Larry King
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HOLLYSCOOP EXCLUSIVE
April 17, 2011
Image by Splash News
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Piers had big shoes to fill, and lots of critics to prove wrong. Unfortunately some loyal Larry King fans refused to watch the show and ratings went down. But good news is the bad press doesn’t bother Piers.
When asked about his low ratings, Piers told Hollyscoop at the NBC Press Day Conference, “I love my job. I love both jobs. I love the variety. It’s a surreal day when I’ve been judging America’s Got Talent and then going on to the roof of the theatre and doing a scene intro outside…”
He admits having different jobs can be a surreal experience, but he welcomes any challenge. .
He told HS, “Well it’s surreal when you’re doing an hour on Libya, and you go back downstairs, you come out and there are six dancing Christmas trees. It takes a second to realign myself. I use to run two big newspapers in Britain, and it’s kind of the same, you’ve got serious days and then you’ve got not so serious days.”
So how does it feel to be a British anchor in America hosting one of the most prestigious shows here?
“I like it. Inheriting Larry King’s throne is a pretty big deal. I think he would be surprised that I was chosen. I think we’ve had a pretty good four months. The ratings have been good and then guests have been really good. The new show has surprisingly been frequented because we’re the news, and for me that’s great,” said Piers.
Being a Brit, he admits he’s really looking forward to the Royal Wedding—and even has a special request for a co-host.
“I’m commentating on it for CNN. Tell Jerry Seinfeld to come along and be a co-host. I’m the co-anchor,” he joked.
Jerry Seinfeld slammed the Royal Family and the Royal wedding last week claiming there’s nothing special about them.
“Yes, I'm very excited," Seinfeld said. "Well it's a circus act, it's an absurd act."
He said, “You know, it's dress-up. It's a classic English thing of let's play dress-up. Let's pretend that these are special people. OK, we'll all pretend that—that's what theater is.”
Now that I think about it, Jerry would make a great co-anchor. What do you think of Piers as the host of “Piers Morgan Tonight”?
January 18, 2011
Image by wenn.com
Now that Regis Philbin announced he's leaving Live with Regis and Kelly, Larry wants the job. Seriously.
“I would get a kick out of that,” Larry tells The Hollywood Reporter. Speaking to Inside Edition, Larry added: “I would sit in for him for a few weeks. I would get a kick out of that. I would do that in a minute.”
I love Larry King as much as the next person but he seriously just needs to retire at this point!
Meanwhile, there are rumors that ABC is considering offering Ryan Seacrest a huge chunk of money to take Regis' place.
Ryan already has 15 jobs and a zillion dollars in the bank, how about you guys give someone else a chance?! #tiredofRyanhostingeverything.
September 8, 2010
According to CNN, Piers will take over the prime-time hour with "a candid, in-depth newsmaker interview program" starting in January.
"Piers has made his name posing tough questions to public figures, holding them accountable for their words and deeds," said CNN-US President Jon Klein. "He is able to look at all aspects of the news with style and humor with an occasional good laugh in the process."
"I have watched 'Larry King Live' for much of the last 25 years, and dreamed of one day filling the legendary suspenders of the man I consider to be the greatest TV interviewer of them all," Piers said.
Piers spoke to Hollyscoop at the 2010 Emmys last month telling us that while the deal was close to being finalized, he felt he could never really replace Larry.
“No one can ever replace Larry King, he’s an absolute iconic figure," Piers told Hollyscoop EXCLUSIVELY. "He’s one the great interviewers in the world, has been for 25 years on TV, so no one's gonna replace him. It’s like Simon Cowell on Idol.”
Check out our exclusive interview with Piers below...
Some outlets were reporting that the deal was done while some assumed it fell through. But Hollyscoop got the scoop straight from Morgan himself at the Emmys, so we can put all the speculation to rest.
“I am in negotiations with CNN to do a prime time interview show," he told Hollyscoop EXCLUSIVELY on the red carpet at the 2010 Emmy Awards Sunday night.
"We're in the end of negotiations, so hopefully we will have something to announce quite soon,” he added.
When we pressed for a solid answer, he smiled and said, “It’s looking good, I'm quite excited.”
He may be taking over Larry's prime time spot, but he admits he can never replace the King of Talk.
“No one can ever replace Larry King, he’s an absolute iconic figure," said Morgan. "He’s one the great interviewers in the world, has been for 25 years on TV, so no one's gonna replace him. It’s like Simon Cowell on Idol.”
So what can we expect if Piers does get his own show on CNN? “If we get the deal done, I can be myself and show America what I can do when I interview people,” he expressed.
We also wanted to know how Piers Morgan landed a gig that people like Howard Stern and Matt Lauer would kill for. He’s a household name in the UK, and is becoming more well-known as a judge on Americas Got Talent.
“Well I think I do Americas Got Talent, which is a big show here and that’s given me a profile. And back in England, I do interviews mainly and so I’ve interviewed British Prime Minister and Simon Cowell and all these big figures…obviously when Larry decided he was going to go and there became a vacancy in the prime time schedule… [it was] very exciting.”
Piers ran us through what his show would be like if negotiations went through. “We're talking hypothetically at the moment," he said, "I do a very established show back in Britain if you watch a few of those you can get idea of my technique…sort of a James Bond sort of thing...smiling assassin.”
