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King to Give Commencement Address at Bradley
King to Give Commencement Address at Bradley
Peoria, IL (Sept. 11, 2009) Larry King, the Emmy Award-winning host of CNN's Larry King Live, the first worldwide phone-in TV talk show, will give the mid-year commencement address at Bradley University on December 19 at the Peoria Civic Center.
The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. in Exhibit Halls B and C.
“It’s wonderful that Larry King has agreed to speak to our graduates and their family and friends in December,” President Joanne Glasser said. “Mr. King is one of the nation’s pre-eminent television talk show hosts, a skilled interviewer and an incisive journalist. He has been a key observer of history for a half-century, and I expect his unique insights will be of great value to our commencement audience.
“Bringing Larry King to Bradley follows our tradition of bringing influential, interesting and nationally recognized figures to our commencement ceremonies. Mr. King is a particularly appropriate fit this year because early in his career he worked as a sports commentator and this is the inaugural year of our sports communications program.”
King has been dubbed "the most remarkable talk-show host on TV ever" by TV Guide and "master of the mike" by TIME magazine. Larry King Live debuted on CNN in June 1985, featuring its now-famous mix of celebrity interviews, political debates and topical discussions. When King made the transition from his successful national radio talk show to cable, he helped define the future of cable news programming and CNN. Telecast each weeknight, the program features phone calls and e-mails from viewers around the world. In June 1994, King created the first daily radio/TV talk show by simulcasting CNN's Larry King Live on Mutual/Westwood One radio stations nationwide.
King has done more than 40,000 interviews throughout his half century in broadcasting, including exclusive sit-downs with every U.S. president since Gerald Ford.
After Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, Larry King Live broadcast for 20 consecutive nights. His post-disaster programming included interviews with more than 250 guests and a live, three-hour network special "How You Can Help." During the 2003 Iraq invasion, King hosted live shows for 29 consecutive nights. A very small sampling of the people he interviewed during that historic period includes Generals. Richard Myers and Hugh Shelton, Queen Noor of Jordan and ambassadors from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria and Turkey. After the Sept. 11 attacks, King interviewed more than 700 guests, including more than 35 world leaders and dignitaries. In 2000, King’s 37 consecutive days of political coverage during the election recount in Florida featured 348 guests, including George W. and Laura Bush and Al and Tipper Gore. His pre-election coverage for 2000 included the first interviews with each party's newly-selected vice presidential candidates.
Described as the "Muhammad Ali of the broadcast interview," King has been inducted into five of the nation's leading broadcasting halls of fame and is the recipient of the prestigious Allen H. Neuharth Award for Excellence in Journalism. Both his radio and television shows have won the George Foster Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting. He has won a News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Interview/Interviewer and 10 CableACE awards for Best Interviewer and for best Talk Show Series. King won the prestigious Gracie Allen Award twice by American Women in Radio and Television for his interviews with Melanie Bloom, widow of NBC's David Bloom (2006), and Nellie Connally, a former Texas first lady (2002).
Hollywood honored King in 1997 with a star on the Walk of Fame for his life’s work.
King has made cameo appearances in more than 20 movies, including Ghostbusters, Primary Colors, America's Sweethearts, Shrek 2 and the 2004 remake of The Stepford Wives. He also has appeared in television series such as Law and Order, Boston Legal, The Practice, Murphy Brown and Frasier.
In addition to his broadcast credits, King founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars and provided life-saving cardiac procedures for needy children and adults. King also established a $1 million journalism scholarship at George Washington University’s School of Media and Affairs for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.