LARRY KING

I got to know Larry because I was married to Ted. We spent many fun hours with Larry. I especially liked it when he’d visit us on one of Ted’s ranches and be a totally out of his comfort zone, 100% the city slicker. Didn’t know the first thing about navigating mud or riding a horse. I had to practically carry him across a shallow creek once. And every time Larry visited, all the critters would come out, like they’d been waiting to freak him out.

Once a bald eagle carrying a large jack rabbit flew so low over Larry’s head he could see the whites of the terrified rabbit’s eyes.

Once a black bear came around the corner not far from where Larry was standing. It took awhile for Ted to calm Larry down after that but he also loved these encounters because they were great storytelling material when he got back to his city life.

On his last visit he agreed to get on a horse but only if Ted walked alongside him, leading the horse. He had us take loads of pictures cause he needed proof he’d actually done it.

One of my favorite memories was the time Ted was driving us to a spot where we were going to have a picnic. But Ted, as was his wont, got lost. (It was a 300,000 acre ranch so getting lost wasn’t hard..) You know how, when you get really hungry all you want to talk about is food? Well, it was almost two hours that we’d been driving around looking for the spot where staff had set up the picnic under a giant cottonwood tree and we starting talking about what each of us would want for our last supper.

Larry’s choice for his final meal was crisp calves liver, bacon and sautéed onions with mashed potatoes. I found it an odd choice and it was certainly forbidden food for Larry who’d suffered several heart attacks. Maybe that’s why he chose it.

I will miss Larry King. RIP dear friend.

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50 Comments

  1. Jane,
    Thank you for sharing your beautiful memories of Larry.
    What an amazing man and legend.

    xo Kara

  2. I’m very sorry Jane, we know they are in a better place but goodbyes are hard, I love you very much and I hope you will return to the blog soon, I miss you💕💕

    • Hello Jane
      My name is Phillip Mandel and I have to admit I am blown away from your Breathtaking Beauty. You are just as beautiful and even more breathtaking now than ever. I love your views and passions. Sorry for your loss
      Do you come to Atlanta anymore. If so I would ve honored to take you out if possible and have great company and conversation. Have a great day and Happy Valentine’s Day!! My phone number is 706-402-3731. I am a believer in shoot for the stars

  3. Jane,

    I’m so sorry for your loss, i recognize Larry King was HUGE, it’s so sad we are losing dear people because of this terrible disease named coronavirus. I pray and hope that soon everyone will be vaccinated.
    Just out curiosity, did you already take the vaccine?

    Gosh, you have no idea how much I was wanting new posts on your blog and I was just waiting a new post to tell you that i became a volunteer on Greenpeace Brazil(YAY!) and I owe it to you, who made me even more interested in environmental issues, so thank you so much for that! I also don’t miss a single Fire Drill Fridays, if I can’t watch on Zoom, I watch it later on Youtube. Thank you so much for being such an inspiration to me and for so many other people, you’re a special one, Jane! Don’t think this is too much flattering because my zodiac sign is Aries and I don’t flatter anyone who is not what I am saying, so please, believe me!

    I hope you’re doing okay besides all the atrocities that are going on these days. Stay safe. Love you!

    XoXo,
    Giovanna Montanhan Banho.

  4. That’s a wonderful picture 😊

  5. Thank you for sharing these memories of Larry King. It’s nice to see him in a different light . I also love hearing your ranch stories!

  6. RIP!❤️greetings Jane, you are an inspiration to me ❤️

  7. Dear Jane, nothing to say. I’m sorry for your loss. Friends leave gaps that are difficult to fill. They are irreplaceable.😔
    A hug from Uruguay.
    Graciela ❤️

  8. Thanks for sharing your memories. He definitely was an interesting man. He will be missed.

  9. Very sweet memories. Thank you for sharing! May he Rest In Peace.

  10. Those are great memories Jane!! Very funny!!! You sure have lived a FULL life!!!!!

  11. I’m sorry you lost your friend. Sounds like you shared many good times.

  12. Hi Jane,
    Yes it’s so sad. When I moved to Germany from Wales in 1991,CNN was the only English-language channel I could get (I couldn’t speak German then) and so I loved to watch Larry King Live (especially when you were the guest). He entertained me through the homesick years. I will be eternally grateful.
    Best,
    Jason

  13. Sorry about your loss. What great memories you have of him. Larry King was a legend. Every time I would go out to LA, I would be guaranteed to see him eating breakfast with his group of friends in Nate ‘n Al’s. I never wanted to bother him, but eventually decided to get his autobiography signed by him. He was very kind, graciously signing without hesitation.

