Larry King hospitalized with COVID-19, reports say. He started at Miami Beach station

Larry King, who has interviewed U.S. presidents, world leaders and celebrities for more than 60 years, has been battling the novel coronavirus for more than a week, reports say.

About 10 days ago, King, 87, began fighting the virus, according to Roger Friedman’s Hollywood 411 website, which first reported the news.

CNN reports King has been hospitalized at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for more than a week, and due to hospital protocols has been unable to see his three sons.

King’s taped informercial that was scheduled to run on NBC6 at 12:30 Sunday was replaced by an infomercial for cookware.

King is an at-risk individual since he has Type 2 diabetes and has suffered from several heart attacks, had successful surgery for lung cancer, underwent a procedure for angina and had quintuple bypass surgery.

A source close to King’s family told ABC News, “Larry has fought so many health issues in the last few years and he is fighting this one hard too. He’s a champ.”

King’s successful career came from a small beginning in Miami Beach. Back in 1957, there was no Larry King yet. It was just Larry Zeiger fresh from New York with $13 in his pocket and a dream of being in radio.

Just before his first radio broadcast for Miami Beach’s WAHR, which is now gospel station WMBM 1490 AM, Larry discovered the name he’d use in an ad for King’s Wholesale Liquor in a copy of the Miami Herald.

Larry King.

It was the start to a historic career in talking to people who wielded great political and cultural power. King has conducted more than 50,000 radio and television interviews, and has been the host of his own talk shows including “Larry King Live” and “Larry King Now.”

King has interviewed every U.S. president since Richard Nixon. His roster of celebrity interviews have included Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman and Beyoncé. His talks have also encapsulated the world of sports including interviews with Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Michael Jordan.

Aside from his radio and television career, which has earned him an Emmy and two Peabodys, King also founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation after his successful bypass heart surgery in 1987. The foundation helps those who need life-saving treatment but have little or no means to pay for it.