“When Larry Met Larry” is a documentary film that recounts the relationship between famed radio and TV host Larry King and his son, Larry King Jr. The film explores Larry King’s discovery of his adult son and shares how the two men navigated the complexities of their new relationship. The film is being presented virtually by the Miami Jewish Film Festival. Larry Jr. explained how the film project was developed.
“Lisa Melmed Cohen produced a film called ‘Larry and Me’ which documented the story about my father and his best friend, Author Herb Cohen, from his early days in Brooklyn. Herbie and my father lost touch during much of the time my father worked in Florida. Herbie mentioned my story to Lisa and thought they could continue documenting my father’s life through my eyes by reflecting on his career that started in Miami. My father was known as Mr. Miami during the time his career peaked in South Florida”.
Larry Jr. described his relationship with his father.
“From birth until my early 30’s I had no relationship with my father. After the death of my mom, my father and I became very close until the time he passed away. The relationship was one of Hope, Forgiveness and Love. Hope describes my personal hope to have a connection with my father. Forgiveness is what we both had to deal with for the time we lost (together) and the impact it had on both of us. Love represents what we ultimately achieved during the 28 years we had together. The film shows that in order to move forward in life we must find forgiveness in ourselves to be able to grow. It took me a while and it took my dad time to find it but we both achieved it”.
Larry Jr. shared a side of his father that people never knew.
“The film reveals that the loss of my dad’s father at 9 years old had a profound impact on my father’s life that he carried all the way to the end of his life. His broadcast persona showed his innate ability to be curious as he met his dream of being on radio and TV, while in his personal life he struggled to balance Larry Zeiger (his given name) with the legend of Larry King. My father was connected to the legends of South Florida entertainment including Jackie Gleason. Jackie brought millions to South Florida homes via his Miami Beach-based TV show. During his time in Miami, my father also learned some very hard life lessons in handling money and falling victim to not being able to say ‘no’ as he did not want to disappoint others. He filed bankruptcy, was fired from his jobs, but ultimately came back and continued on a remarkable journey. There may be a few people alive that were hurt by his actions at that time. I would like to say, if I could forgive him, my hope is that those individuals can too”.
For more information on viewing “When Larry Met Larry” virtually, visit miamijewishfilmfestival.org
