Lawrence Harvey Zeiger, now known as Larry King, was born on Nov. 19, 1933, in Brooklyn, the second child of Jennie and Eddie Zeiger, both Russian-Jewish immigrants. Their first child, a boy six years older than King, died of appendicitis shortly before King’s birth. His only other sibling, Martin, became vice president and corporate counsel for the Revco drugstore chain.
Although his parents’ bar-and-grill in the Brownsville section was fairly successful, Eddie Zieger sold the business when World War II broke out in order to contribute to the war effort by working at a defense plant in Kearny, NJ. On June 10, 1944, he died of a heart attack while working at the plant, forcing Jennie Zeiger to take relief payments before she found work in Manhattan’s garment district a year later.
His idolized father’s sudden death traumatized the 10-year-old Larry King. Although he had done so well in school that he skipped from the second to the fourth grade, he now neglected his studies and gained the reputation of a troublemaker at Brooklyn’s J.H.S. 128. His record did not improve at Lafayette High School; he graduated in 1951 with a grade average of 66, one point above the minimum for passing.
Reflecting on his father’s death and his problems at school in an interview for the periodical Current Biography, King explained that, at first not understanding what had happened, he simply thought that his father had left him. “And if he left me, who would leave me next? And so nothing else was worth it but the things I liked -— and the things I liked were broadcasting and sports.”
When his mother moved her family from Brownsville to an attic apartment in Bensonhurst, he spent most of his time watching the Brooklyn Dodgers, talking about sports, or listening to Arthur Godfrey, whom he worshipped, Walter Winchell, Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding. He also listened to such popular radio series as “Armstrong Theater of Today,” “The Lone Ranger,” “Vox Pop,” “Grand Central Station” and “Town Meeting of the Air.” He often went to Manhattan studios to see his favorite shows being broadcast.
Although he was certain that he wanted a career in broadcasting, King did not know how to break into the field. So he marked time in Brooklyn for four years after high school, working as a delivery boy and mail clerk, among other odd jobs. Finally, in 1957, at the age of 23, he took a bus to Miami where he heard a neophyte could start a radio career. He only got a job sweeping floors of radio station WAHR, but when the disc jockey for the station’s 9 a.m. to noon show suddenly quit, King was asked to replace him.
On May 1, 1957, having changed his name moments before he went on the air from Zeiger to King at the station manager’s suggestion, he found himself in front of a microphone for the first time. King was petrified but finally he was able to speak and told his radio audience about his plight. That was his last case of mike fright. From there on we know that Larry King has climbed to the top and became “The King of Talk Radio.” In 1989 the “Guiness Book of Records,” said he logged more on-air time than anyone in radio history.
King was not always serious. He often cavorted in comedy sketches featuring his fictional alien, Gork of the planet Fringus, and several regular callers, among them the Portland Laughter and the Brooklyn Scandal Scooper, also provided antic relief. Seriously, he has interviewed more than 30,000 people during his career.
Since 1989, King has hosted a highly-rated cable TV interview show. His autobiography Larry King by Larry King (Simon and Schuster, 1982) became a best seller. King has also done some acting in movies: Disney’s The Kid (2000), Burn Hollywood Burn (1997), Contact (1997) and Save the Rainforest as well as appearing in cameo roles in Ghostbusters, Mad City and Lost in America. You’ll find his place of honor on the Brooklyn Celebrity Path at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It’s been there since 1992.
— V.P.
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