Larry King is usually the one doing the interviews.
But when he spoke Thursday night at the Yitzhak Rabin Hillel
Center for Jewish Life at UCLA, audience members got a chance to
ask the broadcaster some of their own questions.
King spoke as a part of the Daniel Pearl Memorial lecture
series, a yearly event that honors the slain journalist.
Daniel Pearl was an American journalist who was kidnapped,
killed and beheaded in 2002 by a militant group in Pakistan while
covering the war on terrorism. A video documenting his murder was
then released over the Internet.
After a serious introduction from Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller and
Judea Pearl, Daniel Pearl’s father and a computer science
professor at UCLA, the night took on a lighter note when King
opened his lecture with anecdotes from his life as a
broadcaster.
His stories included getting kissed on the lips by Marlon Brando
and working for the Mafia.
“I don’t speak seriously. I try to have a good
time,” King said.
King was then questioned on topics including his signature
suspenders and the wide variety of politicians and celebrities he
has interviewed in his 49-year career.
King also discussed his inquisitive nature that gave rise to his
career.
“When I was a kid, I would ask a bus driver why they want
to drive a bus,” he said. “I had an ability that people
responded to me.”
The series is put on by Hillel in conjunction with the Daniel
Pearl Foundation, which is run by Pearl’s family and
friends.
Past featured journalists have included columnist Thomas
Friedman and CNN analyst Jeff Greenfield.
Hillel first approached Judea Pearl with the idea for the
series, Seidler-Feller said.
“We wanted to honor the memory of Danny,” he
said.
King was asked to speak because of his prominence as a
broadcaster and because he expressed interest throughout the
tragedy and offered his help, Judea Pearl said.
Seidler-Feller said Daniel Pearl was killed because he was
Jewish, and so Hillel wanted to establish a connection to the
Jewish community with the series.
Judea Pearl said he has used his son’s three vocations
““ journalism, music and dialogue ““ to address the
hatred behind the events surrounding his son’s death.
He has appeared at many universities with Akbar Ahmed, a Muslim
professor of international relations from American University in
Washington, D.C., in an attempt to create dialogue between the
Muslim and Jewish communities.
“We represent our communities; we express our
grievances,” Judea Pearl said.
The foundation also brings journalists from other countries to
the U.S. to expose them to a free-press environment, he said.
Judea Pearl said the issue of journalistic ethics also came
about in the days of his son’s kidnapping, when the American
media stayed quiet on his Jewish background so as not to increase
the danger of the situation.
But a Pakistani paper printed Daniel Pearl’s religion, he
said.
Judea Pearl and his wife Ruth also published “I Am
Jewish” a book titled after their son’s last words.
The book contains responses from Jewish leaders and celebrities
regarding what the phrase “I Am Jewish” means to them.
King and Seidler-Feller are featured in the book.