32nd Annual <strong>NEWS</strong> & <strong>DOCUMENTARY</strong> EMMY®AWARDS EMMY AWARDS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT In 1994, the beachfront one on one with Marlon Brando—complete with Brando’s kiss for Larry. The desktop debate between Al Gore and Ross Perot about NAFTA that Larry moderated with skill and focus. Tammy Faye Messner’s last televised interview on the eve of her death. Through it all, King maintained a simple philosophy: “In my 50 years of broadcasting I’ve learned that the interviewer and interviewee have something irrevocably in common; they’re both human. My goal in talking to people from all walks of life—in all kinds of situations—has never been to judge. It has always been to simply understand.” And while he was always welcoming and made guests comfortable, he wasn’t looking to make friends. “I’ve never been concerned about someone’s liking me tomorrow. I never think of access or good will. I just want a good interview. I want guests to be informative and entertaining,” he said. Oprah Winfrey, the queen of the talk show format, remembered how impressed she was to learn of Larry King’s impact around the world. “At this Ngala Range Reserve, and we have the tracker, who is one of the most powerful black men I had ever seen…I was asking him about Michael Jordan, and he didn’t know who Michael Jordan was…he didn’t know who I was either…but he asked me if I knew Larry King. In a little village in Botswana, the tracker doesn’t know who Michael Jordan is, but he knows Larry. That just blows my mind.” As someone on the other side of the mike, the interviewee, Bill Cosby put it this way about Larry, “He has a unique combination of a big heart, a fine mind, and an unquenchable desire to understand everything and everybody.” Another comic and talk show pro, Bill Maher, put it this way about tonight’s honoree. “Larry King is the master of getting people to open up and tell their story.” In 50 years on radio and television, Larry King amassed an amazing 50,000 interviews. Larry King Live began on CNN in June 1985 and came to an end on December 16, 2010, and it was especially with that program where his unique gifts as a communicator shone. In that time, he conducted a wide variety of celebrity chats, indepth interrogations, debates and discussions. And while the show has ended, the King legacy goes on. There will be Larry King specials, assuring his loyal, worldwide audience that their voice—the guy on the street—will continue representing them. r 6 National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Miami days With Mötley Crüe Preparing to interview Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad With Bob Hope With Brando Emceeing a Sweet 16 party in Brooklyn
CNN PROUDLY SALUTES LARRY KING Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences © 2011 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
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