NEWSReprieve: Frail TV Talk Show Host Larry King Out Of Intensive Care
TV talk show host Larry King has been released from the intensive care unit after he was hospitalized with the novel coronavirus last week.
King is still in a hospital in Los Angeles, Calif., but is now able to breathe on his own, a spokesperson for King's production company Ora Media reported on Monday, January 3. The 87-year-old was first admitted to the ICU on New Year's Eve and was receiving oxygen.
Luckily, the TV icon was still able to stay in contact with his family, as he had a video call with his three sons Larry Jr., Cannon and Chance.
King's family recently shared a statement and said he "continues to improve. He and his sons thank everyone for the outpouring of support and can't wait to get him home."
"They also thank the medical workers and staff at Cedars-Sinai and hospitals elsewhere who are providing care to so many people under extraordinary circumstances," the statement read.
King has had numerous health scares over the years, including an almost fatal stroke in May 2019 — which occurred just weeks after he underwent heart surgery — and a heart attack in 1987. He also overcame prostate and lung cancer and has type 2 diabetes.
Despite his health struggles, King previously admitted that all of those experiences left him with "less of a fear of dying now."
The father of five explained: "I’m 86 and it is what it is. I just want to keep working until the end. I'd like to die at work — I'll retire right there!
"I’m a good father — nothing beats parenthood," he added. "There's an element of pinching myself every day. Look at what I've come through. All in all if you look at it, I've had a blessed life."
King has been through a lot, as he also recently lost two of his five children.
Last year, the Larry King Live host —whose show ran in primetime on CNN from 1985-2010 — lost son Andy, 65, to a heart attack and daughter Chaia, 51, to lung cancer within weeks of each other. King shared Chaia with his ex-wife Alene Akins, and the duo adopted Andy two years after they wed in 1961. King and Akins first separated in 1963 and got back together four years later before they decided to divorce again in 1972.
The radio host also shares Larry Jr., with ex-wife Annette Kaye and is a father to Cannon and Chance with his estranged wife, Shawn King.
Associated Press was the first to share King's health status update. News of his release comes amid ongoing distribution of the COVID vaccine.
