Larry King interviewed thousands of people during his long career as a TV host, including some famous names from Alabama.
King, who died on Sunday at age 87, taped more than 6,000 episodes of “Larry King Live,” his nightly talk show on CNN. His guests included political figures, professional athletes, celebrities in the entertainment world and average people caught up in extraordinary circumstances.
Alabamians Rosa Parks, George Wallace, Charles Barkley and Taylor Hicks were among the folks who shared their views with King over the years, as you’ll see in the videos below.
ROSA PARKS
In 1995, King interviewed Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery on Dec. 1, 1955. As Parks tells King, the seats allotted to white people were full that day, and the bus driver said four Black people should get up and stand, so the white passenger could have a single seat.
“I didn’t think I should have to get up,” Parks said. “I had already paid my fare, and I’m sure he didn’t pay any more than I did. And I didn’t think that once we take a seat, even under segregation conditions, that we should be made to stand up in a crowded bus.”
Parks told King she wasn’t bitter about her experiences during the civil rights movement, and if she had any anger at the time, she tried to channel it for good.
“I tried to have as little anger as possible,” Parks said. “I tried to use it to help people who were suffering, and many who were discouraged and did not have the courage to pick a stance for themselves.”
Parks, who died on Oct. 24, 2005, at age 92, was in her early 80s during the interview with King.
GEORGE WALLACE
On Aug. 25, 1998, King devoted an episode to George Wallace, the former governor of Alabama who was known for his divisive racial policies. Wallace, who served four terms as governor, was a vigorous proponent of segregation during the 1960s and ‘70s. He survived an assassination attempt in 1972, and later recanted his stance on segregation.
On his program, King also interviewed Wallace’s son, George Wallace Jr.; reporter Mike Wallace of “60 Minutes”; and the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime civil rights activist. At the time the program aired, the elder Wallace was 79, had lost his hearing and suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
King, who had talked to the former governor in 1996 in Montgomery, included clips from that interview on the episode two years later. Wallace was 77 when he spoke to King, and was showing the effects of Parkinson’s.
When asked by King if he considered himself a racist, here’s what Wallace said:
“I’m not a racist at all. The last time I ran for governor, blacks voted for me. I told you, my best friend is a black man. ... One time, we believed in segregation, but that was wrong. We shouldn’t segregate American citizens from one another -- race, color, religion or national origin.”
Wallace died on Sept. 13, 1998, less than one month after King’s episode on him was televised. (King’s interview with Wallace Sr. starts at the 9:15 minute in the clip below.)
CHARLES BARKLEY
In a 2008 interview, basketball great Charles Barkley talked to King about his enthusiasm for Barack Obama as a presidential candidate. Obama, a Democrat, was competing against Republican John McCain. Obama won the election and became the first Black president of the United States in 2009.
“I’m just so excited for this opportunity he’s presented to America,” said Barkley, a Leeds native. “This guy has himself together. He’s got great people around him. He’s got great ideas -- some you agree with, some you disagree with. But Larry, this country is broken. This country is broken. And I wanted to take a chance on this man.”
TAYLOR HICKS
In 2006, King interviewed “American Idol” winners Taylor Hicks and Fantasia Barrino. Hicks, a Hoover native, was the most recent “Idol” champ, still caught up in the initial whirlwind of reality-TV stardom. He’d just released a self-titled debut album and was getting ready for a national tour.
When King asked Hicks what he’d bought since his “Idol” win, Hicks said, “I haven’t really had time. I drive around in a rent-a-car. ... I’m about to go on a five-month tour, actually. ... I did buy a wonderful camera. I documented all of my stuff on the road that I’ve been through.”