  14. Dear Jane,

    Thank you so much for sharing with us these memories with Larry wow, so envious of you that you knew him personally and that you had the opportunity to share these precious moments with him. Larry was one a kind, so much integrity, he knew the right questions to ask and treated his guests with respect, never interrupting them and was always attentive to what they had to say but always respected their opinions even if he didn’t always share and agree to them. Journalism at its finest!

    Happy New Year and hopefully we’ll hear more from you soon, you might want to share your opinion on the new administration decisions regarding environnemental issues which you have been fiercely fighting for etc…

    With much love
    x
    Jean-Francois

  15. Wow Jane, congratulations for the Cecil B. DeMille award, you deserve it for your work and your activism, love you

  16. Poor Larry. I too, was (am) a nebbishy Jew like Larry. As a teen, I was convinced to go to a stable to ride a horse. I demanded to get the oldest, slowest resident they had and they accommodated me. Once in the saddle, the horse, whose name I’ve forgotten, took off as if a firecracker had been ignited in its ass. You can imagine my happiness.

  17. Jane,
    Congratulations on the Cecil B. DeMille award!!! You’ve earned it. Over 60 years of using your talents to help fight for what is right. You’re selflessness and your courage continue to inspire me to be a better person everyday. I hope you have a great day and I’ll see you in this week’s Fire Drill Friday! ❤️🧡💛🔥

  18. Yes, I was saddened too. When I heard the news about Larry King’s death I felt a sense of loss and will miss his haunched shoulders and suspenders. I did not know him personally only through watching his talk show, but I came to love his shows especially the one he did on the terrible plane crash of John F Kennedy Jr.
    My christmas too was quieter, yet I decorated a bit. A tree and a few other decorations about the house including the christmas lights around my outside front door and down the railing on my front steps. Here in MN we finally got some snow right before Christmas, and the white snow was just enough to highlight the blue and white outdoor lights. It was pretty.
    My motto for christmas decorations is I set them up for a month. If they go up on December 15th then they come down 30 days later January 15th. Kind of like an advent time alotment 🙂
    Anyway, I have gained 65 lbs during this horrible pandemic. I have never ate so much in all my life, and now I have my exercise work cut out for me. So where do we all turn to or think of? Why the Jane Fonda exercise videos of course…Plus I am 62, so it is going to be a challenge. I am in my last pair of fat pants, so again, I have my work cut out for me.
    We will miss Larry King.

  19. Hello Jane!

    First of all, Congratulations on your new and deserved Award!!! This year is yours!!!

    In these days I’ve started to read your Memoir book (it took me a lot to find it) and I’ve seen your interest in your last name’s origin and I´ve thought that maybe you would like to know FONDA word also exists in Spanish like name and adjective and also there’s quite a few verbs derived from it. Italian and Spanish are both quite similar Latin languages with many words in common. Here, it’s also quite common that the surname corresponds to some place possibly lineage’s origin as you indicate.

