Larry King has been hospitalized with COVID-19
(CNN) — Legendary talk show host and former CNN interviewer Larry King has COVID-19, according to a source close to the family.
King, 87, has been hospitalized at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for more than a week, the source said. Due to protocols at the hospital, King’s three sons have been unable to visit him, according to the source.
King, who has Type 2 diabetes, has confronted a series of medical issues over the years, including several heart attacks and quintuple bypass surgery in 1987. In 2017, King revealed he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and successfully underwent surgery to treat it. He also underwent a procedure in 2019 to address angina.
His own medical issues inspired him to start the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, a non-profit aimed at helping those without health insurance afford medical care.
King hosted CNN’s “Larry King Live” for 25 years, interviewing presidential candidates, celebrities, athletes, movie stars and everyday people. He retired in 2010 after taping more than 6,000 episodes of the show.
But he couldn’t stay off the airwaves for long.
In 2012, he became the host of “Larry King Now,” a thrice-weekly show on Ora TV, an on-demand digital network he co-founded with Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim, according to Forbes.
Last year, two of King’s adult children died within weeks of each other. His son, 65-year-old Andy King, passed away of a heart attack in late July, followed by King’s 52-year-old daughter Chaia King, who died in August shortly after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
King’s Twitter feed, @kingsthings, has 2.4 million followers. His most recent tweet was on Nov. 26, when he wished his followers a happy Thanksgiving.
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