Larry King

=== ''The Larry King Show'' ===
{{main|Larry King Show}}
[[File:Photograph of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton Taping a Larry King Weekend Show - NARA - 3668097.jpg|thumb|King with [[Hillary Clinton]] in 1993]]
[[File:Vladimir Putin with Larry King.jpg|thumb|King interviewing [[Vladimir Putin]] in 2000]]
[[File:Larry King interviews George W. Bush and Laura Bush.jpg|thumb|right|King interviewing President [[George W. Bush]] and [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]] [[Laura Bush]] in 2006]]
On January 30, 1978, King began hosting a nightly coast-to-coast radio program on the [[Mutual Broadcasting System]],<ref name=ad2/> inheriting the talk show slot that had begun with [[Herb Jepko]] in late 1975, then followed by [[John Nebel|"Long John" Nebel]] in 1977.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1586228/Mutual-Broadcasting-System|title=Mutual Broadcasting System|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> King's Mutual show rapidly developed a devoted audience,<ref name=c82/> called "King-aholics".<ref name=tb81>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19810104&id=7DBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3792,4986335 |title=The Radio 'King': From Midnight to Dawn |access-date=November 28, 2014 |date=January 4, 1981 |publisher=[[Toledo Blade]] |first=Tom |last=Davies}}</ref>

''[[The Larry King Show]]''<ref name="ad2">{{cite web|title=Listen! You're going to hear things you've never heard before|url=http://www.fuzface.com/dcrtv/photo379.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402035726/http://www.fuzface.com/dcrtv/photo379.jpg|archive-date=April 2, 2018|access-date=November 20, 2014|publisher=dcrtv.com Photo Gallery}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20160308210306/http://dcrtv.com/plus/photo93.html Alt URL]</ref> was broadcast live Monday through Friday from midnight to 5:30&nbsp;a.m. Eastern Time. King would interview a guest for the first hour, with callers asking questions that continued the interview for the next two hours.<ref name=tb81/> At 3&nbsp;a.m., the ''[[Open Phone America]]'' segment began, where he allowed callers to discuss any topic they pleased with him,<ref name=c82/><ref name=dr21>{{cite web |last1=Spade |first1=Doug |first2=Mike |last2=Clement |url=https://www.thedailyreporter.com/opinion/20210129/farewell-to-king |title=Farewell to the King - Opinion - The Daily Reporter - Coldwater, MI |publisher=The Daily Reporter |date=January 29, 2021 |access-date=January 30, 2021}}</ref> until the end of the program when he expressed his own political opinions. Many stations in the western time zones carried the ''Open Phone America'' portion of the show live, followed by the guest interview on tape delay.<ref name=dn21/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/46222406/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=November 2, 2015|archive-date=October 18, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Gettysburg Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018022909/http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/46222406/ |title=Listeners pay close attention to late-night radio broadcast |date=March 22, 1982 |page=13 }}</ref>

Some of King's regular callers used pseudonyms or were given nicknames by King, such as "The Numbers Guy",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Technical-Correction-The-Numbers-Guy-And-Wall-2726936.php|title=Technical Correction / "The Numbers Guy" And Wall Street|date=November 21, 2000|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]}}</ref> "The Chair", "The Portland Laugher",<ref name=c82>{{cite news|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1982/11/22/midnight-snoozer-pbibt-wasnt-very-long/|title=Midnight Snoozer|newspaper=[[Harvard Crimson]]|access-date=November 2, 2015}}</ref> "The Miami Derelict", and "The Scandal Scooper".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TOn0St0hjzUC&q=Syracuse+Chair|title=Larry King|first1=Larry|last1=King|first2=Emily|last2=Yoffe|date= 1984|publisher=[[Berkley Books]]|access-date=July 25, 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=978-0-425-06831-1}}</ref> At the beginning, the show had 28 affiliates,<ref name=latobit>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-01-23/larry-king-dead-at-87|title=Larry King, TV broadcaster and talk-show host, dies at 87|date=January 23, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> but eventually rose to over 500.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://affiliates.westwoodone.com/talk/larry-king-bio.asp |title=Larry King Bio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514040052/http://affiliates.westwoodone.com/talk/larry-king-bio.asp |archive-date=May 14, 2009}}</ref> King occasionally entertained the audience by telling amusing stories from his youth or early broadcasting career.<ref name="fussman"/><ref name=dr21/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9GjuVnuAbswC&q=moppo |title=My Remarkable Journey|first=Larry|last=King|access-date=November 2, 2015|isbn=978-1-60286-123-7|date= 2010|publisher=Weinstein Books }}</ref><ref name=ss1>{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-01-31/features/8801070156_1_larry-king-larry-zeiger-oral-roberts|title=The Nine Lives Of Larry King|work=Sun Sentinel|access-date=November 2, 2015|archive-date=November 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129041457/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-01-31/features/8801070156_1_larry-king-larry-zeiger-oral-roberts|url-status=live}}</ref>

Wishing to reduce his workload, King began hosting a shorter, daytime version of the show in 1993. [[Jim Bohannon]], King's primary fill-in host, took over the late night time slot. After 16 years on Mutual, King decided to retire from the program. The final broadcast of ''The Larry King Show'' was heard on May 27, 1994; Mutual gave King's afternoon slot to [[David Brenner]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1994-06-24/entertainment/ca-8138_1_talk-radio|title=Today's Talk-Radio Topic: The Future of Talk Radio|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=November 2, 2015|date=June 24, 1994|archive-date=October 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018022909/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-06-24/entertainment/ca-8138_1_talk-radio|url-status=live}}</ref> and Mutual's affiliates were given the option of carrying the audio of King's new CNN evening television program. After [[Westwood One (1976–2011)|Westwood One]] dissolved Mutual in 1999, the radio [[simulcast]] of the CNN show continued until December 31, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=Westwood One Ends Larry King Show Simulcast |url=http://radiosyndicationtalk.com/2009/12/07/westwood-one-ends-larry-king-show-simulcast/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219022812/http://radiosyndicationtalk.com/2009/12/07/westwood-one-ends-larry-king-show-simulcast/ |archive-date=December 19, 2009 |access-date=November 2, 2015 |work=Radio Syndication Talk}}</ref>