Could A Larry King Retirement “Come Sooner Than Planned?”

> Update: 7:40pm: A CNN spokesperson responds: “As we have said before, Larry King is going nowhere. There is absolutely no truth to this idle speculation. Larry is a talented broadcaster who continues to interview legends, newsmakers and heads of state every night. He pioneered cable television with CNN and we are proud to have Larry in our lineup.”

“CNN sources say the network is starting to search for gentle ways to tell talk-show host Larry King that his long run may be ending,” the June issue of Washingtonian says.

“Producers say King’s performance on the show has grown increasingly befuddled. One example: An interview with Chris Lawford, son of JFK sister Patricia Kennedy Lawford and actor Peter Lawford, where King acknowledged that for a moment he thought he was interviewing Peter Lawford, who died in 1984. King noted that his guest had married into the Kennedys. ‘I didn’t marry into the family. My mother is a Kennedy,’ Chris Lawford replied.

The incident is one of several that CNN executives say is starting to be a pattern that might make a King retirement come sooner than planned…”

> March 10: How’s Larry King feeling?

> March 15: Not the King anymore