King: Howard's 'worthless'; Stern: Larry's a 'loser'

After Larry King told a magazine last week that shock jock Howard Stern was "worthless" and "not tasteful at all," the self-proclaimed King of All Media shot off an equally nasty riposte to a gossip columnist at a Hamptons party this weekend.

The mudslinging began when King, in an interview with the New Jersey magazine Steppin' Out, charged that, "You go to the least common denominator and that's Howard Stern." Interviewer Chaunce Hayden, a former frequent Stern guest, did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Stern, at a party Friday at Savanna's in Southampton to celebrate wife Beth Ostrosky Stern being the cover girl on the new issue of Hamptons magazine, was unaware of the snipe until approached by a Daily News Gatecrasher columnist.

Stern went on to claim that when King did his nationally syndicated radio show from 1978 to 1988, "He got no ratings. He moved to CNN [in 1985], where he had no competition. As soon as MSNBC and Fox News gave him a little bit of competition, the cards folded."

Stern added, "Larry's a loser and he lost his entire audience. Let's be honest, he didn't retire willingly. The man had one foot in the grave. It's obvious, he is no longer relevant."

King's publicist, Howard J. Rubenstein, had no comment.