I was not a Larry King fan. I didn't dislike him, but one interview I saw when he interviewed a celebrity I have met and with whose background I am familiar, kind of sounded to me like the celeb's management not only set the ground rules, but wrote the softball questions used. It was disappointing.
That's why when I learned King, with his singer wife Shawn opening for him, was to do an evening of Larry King Live at the Wynn Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, I really didn't want to go. But curiosity got the better of me. I went.
Of course, before King did his thing, his wife who had somewhat mysteriously and very erroneously been billed as a "country" singer, did hers. Reed slim with legs up to here and a big blonde mane, Shawn King's music was all over the place. She did Motown, standards, Smile and sang along with the video of the lovely duet she did with Willie Nelson, I Give. She's very engaging and her performance was nice.
As soon as King began his part of the show I knew I'd made a good decision. My father was a terrific raconteur and, with an interesting career, always had good stories. I grew up with them and know there's nothing like a good story. Larry King has many.
This is a guy who clearly loves to tell his stories. He reads people very well and, for what it's worth, is a pretty good impressionist. Listen to him talk about his escapades as a kid in Bensonhurst, about his first forays into public speaking or about how his name got changed from Larry Zeiger to Larry King. In each story he slips on the character of the person he's talking about.
His childhood friend Herb Cohen, today an author and master negotiator is a key figure in King's childhood memories, as are friends "Hoo-Ha" Horowitz and "Mopsy." He does each voice, every mannerism so that the audience can relive the moment with him. If the audience is having fun, King is having a ball.
Of course, Las Vegas audiences differ slightly from those in New York and Los Angeles. The woman sitting on my right was clearly baffled when the spirit of Don Rickles briefly inhabited King and he said to a very insistent, loud woman in the audience who was trying to get his attention, "You must be Jewish." She was and my next-seat neighbor informed me, "Well, he knows Jewish people are like that." I just replied, "I think he meant that to call out like that took chutzpah."
When he finished his set material, King opened up the floor for questions. Most were innocuous, but some led him on interesting tangents. He suggested that Steve Wynn, seated in the audience, book Yogi Berra: "He won't be funny until a few weeks later. Then people will realize what he said and laugh."
He quoted some random Yogi-isms, including '"No one goes to that restaurant any more. It's too crowded.'"
Then, from former Yankee Gil McDougal: "Yogi, did you hear the news? They've elected a Jewish mayor in Dublin." Yogi: "Only in America."
Berra's childhood friend Joe Garagiola contributed this: "I asked Yogi, 'what time is it?' Yogi replied, 'Do you mean now?'"
King introduced his invited guest Warren Buffett to stand and when the applause died down, said to Wynn, "Steve, Warren sold his [Wynn] stock."
He talked about being kissed on the lips by Marlon Brando and, in response to an audience question, he talked about his toughest interview -- the monosyllabic Robert Mitchum.
Aside from the "20-minute interview that seemed like two hours" with Mitchum, King said his most memorable interview was with Martin Luther King, Jr. Others of note were with Sinatra and Nelson Mandela.
When someone asked about his interviewing and broadcasting philosophy, his answer was simple: "Be honest. My guests don't get offended because they know I'm interested and that's why I'm asking. And if you're honest with the audience, they're with you."
When the question of retirement came up, he pointed out that his contact runs through 2011. But, "when I retire, I can see Ryan Seacrest taking over."
Even though he's 75, retirement is not in Larry King's plans. In fact, he said, "I'll probably die on the air."
But, while he's still here, take any opportunity you have to see him do his thing on stage. Wynn said he'd book King again. I'm looking forward to it. I could have listened to his stories for hours.