    The Spanish adjective FONDA/O (we’ve gender, fonda f. and fondo m.) means deep, bottom, profound, base of something….
    The name FONDA corresponds to a type of cheap hotel where you can also eat, I suppose that’s why Cubans when someone doesn’t eat well, they say “they’re out of fonda”, isn’t it funny?.
    There is the verb FONDEAR, which means to go to the bottom of something, physically or better intellectually (it could be said in the form of research), this verb also refers to the fact of securing a boat on the bottom by means of the anchor.
    AFONDAR, is another verb that means to go to the bottom, to sink.
    Another verb is DESFONDAR, which means to break the bottom of something, or the fact of completely emptying your energies in sports or when you´re falling apart by so much suffering, then you end up DESFONDADO, this is much more than being exhausted or feeling very much grieved for instance.
    As you can see, all this has to do with depth, bottom etc….
    Our dictionary says that the FONDA/O word comes from the Latin “FUNDUS” base or foundation of something, farm, settlement, from where many other words come like fundament and its derivatives. I also believe that FONDA/O here, is a very old word because it’s quite common that in old Spanish many words began with F have evolved to the same word but beginning with H and this is one of those cases, we’ve HONDA/O too with the same meaning, we use both words but in different contexts.
    Languages are an incredibly attractive and interesting world.
    I hope I’ve explained myself in such a way (I don’t know) that you can understand in a wide sense Fonda word in my language. Did you know anything about this stuff?

    • Well, Floren, I knew a little bit. The family originated in a deep valley outside Genoa, Italy, hence Fonda, at ‘the bottom.’ But thyanks for all the info. Fun

  20. He was a vivacious man with a wonderful sense of humor and a drive for the truth. I am so sorry for your loss. Hold tight to the wonderful memories you have.

    Gwen

  21. Dear Jane, i just saw you’re gonna receive an important award on the Emmys, congrats for that achievement!!!! You’ve worked your whole life, you deserve that.

    I also just known that Tulea is sick, i’m so sorry, i’m sending to you and to her all the best vibrations, i’m praying for you, everything will be okay soon. I lost my poodle called ” Pompom ” many years ago for a heart diasease, but he died with 20 years. I miss him every single day, when I born, he already was a member of the house, so i grew up with him. I’m sending you a virtual hug, i’m with you at this hard moment. Trust in God, He knows what He does. Love you. Everything will be fine soon you’ll see.

  22. Today someone sent our community a link on Utube about Powerful women. The lead in was; “They Are Coming.” After showing all the women in the highest offices in the world ending in Kamala they went on to Hillary and a few others. I pumped YES! when I saw you included. Color me happy.
    And Sooo happy about the Cecil B. DeMille award! It is both recognition and a big Thank you that is well deserved. Next Christmas when you share your tree, I hope to see it on the shelf with your Oscars. The journey you chose to take from despair has carried us on to a world where we can feel empowered and hopeful. and again as always I’m saying, Thank you! Dona

  23. Hi, Jane!
    Have you listen to Olivia Newton-John’s recent song, Window in the Wall?
    Great lyrics and message for the entire human race!!!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmW-wumdBV4&ab_channel=OliviaNewtonJohnVEVO

    sending you my love,
    ❤❤❤

  24. https://www.skoolbeep.com
    The School at Your Fingertips !!!!1
    Easy and Convenient method to conduct online classes & manage parent communication.
    SKOOLBEEP APP

  25. Hello Jane and everyone!
    A few days ago it was the International Day in Memorial of the Holocaust´s Victims, the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps is commemorated.
    Liliana Segre is an Auschwitz’s survivor and now Senator for life from Italy. This great woman was not able to tell her tragedy until she was 60 years old, not even to her children. Since then she has dedicated himself to recounting her experiences in Auschwitz to children at schools.
    On a visit to Dachau’s camp when I saw the map that showed each and every one of the camps from those years I was really impressed, it’s impossible to leave you indifferent when you know all that happened there.
    I think Liliana Segre´s testimonies are necessary now that it seems that hateful, racism and xenophobia speeches are returning.

    https://youtu.be/pFSm1yom-20

    (If there’re Italian subtitles they can be removed, English subtitles are permanent)

  26. Hi Jane, I’m so sorry for your loss!
    Thank you for sharing this memories with us.
    Much love, from Brazil ❤️

  27. Jane I know you are very busy, but I seriously miss you on the blog.😢

    • Thanks Jane!! Will order it right now! Been praying for you and Tulea. Hope she is doing better. Be safe!

