Larry King died in January of 2021. It initially speculated that the aging talk show host had passed as a direct result of COVID-19. However, his wife, Shawn King, has recently revealed more specific details regarding the late television personality’s passing. Her husband, who was 87 at the time of his death. And had been suffering from a great deal of health complications as of late. As well, the two embroiled in divorce proceedings that had yet to come to a head. Join Facts Verse as we examine the true cause of Larry King’s death as it just revealed.
Larry King was born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger on November 19 of 1933. He worked up the ranks as a radio interviewer through the 1950s and 1960s before eventually rising to mainstream prominence as the host of The Larry King Show. This call-in radio program saw the radio personality become a star. And he eventually leveraged this success into his own talk show on CNN. This show, which called Larry King Live, began airing in the year 1985 and lasted until 2010. After Larry King Live taken off of the air, Larry King kept the format alive in his following venture. A talk show called Larry King Now on the Hulu streaming platform.
Over the duration of his expansive career, Larry King conducted over 50,000 interviews, many of which featured important guests talking about some very notable topics. As a talk show host, Larry King held a level of prestige that few could match. Not only did this prestige come as a result of his CNN platform. But also as a result of his unique intelligence when it came to interviewing his subjects. Larry King became known for his in-depth interviews. And will missed as both a source of information and a source of entertainment.
Before the announcement of his death in January of 2021, many were already aware that Larry King’s health had been suffering. As well, he was going through a very public divorce with his longtime wife and the mother of several his children, Shawn King. Larry King had married seven times previously. But his marriage to Shawn King had managed to last longer than any of his previous. While his second-longest marriage before Shawn had lasted less than a decade, his marriage to Shawn lasted for over two. The two became married in 1997 and went on to have two children together. And adding to the three Larry King had from his other marriages.
When Shawn King first announced her husband’s death, no cause given. Many speculated that the television personality had likely passed away as a result of COVID-19. He had tested positive for the virus only ten days prior to the announcement of his death, so there was a good reason to connect the dots. However, it now appears that the true cause of death was a little bit more complicated. Apparently, the actual cause of death was a sepsis infection that took hold only a few days after Larry beat his COVID-19 diagnosis. Although he managed to defeat the COVID-19, the battle had greatly weakened his body. Once he’s done with the fight, an unrelated infection took over and his body didn’t have any energy left to fight it. So while the COVID-19 diagnosis didn’t directly cause the death, it was tangentially related.
Shawn King has shared that it was difficult watching her husband struggle through his final days. Although the two had known to have their differences in the past, they still remained close and cared about each other. According to Shawn, her husband “wasn’t right” as his “body was going”. Eventually, Larry had become too weak to fight. Larry was able to speak to his children one last time over FaceTime. Shawn says that one of his final messages to her was that he loved her, and to “take care of the boys”.
Larry King’s family put together a private funeral for him. During the event, Shawn said that she could “very distinctly feel [the presence of Larry] around [her]”. She went on to say that the whole family was “happy and so proud of [Larry] for all the wonderful things that he did”, which, according to her, was “a lot”. Larry will certainly remembered fondly for his many accomplishments. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! As well, subscribe to Facts Verse if you’d like to be among the first to know when more videos are on their way!
Larry King and Shawn King were in the middle of a divorce at the time of Larry King’s death in January of 2021. The divorce proceedings had widely publicized. And Shawn had spoken about the negative impact that the divorce had been having on her life. Both figures had divorced previously. Shawn King had married and divorced one time prior to meeting and marrying Larry King. Larry King, on the other hand, had married and divorced seven times before meeting Shawn. Regardless of their plans to divorce, Larry’s marriage to Shawn was his longest by over a decade. The two married in 1997, meaning they were together for over two decades.
According to Shawn, she “was crushed” when she found out that Larry King intended to divorce her, having had “no idea that [it] was coming”. She said that “it hurt” and that she “was totally blindsided”. Although the divorce never finalized, the two had separated since June 6 of 2019. The reason for their separation cited as irreconcilable differences. Shawn felt that a lot of these differences caused by Larry’s failing health. Months before their separation, Larry underwent surgery for a stroke he had suffered after a long history of heart problems. All things considered, it appears that Shawn was honestly shocked when the divorce was announced, though perhaps Larry had more reason than she let on.
In 2016, rumors circulated that Shawn had been cheating on Larry for over a year. Larry quickly denied these rumors, saying that people shouldn’t pay any attention to them. With or without any infidelity, though, there were still issues that Shawn and Larry experienced in their relationship. For one thing, the two simply never had a lot in common. Larry King was an atheist, whereas Shawn was a practicing Mormon. As well, Larry King was over a quarter of a century Shawn’s elder. According to King himself, it became too hard for him to relate to his wife as he was getting older and his health started failing. He explained that, although he would “always care for [his] wife… it just hit a point where [they] didn’t get along”.
Larry King had always been fairly candid about his troubles when it came to marriage. When asked, he was never afraid to admit that he “got married a lot”. He explained that “when [he] grew up… [when] you fell in love, you got married”. So when the radio personality fell in love with a women, he married them without question and he didn’t care whether the marriage lasted or not. However, it appears that King overcame this mentality in later years. As his marriage to Shawn lasted a greater deal longer than those beforehand. Although he seemed adamant to make the marriage work, it simply became too much for the aging icon in the end.
After his stroke in early 2019, Larry King said that he “thought a lot about what [he] wanted the rest of [his] life to be”. He then went on to explain that it’s much easier to overcome troubles in a marriage when you aren’t experiencing the health troubles of old age. He said that he “wanted to be happy” and that “separating was… difficult… but there [was] nothing [more difficult for his health] than arguing [with his wife]”. Despite this, Larry still went on to say that the two loved each other. And that he wished his wife “nothing but the best”. In his final months, Larry was being forced by the courts to pay $33,000 a month to Shawn in temporary spousal support. This was to continue indefinitely, pending a finalized divorce agreement.
Larry King was certainly a fighter. And it’s tragic that he managed to overcome COVID-19 before succumbing to an unrelated sepsis infection. After all that the television personality managed to survive, it’s hard not to feel that he deserved better in his final days. Comment down below to share your favorite interview segment from Larry’s long career. Or if you think that he was right or wrong for trying to divorce Shawn King during the final years of his life as his health failed. As always, like the video to show your support. And subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
