Larry King

== Personal life ==
King resided in [[Beverly Hills, California]].<ref name="wsjonhispathfrombrooklyn">{{cite news|last1=King|first1=Larry|title=Larry King on His Path From Brooklyn to Beverly Hills|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/larry-king-on-his-path-from-brooklyn-to-beverly-hills-1464792203|access-date=August 29, 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 1, 2016|quote=Today, my wife, Shawn, and I and our two boys live in Beverly Hills, in a two-story, five-bedroom house.|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105315/https://www.wsj.com/articles/larry-king-on-his-path-from-brooklyn-to-beverly-hills-1464792203|url-status=live}}</ref> A lifelong [[Los Angeles Dodgers|Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers]] fan, he was frequently seen behind home plate at the team's games.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://m.mlb.com/news/article/68363394/larry-king-to-host-show-on-sportsnet-la/ |title=Larry King to host show on SportsNet LA |first=Ken |last=Gurnick |website=MLB.com |date=February 26, 2014 |access-date=November 2, 2017 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105234/https://www.mlb.com/news/larry-king-to-host-show-on-sportsnet-la/c-68363394 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was part of an investment group that attempted to bring a [[Major League Baseball]] franchise to [[Buffalo, New York]], in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://buffalonews.com/news/summer-ends-at-pilot-field-richs-investor-group-buoys-big-league-quest/article_cc5e61f5-c91a-590e-a20c-881a80e217de.html|title=Summer ends at pilot field; rich's investor group buoys big league quest|newspaper=[[The Buffalo News]]|date=September 6, 1990|access-date=January 3, 2021|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105242/https://subscribe.buffalonews.com/e/limit-reached-bn?returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Fbuffalonews.com%2Fnews%2Fsummer-ends-at-pilot-field-richs-investor-group-buoys-big-league-quest%2Farticle_cc5e61f5-c91a-590e-a20c-881a80e217de.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He lost $2.8 million to [[Bernie Madoff]].<ref name=gq09>{{cite web|last=Heath |first=Chris |url=https://www.gq.com/story/larry-king-bernie-madoff-little-league-son |title=The Enduring Larry King |publisher=GQ |date=May 1, 2009 |access-date=February 1, 2021}}</ref>

In 2009,<ref name=gq09/> 2011,<ref>{{cite news| url=http://us.cnn.com/2011/12/02/showbiz/larry-king-i-want-to-be-frozen/index.html?hpt=hp_c2| work=CNN| title=Larry King: I want to be frozen| date=December 2, 2011| access-date=December 3, 2011| archive-date=January 3, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105244/https://us.cnn.com/2011/12/02/showbiz/larry-king-i-want-to-be-frozen/index.html| url-status=live}}</ref> and several times in 2015,<ref name=Reason2015/><ref name="Gariano2015">{{cite news |last1=Gariano |first1=Francesca |title=Larry King was open about his wish 'to be frozen' after his death |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/larry-king-was-open-about-his-wish-be-frozen-after-t206786 |access-date=August 5, 2021 |work=[[The Today Show]] |date=January 23, 2021}}</ref> King said that he would like to be [[cryonic suspension|cryonically suspended]]. He discussed the issue with his family two years before his death, and "after much consideration," he decided that he did not want to undergo the procedure.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.insideedition.com/was-larry-king-cryogenically-frozen-after-his-death-64558| work=Inside Edition| title=Was Larry King Cryogenically Frozen After His Death?| date=January 27, 2021| access-date=December 11, 2022| archive-date=November 12, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112092624/https://www.insideedition.com/was-larry-king-cryogenically-frozen-after-his-death-64558| url-status=live}}</ref>

In his early 80s, King took [[human growth hormone]] daily.<ref name=nyt15/><ref name="Gariano2015"/>

After describing himself as a Jewish agnostic in 2005,<ref name="Larry King">"I don't know if there's a God. I'm a classic agnostic, but I'm a Jewish agnostic." {{cite book |title=Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish |url=https://archive.org/details/starsofdavidprom00pogr/page/318 |last=Pogrebin |first=Abigail |year=2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/starsofdavidprom00pogr/page/318 318–322] |publisher=Broadway |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7679-1612-7 }}</ref> he stated that he was fully [[atheist]] in 2015.<ref name=Reason2015>{{cite web|quote=Reason: Are you still into cryonics? King: Yes. I'm putting it in my will. I'll tell you why. I'm an atheist. Most libertarians should be atheists.|title=Larry King Loves Cryonics & Rand Paul (!): 'I Want to Be Around to Pick Up the Pieces.'|url=https://reason.com/2015/04/04/larry-king-loves-cryonics-rand-paul-i-wa/|first=Nick|last=Gillespie|date=April 4, 2015|work=[[Reason.com]]|author-link=Nick Gillespie|access-date=August 24, 2020|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105324/https://reason.com/2015/04/04/larry-king-loves-cryonics-rand-paul-i-wa/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, he told ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', "I love being Jewish, am proud of my Jewishness, and I love Israel".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/larry-king-legendary-talk-show-host-dies-at-87-656447 |title=Larry King, legendary Jewish-American talk show host, dies at 87 |first=Tamar |last=Beeri |date=January 23, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]]}}</ref>

