Lower ratings seem to agree with Larry King. Like most of his one-time fans, I've watched his interviews deteriorate over the last decade…watched him lob more softballs than all the ladies' baseball teams combined. For a long time, he seemed to think that it was less important for his guests to address important issues than for them to enjoy being on Larry King Live and want to come back. Maybe the guests did but audiences haven't been flocking back to him. But lately, he seems to be trying harder. Maybe it's better preparation by his staff. Maybe it's that he hasn't been divorced lately. Whatever it is, he seems to be trying harder.
The bad side of that is more shows about the Laci Peterson case, the Michael Jackson case, etc., and more bogus authorities. When Jermaine Jackson complained about the media giving air time to people who falsely claim to know his family, he probably had Larry in mind. I really wish King (and others on the cable news channels) would raise the standard of what constitutes an expert, an intimate friend or a spokesperson. Larry King Live keeps featuring these "panels" of six people, only one of whom has anything of substance to say.
But one thing Larry has to offer is a long friendship with most of his celebrity guests. He's lately out of his element on newsy topics but pretty good with show biz veterans…and he is kind of a legend. Saturday, CNN is rerunning a special show that ran on the 19th to celebrate Larry's 70th birthday. It started out as an hour with Regis Philbin but about five minutes in, Regis announces that the rest of the hour is actually a surprise birthday party for Larry. Dr. Phil takes over the host chair while Larry moves over to be guest on his own show, claiming to be utterly surprised. I suspect he was not, but you can judge for yourself if you catch it on Saturday. Most of the hour is a cavalcade of stars showing up live, via remote or pre-tape, to wish King a happy seventieth. The list includes Mike Wallace, Jay Leno, Nancy Reagan, George and Barbara Bush, Wayne Newton, Liza Minnelli, Dick Cheney, Tony Bennett, Sharon Stone, Madonna, Ross Perot, Bill Maher, Cher, Don Rickles, Jimmy Carter, and on and on. Weirdest of all is a live remote to Jerry Lewis in some hospital somewhere with an oxygen line taped into his nose. It's the oddest moment in a very odd hour.