In the wake of 9/11, that casual style left us wanting. He wasn't imposing or intimidating, he was a nice guy asking for simple explanations to simple things about which he was curious. Politicians in the hot seat softened and came off as more human even as they answered questions that seemed serious but were nowhere in the same realm of toughness as they would be if a major network journalist was doing the interrogating. King made his subjects come across as people – real people, serious people. In the maximalist '80s and '90s that approach worked wonders. Since he didn't deeply research his guests, he tended to ask questions the average person might want to know. Still, there's a little Larry King in every great interviewer, whether they'd cop to it or not. "I live a highly scheduled life," she says. "How do you – how do you have a balance?" King asks. "You're a singer." "Yes." "You're an actress." "Yes." "You're a mother." "Yes.". She replies, "Yes."Īnd it goes from there. Ponder this excerpt from a gift of a conversation with Madonna, circa 2002.
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If King has a place on those list it's usually out of respect for his fame and his 25 years with CNN and multiple cameos in films and TV shows, not necessarily out of any innovations he added to the form.
Bill Maher, if you don't outright detest the guy. David Letterman, if you're counting hosts skilled with getting great answers out of uncomfortable questions.
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Ask people to list their favorite professional conversationalists, and certain names are almost guaranteed to earn multiple mentions: Howard Stern. The show became as vital of a stop for campaigning politicians and stars selling their latest movies as "The Tonight Show" or "Oprah."Įven then, many hosts and journalists were more skilled at the art of the interview than King was. Not long after "Larry King Live" debuted in 1985 it earned the highest ratings of any program on CNN. It's that his guileless interview style quickly went out of fashion as more combative punditry came into style. It wasn't merely a matter of ageism or his faltering health, I suspect. For a millions of everyday people, they are.īeyond this, however, is that this friendly exchange evinces why King, a man who took pride in minimal preparation for his interviews during most of his 63-year career in broadcasting, slipped from his prominent berth on CNN's "Larry King Live" to a "Larry King Now" on Ora.TV, a digital channel he co-founded. More people who watched that video relate to Pudi's designation of good coffee and quality running socks as a luxury than King's declaration that those things aren't special. The performer has better pop culture currency these days than the late King, though, in that he's perennially interesting and relatable. This is not to imply he never could be, he just isn't right now. Time was that being one of Larry King's guests was the ultimate signal that you had gained entry into celebrity heaven if you were sitting across from him you were the type of person who never needed reservations at exclusive restaurants or had enjoyed exclusive access to a few private jets in your time. Without intending to, Pudi unlocks a few achievements in this response, starting with flipping the classic "Don't you know who I am?" rejoinder on its head. Pudi looks baffled for a beat before delivering what may be the most perfect answer to a Larry King statement since Marlon Brando smooched the man on the lips. "What luxury should I have?" And King purrs, knowingly, "A private plane." Neither of these answers are good enough for King. "Your socks, what, you put in your shoes?" Pudi explains he likes cozy feet.
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King scoffs at this, leading Pudi to take a second crack at the question by offering, "I like socks." The first luxury of choice that came to his mind was coffee. More relatable, too, as Pudi's answers prove. Nobody should complain about that because in fact, between the two of them Pudi is probably more beloved and better known by younger media consumers. Pudi is not the sort of actor King would have booked at the height of his powers, an era when presidents, pop stars and other headline makers sat down across from him and that gleaming vintage microphone sitting inches from his face. At the end of December this question launched a clip from King's February 2020 interview with Danny Pudi, an actor and director best known for playing the insightful oddball character Abed on NBC's "Community." 23, the internet gifted us with a reminder of why he was one of the 20 th century's most powerful interviewers, and why the 21 st century ushered him into irrelevance. It all comes down to a single question: "A luxury you can't live without."Īnyone who keeps up with viral memes knows exactly what this is referencing.