Larry King speaks out about children's deaths
Larry King is mourning the losses of his son Andy, who died last month, and his daughter Chaia, who died Thursday. Credit: Getty Images for the Friars Club / Gregg DeGuire
Legendary talk-show host Larry King is speaking out about the deaths of two of his children within weeks of each other.
"It is with sadness and a father's broken heart that I confirm the recent loss of two of my children, Andy King, and Chaia King," wrote the Brooklyn-born Radio Hall of Famer, 86, on his social media Saturday. "Both of them were good and kind souls and they will be greatly missed."
He detailed, "Andy passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack on July 28th, and Chaia passed on August 20th, only a short time after having been diagnosed with lung cancer. Losing them feels so out of order. No parent should have to bury a child."
Son Andy King, 65, and daughter Chaia King, 51, were King's children with former Playboy Bunny Alene Akins, the third and fifth of his eight wives, to whom he was wed from 1961 to '63 and from 1968 to 1971 or 1972, per different sources. King adopted Akins' son Andy upon the couple's first marriage, and Chaia was born during their second. King and Chaia co-wrote the 1997 children's book "Daddy Day, Daughter Day," about bonding in the wake of divorce. Akins died in 2017 "with our children Chaia and Andy by her side," King tweeted at the time.
"My family and I thank you for your outpouring of kind sentiments and well wishes," King concluded his weekend post. "In this moment, we need a little time and privacy to heal. I thank you for respecting that.”
On Instagram, he posted five photos: two of him and Chaia, two of Andy playing in the snow with two young boys; and one of King, Chaia, Andy and the two youngsters on "Larry King Now."
King has three surviving children: son Larry Jr., in his late 50s, from King's less-than-yearlong 1961 marriage to second wife Annette Kaye; and sons Chance, 21, and Cannon, 20, with his estranged wife Shawn Southwick King, whom he married in 1997 and from whom he filed for divorce on Aug. 20, 2019.
On Thursday, Cannon King had written on Instagram, "A couple weeks ago my brother Andy unexpectedly passed away. Then, late last night my dear sister Chaia peacefully passed away in her sleep due to lung cancer. Andy has always been such a strong influence in being so lovingly optimistic. … He embodied what it is to live life to the fullest and cherish every moment. … Chaia was never bothered by fear and was so positive and faithful. … I love them both so much and as DIFFICULT as this is I have a STRONG feeling that Andy may have left this earth because his sister would need him more than we would here."