  28. I was wondering these days if it’s really a possibility to cut the fossil fuels to 50%, I want this to be a real possibility and to be a real thing in the future, but i’m not that much sure.
    Do you really believe people can do that? I know you’ve been on a hard battle to end fossil fuels, but i’m asking you to be honest, not what you want to happen but what you envision.
    I can say by where i live, people don’t give a f*ck for environmental issues, always throwing garbage on the streets, polutioning the oceans with plastics. It’s really hard to change people’s mind and their way to see things. The only thing that is susteinable i see people doing is using stainless steel straw only because it’s forbidden to use plastics straws on restaurants, bar, on public spaces at all, there is also a law for that. It helps, but i still think it’s not that much.
    In L.A. there’s something you use to avoid plastic? Or some law that forbidds plastics straws?

    • I have to trust the scientists as I lack the necessary information to detyermine if we can cut carbon em issions in half by 2030. They say we can. Now that Biden is president and seems determined, we have a good chance I feel.

      • Yes!!! I hope we can do it by 2030!
        Jane, will you join the new social media called “ Clubhouse “? I would love see you there!!! Xo

  29. I was able to get this book in Spanish and this is one of my greatest treasures, I continually consult it, it covers all the aspects that we need to know when you reach middle age, thank you very much for your dedication, good research work and your honest testimonies of your great experience.💕💕

    • Jane is almost 10 years old that you did it. My book is published in 2012, and it is still valid as the first day, thank you.

  30. Jane, It’s off subject but the day is right and there is no other place to put it and I just want to wish you a Happy Valentines Day, while it is that day. I’m sending you an imaginary Chocolate heart with just the right amount of calories, dark or milk, your choice. Forget the commercial silliness and profiteers and let me use it to say, that you are surrounded by love from me and millions of others. We say it all the time but why miss the chance to say it on Valentine’s day too? I’m not techy enough to know how to put a red heart here so you will have to imagine it too. If this gives you a smile, it’s all I want. Much love and good wishes. Dona

  31. I just finished watching The Trial of the Chicago 7. Were you already close to Tom Hayden at this time?

    • I started dating Tom in 1972. The events in Chicago happened in 1968. But I did accompany him to the contempt trial from which he was acquitted

  32. Hi Jane,
    I’ve finished reading your Memoir book yesterday and it seem to me an especially beautiful book because it’s full of feelings, honesty and candidness. You’ve been able to create a story that shows us that you’ve always been a coherent person in the research of authenticity despite the many turns you’ve given to your life. Nothing you’ve ever done in life is simple or easy and yet you’ve done it. Congratulations!

    Reading it, sometimes I’ve laughed with your fine sense of humor telling histories and other times I’ve felt a lump in my throat with some of the sad times you’ve get, feeling them as mine.

    About Vietnam, we all know what happened and you shouldn’t feel bad about anything, criticism is very easy when someone is sitting in a chair comfortably, whoever does nothing doesn’t mistakes neither, and you know it’s always the same kind of people who criticize, they’ve already pestered enough! forget it!, we usually say “no one is a prophet in own land”, but you know that you’re very loved in the rest of the world, these things happen!, most of the people there love you too.

    I liked seeing what a deep and difficult it’s to be a good actor, the identification with characters and how hard you’ve prepared each one of them in your best movies. You might write another book about different experiences of acting! yes you can! ha ha.

    You’ve got an intense life full of experiences like few others and that is a great luck. Over time I suppose that you will have realized that with mistakes and successes your impulses, your thoughtful attitude and your hard work looking for an authentic whole life have taken you much more than good and the end result finding yourself and being happy is fantastic, you deserve it! I wish you a future full of happiness.

    • Thanks for thios feedback, dear Floren. I’m so glad the book resonated with you

  33. Hi Jane!

    I wanted to share this response I had received from someone I texted during the #BuildBackFossilFree week of action. During the follow up text we asked if they were able to take a picture with President Biden and share it on social media and this was a response I received:

    Great…I got some negative feedback which was ok because I had a comeback to their objections to ending fossil fuel production…and I could do that because I watched Fire Drill Friday with Ms Fonda’s interviewing Tara and Nalleli…and that’s how I got informed and had the comeback to the criticisms flung at me.
    I really didn’t see that coming. The lash out .. ouch .. but I was well informed and another thing that was very very important I carried on with the energy of Ms Fonda and the young ladies which disarmed the aggressors.. that energy was devoid of anger.. bitterness.. and other low frequency emotions. It was an energy of love and respect and knowing and sovereignty/ service if you will.. really words don’t quite reflect what I picked up from that energy. Only that this is the energy a respectful citizen our World emanate. That really made a lasting impression on me and it seems to kick start to a desire to keep up with this frequency. Who would have thought that an afternoon Zoom meetup would end up being so transformative! Blessing to you all. And Thank you.

