'I'm thinking to myself, I've done 50,000 interviews,' the late night talk show host stated one of his other reasons. 'I'm never going to top this.'
- Jun 30, 2010
AceShowbiz - It was purely Larry King's decision to retract from "Larry King Live". In a statement written on his personal blog and Twitter account, the late night host stated his reason to leave as the opportunity to spend more time with his wife, Shawn Southwick, and the kids. Just two months ago, King's marriage was on the verge of a break-up but they reconciled shortly after.
He began the June 29 evening note, saying "Before I start the show tonight, I want to share some personal news with you. 25 years ago, I sat across this table from New York Governor Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast of Larry King Live." He continued, "Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end Larry King Live, the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids' little league games."
Of where he goes from here, King made it clear that he won't totally quit CNN because he would do "several Larry King specials on major national and international subjects." Later that night during his live show, King told guest Bill Maher that he gains sort of "freedom" with the end of the show. "I want to expand," King said. "I want to do other things that I haven't been able to do."
Just earlier this month, it was reported that Piers Morgan was due to replace King because rating has been declining over the years. However, a spokesperson of CNN said at that time, "Not surprisingly, there is no shortage of people who would love to succeed Larry King if and when he moves on, but rumors that we are close to signing a deal for a Larry King replacement are untrue."
