Larry King wraps up tonight after 25 years and some 7,000 shows. Here's the best profile of him I've ever read, circa '91, by David Finkel:
"THIS IS A TRUE STORY."
Larry King says this in that perfect radio voice of his, deep in pitch, confiding in tone, a voice that fills the room where he has come this evening to give a speech.
He is in a synagogue, looking out at 700 people who have paid $20 and up to see him. The synagogue is in Philadelphia, a somewhat uncomfortable place for him to be at the moment because it is the home of Julie King, his sixth wife, whom he is in the process of divorcing. Even as he speaks, she is down the road in her own place, preparing for a final trip to his Arlington apartment to pack up her clothes.
But he is here anyway because he is rich and famous and adored by his fans, and if a synagogue in Philadelphia wants to pay him $15,000 to speak, the least he can do is take a train north, sign some autographs, pose for some pictures and tell some stories from a remarkable life. He is a good speaker, instantly likable, and when he is done, and the synagogue fills with applause, he decides to tell one story more.
"This," he says, "is known as the Carvel story. I've told it on the air. It's in an earlier book. I haven't told it in a while, but you've been a wonderful audience, very warm and nice, and so I'll tell it."
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