In 2019, King sued [[Nate Holzapfel]], a ''[[Shark Tank]]'' contestant and entrepreneur, alleging that he had misrepresented himself and his reasons for filming a short interview with King. The interview had been edited without King's permission to make it appear that Holzapfel had appeared on ''Larry King Now''. A default judgment was entered in King's favor, and he was awarded fees and $250,000 in damages.<ref>{{cite web |title=Larry King Scores $250k Judgment Over 'Mock' Interview |url=https://theblast.com/larry-king-fake-interview-judgment/ |website=The Blast |date=March 4, 2019 |accessdate=March 9, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Larry King Enterprises, Inc. v. Nathaniel Holzapfel (2:18-cv-09454-PA-RAO) |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/14581046/larry-king-enterprises-inc-v-nathaniel-holzapfel/ |website=Court Listener |accessdate=March 9, 2019}}</ref>

===Marriages and children===
King was married eight times to seven women.<ref name="NYP">{{cite news | url=https://people.com/tv/larry-king-wives-and-marriages-a-history/ | title=A Look at Larry King's Ups and Downs over His 8 Marriages — A Complete Relationship Timeline | newspaper=People }}</ref> 

King married high school sweetheart Freda Miller in 1952 at the age of 19.<ref name=dailynews4/> That union ended the following year at the behest of their parents, who reportedly had the marriage [[annulled]].<ref name=dailynews4>[http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html "Larry King divorces Shawn Southwick: Meet the TV icon's slew of ex-wives"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418031131/http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html |date=April 18, 2010 }}. ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]''. April 16, 2010. p. 4 of 25.</ref> 

King was married to Annette Kaye,<ref name=dailynews4/> who gave birth to his son, Larry Jr., in November 1961. King did not meet Larry Jr. until the latter was in his 30s.<ref name="ac360">{{Cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0905/21/acd.01.html|title=Transcript: Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees|date= May 21, 2009|publisher= CNN|access-date= June 6, 2009}}</ref>

In 1961, King married his third wife, [[Playboy Bunny]] Alene Akins, at one of the magazine's [[Playboy Club|eponymous nightclubs]]. He adopted Akins' son Andy in 1962; the couple divorced the following year.<ref name=dailynews4/> 

In 1963, King married his fourth wife, Mary Francis "Mickey" Sutphin, who divorced him in 1967.<ref name=dailynews4/> 

King remarried Akins in 1969; the couple had a daughter, Chaia, before divorcing again in 1972.<ref name=dailynews4/> In 1997, Dove Books published a book written by King and Chaia, ''Daddy Day, Daughter Day''. Aimed at young children, it tells each of their accounts of his divorce from Akins.{{cn|date=October 2023}}
[[File:Larry King and Shawn Southwick feed Gilbert Gottfried.jpg|thumb|Comedian [[Gilbert Gottfried]] fed by King's seventh wife, Shawn Southwick, in 1999]]
[[File:Larry King with his wife and children.jpg|thumb|King with Southwick and their children, Chance and Cannon, in 2002]]

On September 25, 1976, King married his fifth wife, mathematics teacher and production assistant Sharon Lepore. The couple divorced in 1983.<ref name=dailynews5-6>[http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html ''Daily News'', slide show] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418031131/http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html |date=April 18, 2010 }}.  ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]''. pp. 5–6.</ref>

On August 1, 1989, King proposed to businesswoman Julie Alexander on their first date.<ref>''[[Cedar Rapids Gazette]],'' August 23, 1989.</ref> Alexander became King's sixth wife on October 7, 1989, when the two were married in Washington, D.C.<ref name=dailynews7-8>[http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html ''Daily News'', slide show] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418031131/http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html |date=April 18, 2010 }}. ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]''. pp. 7–8.</ref> They lived in different cities, however, with Alexander in Philadelphia and King in Washington, D.C., where he worked. The couple separated in 1990 and divorced in 1992.<ref name=dailynews7-8/> 

King became engaged to actress [[Deanna Lund]] in 1995 after five weeks of dating, but they did not marry.<ref name=dailynews10>[http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html ''Daily News,'' slide show] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418031131/http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html |date=April 18, 2010 }}.  ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]''. p. 10.</ref>

