Sunday, April 15, 2007
Larry King Thinks John Roberts Should be His Perfect Successor
Larry King celebrates his 50th year in broadcasting this week. In an interview in USA Today, King answers a number of questions...including who he would like to succeed him at the mic:Q: Go ahead, anoint your successor.
A: (CNN's) John Roberts. He was a great White House correspondent, and he's a natural interviewer.
Below are a few more questions and answers from the interview:
Q: Who are your top five interviews?
A: First, Malcolm X. He taught me a lot about my own thinking. He made me concentrate much more on racism in America in the early '60s. He was profound and memorable.
Frank Sinatra: He was vibrant, passionate. He had a little chip on his shoulder, he had a sense of humor, and he could literally put you on stage with him.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Eloquent, a preacher beyond "preacherdom," if there is such a word. He changed the room when he walked in, and he had one of the greatest voices ever.
Mario Cuomo: Consistently passionate, a wonderful sense of humor, bright, an interviewer's dream.
Jane Fonda: Great sense of humor. She has drive, extraordinary compassion and an ability to articulate her positions on various issues.
Q: What's your single most memorable career moment?
A: Danny Kaye, talking to the mother of a sailor killed in Korea. She called in to my radio show to tell him how much her son loved Danny and how she dusted Danny's picture next her son's picture on her television set every day. Danny sang Deenah to her.
Q: Are you going to retire someday?
A: Retire to what? I wouldn't know what to do with retirement. I love what I do. I still feel just as good. I still like it when the light goes on. I still love meeting people. My curiosity remains endless. And I figure the more I work, the more I push off that big Brooklyn guy in the sky from making the grab.
Q: What if CNN had never come along?
A: CNN happened because I worked in television all my years, as well. In fact, my 50 years in broadcasting include 48 on television. So I wouldn't have been on CNN, but I would have been on local television in Miami, Washington and L.A., if I had moved to L.A. The effect would have been I wouldn't have been known in Tehran.
# posted by ATN @ 11:18 PM 
