Larry King out of ICU: TV host breathing on his own amid Covid-19 battle

The veteran broadcaster was first hospitalised on December 31

Veteran TV host Larry King is out of the intenstive care unit and is now breathing on his own. AFP

Veteran talk show host Larry King, 87, who is suffering from Covid-19, has been moved out of the intensive care unit at a Los Angeles hospital.

King is now breathing on his own, a spokesman said on Monday.

He was moved to the ICU on New Year's Eve and was receiving oxygen, but is now breathing on his own, said David Theall, a spokesman for Ora Media, a production company formed by King.

The broadcasting legend shared a video phone call with his three sons, Theall said.

King, who spent many years as an overnight radio DJ, is best-known as host of the Larry King Live interview show that ran on CNN.

The Peabody Award-winning broadcaster was among America's most prominent interviewers of celebrities, presidents and other newsmakers during a half-century career that included 25 years with his nightly show on CNN.

In recent decades, he has suffered a number of medical issues including heart attacks and diagnoses of diabetes and lung cancer.

Last year, King lost two of his five children within weeks of each other. Son Andy King died of a heart attack at 65 in August, and daughter Chaia King died from lung cancer at 51 in July.