In 1997, King married his seventh wife, Shawn Southwick,<ref name=dailynews11>[http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html ''Daily News'', slide show] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418031131/http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/the_many_women_of_larry_king/the_many_women_of_larry_king.html |date=April 18, 2010 }}, ibid., p. 11 of 25</ref> a singer, actress, and TV host who is the sister of musician [[Paul Engemann]].<ref name="nydailynews.com">{{cite news|author=Rush & Molloy|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/06/30/2008-06-30_the_skinny_on_larry_kings_wife.html|title=The skinny on Larry King's wife| work = [[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|date= June 30, 2008|access-date= July 27, 2010}}</ref> The couple wed in King's Los Angeles hospital room three days before he underwent heart surgery to clear an occluded blood vessel.<ref name=nyt0414>[https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/14/arts/AP-US-People-Larry-King-Divorce.html "CNN Host Larry King, 7th Wife File for Divorce"]. [[Associated Press]] (via ''[[The New York Times]]''). April 14, 2010.</ref> The couple had two children: Chance, born March 1999, and Cannon, born May 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://marriage.about.com/od/entertainmen1/a/larryking.htm|title=About.com - Marriage - The Marriages of Larry King|work=About|access-date=November 2, 2015|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105259/https://www.liveabout.com/comedy-central-roast-of-donald-trump-jokes-801095|url-status=live}}</ref> King was stepfather to [[Arena Football League]] quarterback [[Danny Southwick]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cablecenter.org/cable-hall-of-fame/main-items/past-honorees/item/king-larry.html|title=The Cable Hall of Fame Past Honorees|work=cablecenter.org|access-date=September 6, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520204215/http://www.cablecenter.org/cable-hall-of-fame/main-items/past-honorees/item/king-larry.html|archive-date=May 20, 2013}}</ref> On King and Southwick's 10th anniversary in September 2007, Southwick joked that she was "the only [wife] to have lasted into the two digits".<ref name="nydailynews.com"/> The couple filed for divorce in 2010, but later reconciled<ref name=nyt0414/><ref>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Ken|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20360969,00.html|title=Larry King Files for Divorce – Breakups, Larry King| work = [[People (magazine)|People]] |date= April 14, 2010|access-date= July 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/larry-king-wife-shawn-southwick-call-divorce-article-1.464305|title=Larry King and wife Shawn Southwick call off their divorce|work=NY Daily News|access-date=March 11, 2017|language=en|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105335/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/larry-king-wife-shawn-southwick-call-divorce-article-1.464305|url-status=live}}</ref> only to file for divorce again on August 20, 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.apnews.com/8b17d2b9b8a543f8914da6d2360d53c5|title=Larry King seeks divorce from seventh wife after 22 years|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105340/https://apnews.com/8b17d2b9b8a543f8914da6d2360d53c5|archive-date=January 3, 2021|work=Associated Press|date=August 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://media.extratv.com/2019/08/20/larry-king-court-docs-merged.pdf|title=Court Documents|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105238/https://media.extratv.com/2019/08/20/larry-king-court-docs-merged.pdf |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |work=[[Extra (American TV program)|ExtraTV]] |date=August 20, 2019}}</ref> King and Southwick were estranged and going through divorce proceedings at the time of King's death in 2021.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=April 15, 2021|title=Larry King's Estranged Wife Requests to Be Made Executor of His Estate|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/04/larry-king-shawn-king-executor-estate-contest-will-handwritten-ammendment|access-date=January 5, 2022|magazine=Vanity Fair|language=en-US}}</ref>

At the time of his death, King had five children, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.<ref name="Crowley">{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-are-larry-kings-ex-wives-1563917 |date=January 23, 2021 |title=CULTURE:Who Are Larry King's 7 Ex-Wives? Shawn Southwick, Alene Akins, Annette Kaye |first1=James |last1=Crowley |work=[[Newsweek (magazine)|Newsweek]]}}</ref><ref name="Yasharoff">{{cite web |url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/08/23/larry-king-children-andy-chaia-die-within-weeks-each-other/3423818001/ |title=Celebrities: Larry King speaks out after his children Andy and Chaia die within weeks of each other |first1=Hannah |last1=Yasharoff |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=August 23, 2020}}</ref> His children with Alene Atkins, Andy and Chaia, died within weeks of each other in August 2020. Andy died at 65 from a heart attack, and Chaia died at 51 from lung cancer.<ref name="Yasharoff"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/08/23/larry-king-children-andy-chaia-die-within-weeks-each-other/3423818001/|title=Larry King speaks out after his children Andy and Chaia die within weeks of each other|first=Hannah|last=Yasharoff|website=USA Today|access-date=August 23, 2020|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103105239/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/08/23/larry-king-children-andy-chaia-die-within-weeks-each-other/3423818001/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Estate ===
At the time of his death, in February 2021, it was reported that his ex-wife Shawn Southwick had gone to court to contest King's 2019 handwritten [[Will and testament|will]], which had left his estate (valued at $2 million) to his five surviving children. Southwick alleged that her stepson, Larry King Jr., exerted undue influence over his father towards the end of his life, and that the handwritten will conflicted with a will King signed in 2015 in which Southwick was named executor of his estate.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56095825|title=Larry King: Talk show host's widow contests handwritten will|publisher=BBC News|date=February 17, 2021}}</ref> This does not include more valuable "assets that were held in [[Trust law|trust]]s".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/larry-king-had-a-secret-will-that-excluded-his-wife-estate-planning-gets-messy-11613501836|title=Larry King had a secret will that excluded his wife — estate planning gets messy|first=Alessandra|last=Malito|website=MarketWatch}}</ref>