Larry KIng!

 A long long time ago in another life I was in radio. I asked questions, I spun tunes, I took calls and to me it was a dead end so I left. It also paid nothing. But radio was big in the 1980s, still. Talk radio was just coming into its own on a national level. I got a job on the graveyard shift and was basically alone doing  paperwork and trying to stay awake.

Then I discovered late night talk radio. There were the crazy people who saw UFOs and alien invasions and drew an audience of insomniacs in desperate need of medication and sleep. Then there was Larry King on the old Mutual Broadcasting System. I was hooked. Larry had the ability to make interesting things I had no curiosity about. Economics, spy novels, science all became fascinating to me. Why? Because Larry King asked questions most people wouldn't ask because they were afraid they'd sound dumb. Larry would ask an economics question as if he'd never heard of supply and demand. Larry would ask a novelist a question about what their favorite board game was. Larry would ask a scientist if they had ever blown up their basement. He would ask an athlete if he had ever been bad at any sport. Larry was Larry and I loved the guy. Sure, he was bombastic, he would tell the same stories over and over if he needed a few minutes of sleep and he was often rude to callers.

More than once I called in to talk with Larry. I was usually half in the bag and asked Larry some dumb question which he would answer and hang up. But once, clean and sober, I called Larry to talk about the 1984 election expressing my concern about re electing a senile old man. Larry and I spoke for maybe 2 minutes but it felt like a lifetime. He spoke with me like he cared what I thought and listened before responding that he agreed with me and was also concerned. I felt on top of the world.

Larry King is gone now thanks to Covid. Larry hung on forever because he was curious and still had shit to ask people. Yeah he was an easy interview for many celebrities. Softball after softball. Larry wasnt going to go all Morton Downey Jr on anyone, he was going to be your best buddy. When he moved to CNN it became much more mundane than when he was on in the middle of the night on radio. He was restrained and ready to mingle. But we still watched him. 

I have few heroes in any business. Larry was one. I STILL got a thrill when I'd see him behind home plate at Dodger games on his phone. He was annoyed by that. That anyone would care why he was on his phone. Probably talking to his pool boy about what about chlorine fascinates him.

I will miss you Larry. The Great Beyond, Hello!