    I just love the people that we have been reaching and knowing that they too are reaching others! Thank you for the powerful use of your platform and the amazing movement that is doing wonders to save our planet! <3

    Much love to you!
    xo Kara

  34. Jane, I’ve been able to watch most of your FDF events but lately it has become difficult and I have missed one and now today’s because I can’t find a way to access through Greenpeace in the way I use to be able to get an invitation. I don’t TWEET, not on FACEBOOK, but usually Greenpeace would have a place on your page where I could ask for an invitation. What I don’t understand is why after I have been a regular attendee that Greenpeace doesn’t just send an invitation every month where I can enroll or not. OR why not in your EVENTS section at the top of your blog List the FDF events so that bloggers can ask for an invitation there. I’ve tried Googling, looking on your page but just go in circles. I also don’t know what Twitch is. It shouldn’t be so hard to get an invite. I bought a NETFLICKS acct just to watch Grace and Frankie, but I will not get on Facebook for this. I guess this dinosaur is going to be left behind. I can maybe catch them on UTube after the event, but I like being in the moment with you. Dona

  35. Okay, I was able to see this FDF just before I almost gave up. Great FDF! I promise to write President Biden, and my Senators Sinema and Kelly to support THRIVE and to confirm Holland? (I’ll look up spelling) I will have the letters in the mail before Monday. Wright and Gun-Wright, both were so knowledgeable, enthusiastic and on top of every answer to every question. I already bought the book, All We Can Save, because of a former FDF discussion but I haven’t read it yet. I just finished Rebecca Traister’s GOOD and MAD, The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger. Really good information.

  36. Hi Jane,

    I share the sentiments of others on this forum in thanking you for sharing your memories of Larry. He was a television giant, the likes of which we will never see again! I particularly loved watching his interviews with your good friend and my all-time favorite comedienne Kathy Griffin!

    On a personal note, it is possible to contact you directly (or vice versa) on this forum? I know its a long-shot but I have a personal issue I would like to seek your guidance on, if possible.

    Keep up your great work!

    Kind regards,
    Alan Clarke
    (Dublin, Ireland)

  37. Off Topic: I just saw OUR SOULS AT NIGHT. A bit late, but getting old myself I wasn’t ready watch a film about getting old even though there was never a doubt I;d watch it sooner or later because of 2 people in it who, at a distance, I go way back with. Turns out to be a heartwarming, encouraging film, perfect pace, perfect pitch, a joy to appreciate, and an acting masterclass going on there without ever exhibiting itself, just pure craftsmanship. And there’s an incidental scene in the car where you reach back to pat the dog and you’re probably trying to get the dog’s butt out the way of the camera upfront so we can see all of you – – driver, upfront passenger, and the kid and dog in back. I don’t know whether it was directed this way or you were improvising (?) but you pat the dog and then pat the kid on the head. That was a lovely and smart incidental touch, just a passing moment thrown away down the road. OUR SOULS AT NIGHT is full of those ingenious little touches that make up the composite of two lives. What a terrific follow-through on the trail from The Chase and Barefoot in the Park and Electric Horseman. You just HAVE to be pleased about that quality of continuity. Some things Do maintain after all.

  38. Wu-WHOO! Vaccination one down, one to go. Me too. 2nd one scheduled for the 3rd. Just a slight sore arm, like every flu shot I get every Oct. Masks are staying; no changes there but now I’ll fly to Washington to help a friend. Glad you are doing this for your self and for all of us.

  39. Hello Jane, i’m Erik, i really like your blog and i wanted to let you know I’m obsessed with Grace&Frankie, i just made an account today but been reading your blog posts for a while so you should be hearing from me a lot moving forward.

    Much love from Nigeria 💕

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