Little Known Facts About Larry King

Ever since "Larry King Live", the first talk show its listeners could call into, hit the airwaves in 1985, it's been CNN's mainstay. Read this interesting article and find out some little known facts about Larry King, the man behind the microphone.

Early Life
He was born "Lawrence Harvey Ziegler" on November 19, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York. His parents, Eddie and Jennie, owned a restaurant. When Larry King's father passed away from a sudden heart attack in '44, his family signed up for welfare to survive.

Avid Baseball Fan
It's no secret that Larry King loves baseball. He cheers for the Baltimore Orioles. He once was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. According to King, the "saddest day in my life" happened when he was seventeen years old. King saw Giants' Bobby Thomson slam the home run that tore the chance of winning the pennant away from his treasured Dodgers.

Career Accomplishments
Although Larry King's style of interviewing his guests is considered to be lackluster, a little known fact about this icon is that he has had the honor of interviewing every one of the American presidents since Richard Nixon. In fact, Larry King has interviewed an estimated 40,000 celebrities over the years. Some of these include the Dalai Lama, Tom Cruise, Bob Hope, Bill Gates, Marlon Brando, Prince Albert of Monaco, Stephen Hawking, Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey, Elizabeth Taylor, Pete Rose and Yasser Arafat.

Romance
Maybe it's the suspenders he wears, maybe it's the eyeglasses, or maybe it's his gravely voice. But, believe-it-or-not, CNN broadcaster Larry King is a "Chick Magnet." For starters, he has been married seven- count 'em- seven times, to six different women. His exes are Frada Miller, Alene Akins, Mickey Sutphin, Sharon Lepore and Julia Alexander. His current wife, who he wed on September 5, 1997, is Shawn Southwick. Both Southwick and Akins are former Playboy Bunnies.

Larry King has six children and one stepson. He and his current wife and their three children live in Washington, D.C..

His son, Larry King, Jr., was born out of wedlock in 1962. King never married that son's mother.