Larry King has blasted his replacement, Piers Morgan. The TV legend, who hosted his nightly talk show for 15 years, said he has watched former UK newspaper editor Morgan since he took over the slot on TV network, CNN. And he admitted that he has not always been a huge fan. King said: “It’s like watching your mother-in-law go over a cliff in your new Bentley – the agony and the ecstasy.” He also told how he wanted American Idol host Ryan Seacrest to step into his shoes. He said: “I had said Ryan Seacrest all along. It requires a lot of knowledge of politics so I didn’t say Piers Morgan.” “The only time I’d seen Piers was on America’s Got Talent. I’ve met him, I like him, he’s a nice guy. He does a nice show, I like it. I thought they over-promoted it [though].” The show, Piers Morgan Tonight, has faced an uphill battle to win viewers since it debuted in January 2011. King, 77, also told how he missed the job. He told Access Hollywood Live: “There are days, when you have a terrible thing, like Japan happening, Libya, the events in Egypt, you want to be there.”

Source: Splash News

Piers Morgan’s bid to replace Larry King on US television network CNN has been delayed by visa problems, according to a new report.

The 45-year-old America’s Got Talent judge has widely been tipped to take over from King in a multi-million pound deal.

It would see him become the first Englishman to host a prime-time US chat show.

But he is having problems getting a work visa and plans to have him start the new job in October or November have been shelved.

The New York Post reports: “He is apparently having trouble obtaining a work visa. It is uncertain how serious the glitch is.”

It is thought that it has become harder in recent months to get the visa that will allow him to work full-time in the States as a British citizen.

Now CNN bosses have asked King – who has said Morgan was not his first choice to take over – to stay on.

He is said to have ‘jumped’ at the chance, according to sources.

Source: Splash News

News giant CNN has denied signing up Piers Morgan to replace Larry King.

Numerous reports insist the US network has signed up former Mirror editor Piers in a £5.5 million deal on a four-year contract.

The New York Post stated that Piers will record his show in New York starting in October, airing four nights a week as Larry, the network’s most high-profile interviewer, is “phased out”.

But CNN, refusing to comment on “speculation”, denied King was being replaced.

“Not surprisingly, there is no shortage of people who would love to succeed Larry King if and when he moves on,” the network said in a statement.

“But rumors that we are close to signing a deal for a Larry King replacement are untrue.

“Larry is a beloved member of the team, and he will continue to be part of the CNN family into the future.”

Piers has also negotiated with NBC to stay on the America’s Got Talent judging panel, but is quitting the UK’s Britain’s Got Talent.

One source told the New York Post: “Morgan’s UK interview shows, including one where former Prime Minister Gordon Brown broke down in tears, impressed CNN bosses.

“Morgan’s show will be prerecorded in New York so he can work ’round his other TV commitments.”

Source: Splash News

Larry King’s wife is recovering after an apparent drug overdose, his spokesman said.

Shawn King, 50, the veteran chatshow host’s seventh wife, left notes she had taken a handful of prescription pills – and expressed her desire to be buried near her Utah home, police said.

Medics were called to the Provo property on May 28 after her father Karl Engemann raised the alarm.

He found her in bed – still breathing – but could not wake her up, according to a transcript of the emergency 911 call released on Wednesday.

Several empty prescription bottles, including those for sleeping aid Ambien and anti-anxiety medications, were surrounding her.

The couple wed in 1997 and have two sons but filed for divorce in April after Larry allegedly had an affair with Shawn’s sister Shannon. They later called off the divorce plans.

“Our marriage is still together, and I am staying very close to our children, whom we love immensely,” Larry King has said. “We shall go through this difficult time intact as a family.”

A representative for King, 76, was unavailable for comment.

Source: Splash News

Veteran US chat-show host Larry King and his seventh wife Shawn Southwick have called off their divorce and sorted their “irreconcilable differences”, a rep has confirmed.

The pair, who married in September 1997, filed for divorce last month at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, before making their amazing U-turn.

A statement released by the couple’s spokesperson read: “We love our children, we love each other, we love being a family. That is all that matters to us. We owe it to ourselves and our children to continue being dedicated to each other.”

The 76-year-old talk-show host – who has two children, Chance, 11, and Cannon, nine, with Southwick – was reportedly living at a Los Angeles hotel, but has now moved back to the family’s Beverly Hills home.

Reports of their reconciliation comes not long after they were spotted hugging at their son’s baseball game just days after the divorce papers were filed.

Source: Splash News

News legend Larry King has filed for his eighth divorce – amid reports his wife has accused the 76-year-old of sleeping with her sister.

The split with 50-year-old Shawn Southwick comes after reports of an explosive argument at their home.

According to reports in the US, the marriage fell apart because of accusations of infidelity on King’s part, which the broadcaster is vehemently denying.

One gossip website reported that Shawn accused him of sleeping with her 45-year-old sister Shannon.

According to RadarOnline.com, Shawn believes he spent over $1m on her sister, having allegedly bought her a luxury car and paid for her to live at the Beverly Hills Hotel for a year and a half.

But according to TMZ.com, Shannon has denied the accusations.

She reportedly said: “This is so ludicrous. She’s singling me out, but Larry has been nothing but generous to our entire family, including me.”

The couple were married in 1997 and have two children together.

He is seeking joint custody of their children.

Source: Splash News

Chance King has just signed a deal with Fox Sports Net to present a show called ‘Kid Pitch’.

The show will revolve around baseball and will feature interviews with all the Major League Baseball players.

The show is set to start production in February 2010 – with Chance having to do his filming after his school day ends.

Larry’s other son, nine-year-old Cannon, has also been asked to appear in some episodes of the show, which will be directed by Tom Arnold.

Amanda Holden, judge of Britain’s Got Talent, took to the streets of New York in a svelte purple day dress and strappy heels.

Holden, who tickled American audiences by making fish and chips on a morning TV show, is understood to be seeking offers of work while in the US with husband Chris Hughes.

She also wasted no time hitting the best of the city’s shopping – and talking up Diversity and Susan Boyle, the winners and runner-up of Britain’s Got Talent.

Holden reportedly tweeted to her Twitter account: “Just gone live to NY! FANTASTIC.

“Larry King tomorrow! Shopping now!! Having a ball. Filming around NY today for CBS. The outpouring for Susan is incredible here. Am bigging up Diversity too!”

Holden also came out in support of Boyle, saying she was exhausted and did not have mental health problems, it was reported.

Filmmaker Michael Moore said he was barred from the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday for an interview on his documentary on the U.S. health-care system, a day after he was bumped from a national TV interview to make way for Paris Hilton.

Standing outside the Stock Exchange in Manhattan’s financial district, Moore told reporters a planned interview with CNBC on the exchange floor was moved outside the building because the network told him the exchange would not let him inside.

On Wednesday, his appearance on CNN’s “Larry King Live” was postponed for the first post-jail interview with Hilton, a reality TV star and hotel heiress. Moore is now scheduled to appear on the show on Friday night.

“Having been bumped from Larry King last night for Paris Hilton, I am beginning to take things personally,” said Moore, whose film “SiCKO” — which criticizes corporate interests behind the U.S. health-care system — opens on Friday. “The priorities in this country are seriously askew.”

A spokesman for the New York Stock Exchange said Moore had not given enough notice to get inside the building. Kevin Goldman, a spokesman for CNBC, said the network thought Moore had made his own arrangements to get inside.

“SiCKO” details the stories of Americans who say they were denied life-saving treatment by insurers or forced to forgo emergency treatment at hospitals because they could not afford to pay.