Larry King’s heartbroken wife, Shawn, has claimed the TV icon died of sepsis and was “ready.”
The legendary night host died on Saturday at the age of 87 after a recent battle with Covid that saw him admitted.
King’s seventh wife, Shawn Southwick, whom he married in 1997 and divorced at the time of his death, says he was unable to overcome an infection after beating the coronavirus.
Larry King’s wife, Shawn, has claimed that the TV icon died of sepsis and was “ready” after a recent battle with Covid (pictured in 1997)
The legendary host of the night died on Saturday at the age of 87, but his cause of death has not been officially revealed
He told Entertainment Tonight, “It was an infection, it was sepsis. Well, at last it was ready, I’ll tell you.
“You know, he never wanted to go there, but his small, sweet body was just right, he had just been hit so many times with so many things, and once we heard the word Covid, our whole hearts sank.
“But he beat it, I knew it, he beat it, but it took its toll, and finally the unrelated infection is what brought him down, but boy, wouldn’t it go down easily.”
Shawn said she was grateful to be able to talk to Larry, the father of her children Chance, 21, and Cannon, 20, in a video call before his death.
King married his seventh wife Shawn Southwick (pictured together in 2018) in 1997, but the couple was in the midst of a divorce at the time of his death.
Its producer, Ora Media, who co-founded with ex-wife Shawn in 2012, confirmed her death in a statement on Saturday.
He added that the presenter was eager to tell his family, who also included his eldest son Larry Jr. from a previous marriage, that he loved them.
Larry had filed for Shawn’s divorce in August 2019, nine years after they originally split before reconciling.
But he claims they were life partners and that the divorce never ended.
Larry had two more children, Andy and Chaia, but tragically died weeks apart last summer at age 65 and 51 respectively.
King’s producer announced his death in a statement Saturday.
King appears with the Cannon and Chance children in Thanksgiving last November. King was reportedly transferred from the ICU on Jan. 4 after being hospitalized with COVID-19 for more than 10 days, according to reports
“With deep sadness, Ora Media announces the death of our co-founder, host and friend Larry King, who died this morning at the age of 87 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,” the company said.
“Ora Media sends our condolences to its surviving children, Larry, Jr., Chance, Cannon and the entire King family.”
No cause of death has yet been reported, but it was three weeks after it was revealed that King had been hospitalized with coronavirus 10 days earlier.
He was reportedly taken out of the ICU on January 4, but had remained in hospital for treatment.
Shawn (pictured in 2014) said he was grateful to be able to talk to Larry, the father of his children Chance, 21, and Cannon, 20, in a video call before his death
King is believed to have caught the virus from a health worker visiting his home, a source told NBC. One of his children, who has not been named, has also tested positive, they said.
His advanced age and poor health put him at high risk. He had suffered numerous health problems in the past, such as a heart attack, prostate and lung cancer, a stroke and type 2 diabetes.
Despite his poor health, he had continued to host a weekly talk show, Politicking with Larry King, until his death.
Larry had filed for Shawn’s divorce in August 2019, nine years after they originally split before reconciling (pictured 2010)
“For 63 years and across radio, television and digital media platforms, Larry’s thousands of interviews, awards and global recognition are a testament to his unique and enduring talent as a broadcaster,” Ora Media said.
“Funeral arrangements and a memorial service will be announced later in coordination with the King family, who are currently requesting their privacy.”
Described as “Muhammad Ali of the broadcast interview,” King conducted more than 50,000 high-profile talks with presidents, world leaders, Hollywood royalty and sports stars over the course of his career, which it spread over six decades.
He was also known for his series of high-profile romances and unsuccessful marriages, eight in all with seven different women, including Playboy Bunny Alene Akins.
LARRY KING’S HIGH-PROFILE ROMANCES AND UNFAIR MARRIAGES
Larry was known for his series of high-profile romances and unsuccessful marriages, from eight in total to seven different women.
In his 1982 autobiography, Larry King described himself as a fantastic quote, but a husband man. Part of her problem was due to a permanent need to be seen with celebrated models and beauties.
1. FREDA MILLER (1952-1953; canceled)
King’s first walk down the aisle was with his beloved high school Freda Miller at age 18, but the union was canceled the following year at the request of his parents.
2. ANNETTE KAYE (1961-1961)
King married his second wife, Annette Kaye, in 1961, but they separated in a few months.
Their relationship was brief but fruitful and resulted in a son whom King did not meet until 33 years later.
“I knew there was a Larry King Jr. out there, I had heard it, but I didn’t know it was mine. The marriage was very brief and he told me that if I was a kid, I would tell him Larry King Jr.’s name,” he said. explain the older king to The New York Post in 2009. “Then I didn’t hear anything else again.”
3. ALENE AKINS (1961-1963) (1967-1972)
Larry King (right) meets Playboy Bunny, Alene Akins
Shortly after ending his relationship with Kaye, King married Playboy Bunny, Alene Akins, with whom he adopted a son named Andy and had a daughter named Chaia.
King and Akins separated after a couple of years, only to remarry in 1967 and divorce for the second time in 1972.
4. SUTFÍ MARY ‘MICKEY’
During his four-year separation from Akins, King found time to marry his fourth wife, Mary ‘Mickey’ Sutphin, with whom he had a daughter named Kelly.
Kelly was formally adopted by Sutphin’s second husband.
5. SHARON LEPORE (1976-1983)
Larry King and fifth wife Sharon Lepore
In 1976 King made a knot with a former math teacher and production assistant named Sharon Lepore.
The union lasted seven years, making it King’s second longest marriage to date.
Two years after the marriage, the king went bankrupt, with more than $ 300,000. He and Sharon divorced in 1982.
6. JULIE ALEXANDER (1989-1992)
Larry King appears with his sixth wife (and seventh marriage), Julie Alexander in 1990
He remained single for a long stretch of six years between his sixth and seventh marriage to Philadelphia-based businesswoman Julie Alexander.
In the summer of 1989, King met Julie and proposed to her on the first date. They married three months later, separated in 1990 and formally divorced two years later. “I love being in love,” he told Anderson Cooper in a 2009 interview.
7. SHAWN SOUTHWICK (1997-2019)
King was last married to Shawn Southwick, with whom he shares two children, Chance and Cannon
In 1997, King married his seventh and final wife, Shawn Southwick, a singer, actress and television presenter who was 26 years younger than him.
The couple married in a Los Angeles hospital room three days before King had heart surgery to clear a clogged blood vessel. They welcomed two children, Chance, born in March 1999, and Cannon, born in May 2000.
On her tenth wedding anniversary in 2007, Southwick joked that she was “the only woman who had endured the double digits.” Three years later, the couple filed for divorce in 2010 after Shawn he had an affair with his son’s much younger baseball coach. At the same time, it was rumored that King was having an affair with Shawn’s sister, which both sides vehemently denied.
The couple reconciled, but eventually quit smoking after 22 years of marriage in August 2019. Southwick said she was “totally in plain sight” for the King’s bomb court presentation.