Larry King and Swami Satchidananda: An Unlikely Friendship

It was in the mid-1980s, after King had gained prominence beginning in 1978 as host of The Larry King Show—an all-night nationwide call-in radio program heard on the Mutual Broadcasting System—that King was introduced to Sri Swamiji. Adam Max (the son of pop artist icon Peter Max) arranged for Sri Swamiji to be interviewed by King on his radio program. King was a deeply compassionate and goodhearted human being. He did pray, though he was always unsure if his prayers were heard. So, when he met Sri Swamiji he was so curious about the Swami's faith and what he believed. They spoke for a long time post-show as well, and Sri Swamiji gave King several of his books. Over the decades, King spoke about his conversations with Sri Swamiji, noting in his autobiography, “Of all my most memorable guests, there have been so many, but I really liked what Swami Satchidananda told me. He made a lot of sense. There was a wonderful peace about him. He was fascinating to listen to. I never forgot that.”