(p. 23) King spent his life dodging death, resistant but haunted by its specter.
. . .
King took four human growth hormone pills every day, hoping they would buy him more time; . . . .
. . .
He deplored the idea of exiting the party while it was still going on, knowing he could never get back in. “Larry wanted to stay alive forever,” his best friend, Herb Cohen, told me. “He didn’t want to leave. He wouldn’t know who won the World Series.”
For the full obituary, see:
Jazmine Hughes. “Larry King.” The New York Times Magazine (Sunday, December 26, 2021): 22-23.
(Note: ellipses added.)
(Note: the online version of the obituary has the date Dec. 22, 2021, and has the title “Did Larry King’s Obsession With Death Fuel His ‘Indomitable’ Will to Live?”)