To check out our exclusive interview click on the video below.
August 11, 2010
While it was wildly speculated that Piers would be taking over Larry’s 9 p.m. time slot when he retires this fall, it's "highly unlikely" that he will.
“That quite a big job to do,” the America’s Got Talent judge told Hollywood Life at the launch party for Paris Hilton’s new perfume, “Tease,” in Hollywood. “It’s the biggest news organization in the world. It’s highly unlikely that I’ll be taking over.”
Piers already has his plate full with America’s Got Talent, so it makes sense that he's no longer being considered. Larry recently said he would love to have Ryan Seacrest replace him, but Ryan already has 15 other jobs. Who do you think should replace Larry?
July 30, 2010
NBC Universal Television Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin, confirmed that Piers Morgan has signed on to replace Larry King as the anchor of CNN's Live.
There were rumors for months that Piers was going to replace Larry and apparently the reason the deal was stalling was because of Piers' "America's Got Talent" contract with NBC.
When asked whether the new "Talent" contract meant NBC would be sharing Morgan with CNN, Gaspin had a one word reply: "Yes," reports The Wrap.
Do you think Piers will be a good replacement for Larry? Who would you have wanted to fill the seat?
June 30, 2010
Image by Splash News
He says he wants workaholic Ryan Seacrest to fill his shoes. "I love Ryan,” King told Extra. “He's very intelligent, but I need to have a fiery political discussion with him first.”
Larry King Calls It Quits: "I'm Hanging Up My Nightly Suspenders"
As for Morgan, Larry isn’t totally opposed to the America’s Got Talent judge filling the position. "I don't know Piers Morgan. I've never seen him work, but I hear he's very good," said Larry.
As for King’s final interviews, he’s shooting big—and…sorta creepy. He said, "I'd like to interview Bin Laden and Bernie Madoff. People are interested in evil.”
Larry looks forward to all the free time he’ll have once he retires. "My wife is really happy, she didn't like the restrictions I had with CNN," he explained.
Hmmm, we’re sure she liked that weekly paycheck, though. Who knows what’s going on with those two anyway.
As for our opinion, Seacrest would be our first pick too. He needs to start branching away from entertainment eventually, and he’s already a master at interviewing. Yes, he may be more accustomed to interviewing the cast of The Hills than politicians. But the beauty of Larry’s show is that he interviews everyone—from sports figures, to actors and directors, to the president!
Who do you think should replace Larry?
Larry took to his twitter page on Tuesday night to let fans know that he's officially done with his talk show.
In the statement, he said, "25 years ago, I sat across this table from New York Governor Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast of Larry King Live.
Suicide Note Found at Larry King's Home
"Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end Larry King Live, the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games."
But the good news is he's not retiring completely. He added, "I’ll still be a part of the CNN family, hosting several Larry King specials on major national and international subjects.
"I’m incredibly proud that we recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot. With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders."
Larry King's Wife Overdoses on Pills
Larry has been in the headlines all year, not because of his show, but because of his inevitable divorce from estranged wife Shawn King. Hopefully he can use the time off to save his marriage...and Shawn. She recently reportedly overdosed on prescription pills and left a suicide note behind.
British journalist-turned-TV personality Piers Morgan is reportedly in talks to take over Larry's nightly time spot on CNN. Who do you think could fill Larry's shoes?
June 14, 2010
Image by wenn.com
Between a divorce and his wife's possible suicide attempt, 77 year-old Larry is reportedly ready to retire. And British TV personality Piers Morgan is ready to take over his job.
Suicide Note Found at Larry King's Home
According to the New York Post, the “America’s Got Talent” and “Britain’s Got Talent” judge is in talks with CNN for a “possible panel show.”
He's reportedly going to host an 8PM slot, or as a replacement for Larry himself on “Larry King Live.”
“We aren’t commenting on the Piers Morgan speculation, but we are talking to many people about the 8 PM hour,” the rep told Access Hollywood.
Larry's ratings are down 43% so it sounds like this whole Piers rumor couldn't have come at a better time. Do you think it's time for Larry to retire? Or does he still have a few years in him?
According to TMZ, Shawn left a handwritten note explaining that she’d overdosed on purpose, and even wrote that she wanted to be buried in Provo, Utah, which is where the OD occurred.
Larry King's Wife Overdoses on Pills
As you may recall, Shawn’s father Karl Engemann is the one who found her the next morning, unresponsive. He insisted to the media that his daughter was not trying to kill herself.
But authorities say that was one of two handwritten notes they found on the scene. No details about the second note are available at this time.
This is so sad. We hope she gets help. More details to follow…
UPDATE: According to the AP, Shawn is recovering at a nearby hospital. Radaronline is reporting that Larry didn't visit her for days after she overdosed.
UPDATE 2: A police report from Provo, Utah, lists the following eight prescriptions that Shawn's currently taking: Compro, Prometrium, Clonazepam, Ambien, Klonopin, Subutex, Cymbalta and Lyrica. According to police, all eight prescriptions believed to be filled within the last ten days, were found empty by her bedside. YIKES!
UPDATE 3: Larry just released the following statement: "Our marriage is still together, and I am staying very close to our children, who we love immensely. We shall go through this difficult time intact as a family."
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