Larry King Live at the JCC – Part III
November 14th, 2009 Filed under: Uncategorized — Movie Critic
At one point Larry was asked what he would tell his father if he were alive today. He said his father was the world to him. Having earlier lost an older son at the age of only 6, his father was determined to be there for Larry. King went everywhere with his father, admired him and learned from him, but tragically lost him at age 10.
He recalls when his father died, he came home to their apartment in Brooklyn that day to find the police in the stairwell. An officer scooped him up, took him for a ride in his cruiser and broke the tragic news. He never cried, but was angry at his father for leaving him and felt that way for years. Today, he says if he could tell his father anything, it would be that he forgives him.
Another story King shared about his older son, who is a diehard baseball fan, was taking him to the site of the old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn near where he was born and raised. He was able to show his boy the apartment he grew up in and they marveled at the remnants of what was once a great place. Now it’s in a depressed, rough area where the 7-11 has bars on the window and you probably wouldn’t want to be there alone after dark.
The son wondered why they couldn’t move it all to Beverly Hills. At that point Larry recited a poem about the old Ebbets Field with much zest and gusto — it was quite moving, considering he was nearly out of time and getting the cue to wrap things up. Not surprisingly, King said he loves comedy and making people laugh. He’s tried his hand at it on occasion and has a show coming up at Foxwoods Casino in CT next month. Aside from possibly opening and closing with a joke or two, his shows are more geared toward the story-telling variety of humor at which he’s most adept.
One of his favorite comedians is Mel Brooks and he had some great stories about him. Brooks had called King and asked him to come meet him at the Miami airport once when he was appearing on King’s radio show. Larry agreed and when he got there, Brooks turned and announced to all around, “See, I told you the host would show up for me!”
King also recalled talking to Brooks during intermission when “The Producers” opened on Broadway, which is of course, a satire about Nazi Germany. A gentleman approached Brooks and launched into a tirade about how he’d served in WWII, was offended and humiliated and didn’t plan to stay for the second act. Without missing a beat, Brooks turned to him and said, “You were in World War II? So was I. I didn’t see you there!” Another comedic legend King knew well was Jackie Gleason, who’d appeared on King’s radio show, invited him to the set of “The Honeymooners” and to his home on several occasions. Apparently, Gleason used to like to ask riveting questions of his house guests to make them think.
One time Gleason posed the question, “What in your in your profession is impossible?” In 1964 Frank Sinatra was about the biggest star on the planet and known for not giving interviews, so King responded that a Sinatra interview would fit the bill. He was planning to be in Miami the following week and Gleason assured King he’d get him to appear on King’s program and encouraged him to spread the word. Larry mentioned it on the air and it became the talk of town.
The station took out a $25,000 full-page ad in the Miami Herald, but was also nervous after the fact as was King. Calls to the venue where Sinatra was appearing, the hotel and publicist all went unreturned. King called Gleason a few times leading up to the big day to make sure he was serious. Gleason seemed upset that King doubted him and assured him not to worry.
Lo and behold just as King’s show was scheduled to being at 9PM that Monday evening, a limousine pulled up outside the studio and Sinatra emerged with his publicist, who was amazed that Sinatra had been persuaded to appear. Rather than act as if they were lifelong friends, King kept with his policy of being honest with his audience. His first question to The Chairman was, “Why did are you here?” Apparently, Gleason had filled in for Sinatra for a program about a month earlier. Sinatra vowed to make it up to him one day. The day arrived when he appeared on Larry King’s radio show.
Mike Tobkes is an author, professional life coach and founder of AIM Life Coaching for Success (http://www.aim-life.com). He is passionate about helping people achieve goals and fulfill dreams.
