“We laid him to rest this morning. And in the Jewish faith, they do it very quickly, so you almost don’t have time to, for me, to process,” Southwick KingtoldEntertainment Tonight. “I’m still processing. And as are the boys, the whole family is just, you know, yeah.”
For the ceremony, the entire family wore his suspenders — a tribute to his signature look.
“We all, it was just family, we wore Larry’s suspenders, every one of us,” said Southwick King. “And it was a beautiful, loving … just perfect, just perfect. It was family. There was no showbiz, no, none of that.”
Larry King.Stephen Lovekin/WireImage
She added that “death is maybe the great equalizer, I think,” explaining that “when you experience it with people who we really, really love, all the other noise and the nonsense that could be surrounding, it just goes away and the family goes close together. And that’s what happened,” said Southwick King. “You know, it was beautiful.”
The broadcasting legend and Southwick King, now 61, got married on Sept. 5, 1997 and shared two sons —Cannon, 20, and Chance, 21. King also shared son Larry King Jr., 59, with ex-wife Annette Kaye.
Shawn Southwick King and Larry King in April 2018.David Livingston/Getty
In 2010, Kingfiled for divorcefrom Southwick King, his seventh wife, only toretract the paperworkthree months later. Kingfiled for divorceagain on Aug. 20, 2019, after almost 22 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences.
A source told PEOPLE at the time that King’s health scares earlier that yearplayed a rolein his decision to end their marriage. In April 2019, he suffered an angina, which mimics a heart attack, andunderwent an angioplasty. The following month, he suffereda strokethat left himin a coma for weeks.
Last February, Kingopened up about his splitfrom Southwick King, telling PEOPLE he would “always care” for her, but that “it just hit a point where we didn’t get along.”
When King wed Southwick King in 1997, he had already been divorced seven times. (Two divorces were from the same woman, whom he married twice.)
“We had a big age difference and that eventually takes its toll,” he said, discussing what led to his separation from Southwick King. “We overcame a lot, but eventually it became a ships passing in the night situation.”
The legendary journalist died on Jan. 23 at age 87. His death comes five months after thedeaths of two of his childrenin the summer of 2020: son Andy and daughter Chaia, who died within 23 days apart from each other.
Larry King.Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
“For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry’s many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster,” the statement continued. “Ora Media sends our condolences to his surviving children Larry, Jr., Chance, Canon and the entire King family.”
Hours after news of his death was announced, King’s sons released ajoint statement.
“We are heartbroken over our father’s death, and together with our extended family mourn his passing. The world knew Larry King as a great broadcaster and interviewer, but to us he was ‘dad.’ He was the man who lovingly obsessed over our daily schedules and our well-being, and who took such immense pride in our accomplishments – large, small, or imagined,” said Larry King, Jr., Chance and Cannon.
“He was an amazing father, and he was fiercely loyal to those lucky enough to call him a friend. We will miss him every single day of our lives,” they continued. “The outpouring of love and the remembrances of his remarkable career have touched us deeply and we are so thankful. In lieu of flowers, we kindly ask consideration of a donation to theAmerican Heart Associationor theBeverly Hills Fire Department EMS, to which a debt of gratitude is owed for the wonderful care they provided to our dad in his final years.”
source: people.com
