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The TV has seen so many royalties in the past, but hardly has there ever been one like Larry King. An American TV and radio host, King began his career as a radio host and after conquering that front, he took to TV where he would reach the apex of his career, hosting one of the most popular shows around – Larry King Live, before he finally retired in 2012.
Larry King’s Bio
Although it is as Larry that we have all come to know the man, it was as Lawrence Harvey Zeiger that he was born on November 19, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York. He was brought up alongside a brother by his parents, Aaron Zeiger who was a restaurant owner and Jennie – a garment worker.
Since he was a child, Larry had the dream of working in radio broadcasting but he lost interest in school after the death of his father. Following the tragedy, the family was forced to depend on welfare and soon after he graduated from the Lafayette High School, King decided to get a job to help his mother and brother.
Following the advice of a CBS broadcaster, Larry moved to Miami where the media market was growing fast and he could get a job without any experience. And sure, he got a radio job with WMBM which was then WAHR. It was here that Lawrence Harvey Zeiger became Larry King after he was told by his manager that his real name was not easy to remember while also sounding too ethnic.
While he would climb up the ladder bit by bit on both Radio and TV, he caught the attention of America in 1985 when he began the Larry King Live CNN show. The show was successful because of his style of interview and non-confrontational approach. After a highly successful spell, he called it quits with CNN in 2012.
Even after leaving CNN, King continued his show with Ora TV, which is a production company he co-founded with Carlos Slim. He also hosts another show, Politicking with Larry King which is also aired on RT America.
Wife, Ex-Wives, And Marriages Through The Years
Through the years, King has been married to more women than some men would ever get to date in a single lifetime, as he has thus far been married 8 times to as many as 7 women.
He was only 18 years old when he tied the knot for the first time in 1952. The woman he married was Freda Miller who was his high school sweetheart. Unfortunately, the marriage was annulled only a year later by their parents who did not approve of it.
He did not marry again until in 1961 when he got married to Annette Kaye. Although the marriage did not last beyond that year, it produced his first child, Larry Jr. Shortly after his divorce from Kaye, King married to former Playboy bunny, Alene Akins from 1961 to 1963.
Next on the line to become his wife was Mickey Sutphin with whom he walked down the aisle in 1964. Although the marriage was blessed with a daughter, Kelly, it was not blessed to last forever as it was over by 1967. In 1968, Larry King got married to Alene Akins for a second time, having a daughter, Chaia, to show for it by the time it ended in 1971.
Larry, who had already become a king of going in and out of marriages, remained unmarried until 1976 when he settled down with Sharon Lepore in a marriage that lasted until 1983. He went a few years again without getting married until 1989 when he got married to Julie Alexander from whom he would be separated only a year later before being officially divorced in 1992.
And then came Shawn Southwick whom he married in 1997. To the surprise of almost everyone, the couple remained together until 2010 when it was reported that Shawn Southwick, who is close to 30 years younger than her husband was soon to join the list of his ex-wives. However, they called off the divorce which was already filed. In 2016, it was reported that they were heading for a divorce following an alleged affair that Shawn was having with a man, Robert Green. However, nothing happened as Larry and Shawn are still together. They share two sons, Cannon Edward King, and Chance Armstrong King.
Net Worth
Larry King has a net worth that has been estimated at $150 million. He apparently made his fortune from his work with the media as well as through his investments, being a co-owner of OraTV.
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Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.