “Larry King Live.” However, why is this sports column remembering a non-sports figure? Please read on!
I first met King (he asked me to call him Larry) about 1986. That’s the year the National Football League began Instant Replay, but the replay was from the press box with an Instant Replay Official (IRO). There was no voice communication – just a sideline hand signal from an assistant (not a game-official) that a given play was being reviewed. The game was then delayed while the IRO reviewed that play.
Anyway, Larry phoned my office and asked if I could come to Washington D.C. for an interview about this new system. “Why me?” I thought. I had never met him but knew of him since “Larry King Live” had just begun in 1985. After getting clearance from Art McNally, Supervisor of Officials, I arranged my schedule to be on his show. The clearance was necessary since there was some controversy (even among officials) about the use of the camera for on-field officiating. Larry was an avid sports fan having grown up in Brooklyn, N.Y. Born of immigrant Jewish parents (Zeiger was his paternal name), he quickly became a Dodgers fan, eventually following them to Los Angeles.)
It was a bit unnerving sitting across from him in his studio. He, with great wit, and sense of humor immediately put me at ease. His questions were more of curiosity – of how, and why, cameras were needed. There was always the issue by some that replay was interrupting the flow of the game. In 1992 the NFL decided to suspend their replay system. Again, Larry invited me back that year to discuss what the league wanted to do. I always took the position that authenticity would add more credibility to officials.
It must be noted that Larry had several health issues: a bout with cancer and heart failures which could describe him as often in poor health. He founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, about the time I co-authored Chicken Soup for the Sports Fans Soul. It was incumbent on us authors to make a significant financial contribution to a charity. I chose his foundation. My wife Linda and I, Larry, his wife Shawn, Vice President Dick Cheney, his wife Lynne are pictured at his 2002 gala foundation event.
Our condolences to the King family in their loss of my wonderful friend.
Will you recall the exceptional gestures that made Larry King such a legend?
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