King Larry - My Remarkable Journey

My Remarkable Journey

LARRY

K I N G

My Remarkable Journey

with Cal Fussman

VIKING CANADA

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Published in Viking Canada hardcover by Penguin Group (Canada), a division of Pearson

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Copyright Larry King, 2009

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To the women in my life

My wife, Shawn Southwick-King,

who gets the civilian purple heart

and

Wendy Walker, my executive producer

and, more importantly, my friend

somewhere I have never travelled, gladly beyond.

Copyright 1931, 1959, 1991 by the Trustees for the E.E. Cummings Trust.

Copyright 1979 George James Firmage,

from COMPLETE POEMS: 19041962 by E.E. Cummings,

edited by George J. Firmage. Used by permission of

Liveright Publishing Corporation.

THERE USED TO BE A BALLPARK

By Joseph Raposo

1976 INSTRUCTIONAL CHILDRENS MUSIC INC (ASCAP) &

SERGEANT MUSIC CO. (ASCAP)

All Rights on Behalf of SERGEANT MUSIC CO. (ASCAP)

Administered by WB MUSIC CORP. (Publishing) and

ALFRED PUBLISHING CO., INC. (Print)

All Rights Reserved Used by Permission of ALFRED PUBLISHING CO., INC.

CRY OF THE WILD GOOSE, THE

Words and Music by TERRY GILKYSON

1949 (Renewed) UNICHAPPELL MUSIC INC.

ELVIS PRESLEY MUSIC INC.

All Rights Administered by UNICHAPPELL MUSIC INC

All Rights Reserved Used by Permission of ALFRED PUBLISHING CO., INC.

The reason theres nothing better than fatherhood is what it produces. In my case, it produced: Andy, Larry Jr., Chaia, Chance, and Cannon. They are my reason for being.

Memory

M EMORY IS FUNNY. You can remember something that happened to you on an afternoon fifty years ago, but you forget where you had lunch yesterday.

The problem is, the longer you live, the more there is to remember. Therefore, it makes sense that you have a better memory at thirty than you have at seventy-five. I have more than seventy-five years of memories embedded in me. Another day was added to that yesterday. Another will be added today.

Sometimes, photographs can refresh our memories. Other times, they become our memories. I remember talking with John F. Kennedy Jr. about the famous picture of him as a three-year-old saluting at his fathers funeral. He had no memory of that moment, but he knew the picture. Hed seen the picture all his life. The picture turned into his memory.

Like photos, stories can preserve memories. But they can also touch them up. Theres always going to be some embellishment when you tell a story. How can you not embellish? Maybe you forget what somebody said at a certain point and you substitute a phrase thats a little funnier. It gets a laugh, so you bring it along for the next telling. After a while, you cant remember the incident any other way.

So the memories on the following pages may not be exactly the way they happened. A lot of them have been preserved by humor. But their general essence is correct.

There are times when I get a little frustrated when I cant remember something. Theres that old joke: I just read this great book, Ten Steps to a Perfect Memory by, uhhhh... But I never forget jokes and funny stories. Humor is the one thing I retain fully. I can remember moments that made me laugh from the time I was a kid. And I have a feeling that humor will be the last part of my memory to go.

This may surprise you if youve only seen me on my CNN show. But if I hadnt gone into broadcasting, I probably would have become a comic. Making people laugh is still my biggest kick.

Memories are all we have. Lose them, and we have nothing. But memories touched by humor, those are the best of all.

There are other memories throughout this book. These are the memories of my family, my friends, and those who know me best. They are sure to include thoughts about me that I wouldnt think about myself. Theyll help you see me as a whole. Im not going to read these other memories until the book is published. I certainly wouldnt want to be in the position to edit them or tell anybody what to say.

So the funny thing is, when I pick up this book, I may be just as surprised to learn about my life as you.

Chapter 1
What Am I Doing Here?

Y OUD SEE ME in a different way if you were sitting at my table at Nate n Al Deli over breakfast every morning. First of all, I dont wear the suspenders there. Second, youd realize that I hate eggs. And third, youd have to imagine me in a car trunkbecause sooner or later the story of the exclusive interview of the century would come up.

This took place a while back. There was a producer on my showcall him Bob. A good guy, but the most hyper person Ive ever known. One day Bob got a call from a bigwig at CNN International.

The bigwig said, Bob! An incredible thing is about to happen!

What? What? What? Bob was already on the edge of his seat.

Weve got an exclusive with Osama bin Laden.

Holy shit!

You can understand Bobs reaction. The United States armed forces had been searching for bin Laden since September 11, 2001. Television news couldnt have landed a bigger interview unless it found talking aliens.

Its going to be in Pakistan.

Bob was nodding furiously.

But heres the only way its going to work. Were going to fly you and Larry in to a very remote area. You wont have a film crew with you. We cant bring any equipment. The film crew will be theirs. The sound crew will be theirs. The interpreter will be theirs. Theyll do the taping. When the interview is finished, theyll give us the tape to bring home. Thats the deal we had to make.

Oh, and Bob, theres one other proviso. When you and Larry get to Pakistan, youre going to be driven to a special spot. Then you and Larry will get out of the car. You will wait at that spot. Larry will get in the trunk of another car so he can be driven to Osama. Theres no other way to do it. They cant risk anyone knowing the slightest details about Osamas whereabouts.