December 17, 2010

Larry King, Bill Clinton, and the "zipper club."

A little embarrassment on Larry King's last show:
The guests [included] former president Bill Clinton, fit and felicitous as piped in from Arkansas. The encounter was hampered by annoying pauses and delays caused by a slothful satellite - and by a fleeting bit of embarrassment involving the term "zipper club."

King said that he and Clinton were both members of that fanciful aggregation, an unfortunate reference considering that, earlier, [Ryan] Seacrest had clumsily asked King whether the fly on his trousers had a zipper or buttons. A bit belatedly, King explained that the "zipper club" is for men who've had open-heart surgery. "I'm glad you clarified that," Clinton said, with a forgiving smile.
AND: Here's the whole darn show. The Bill Clinton stuff starts at 26:00.

29 comments:

traditionalguy said...

They were having a heart to heart talk. Of course the great value of keeping ones chest zipped up is similar to the value of a man keeping his pants zipped up when with a woman not his wife.

AllenS said...

According to Bill Clinton, the phrase "zipper club" has two meanings. Just like the word "is". Heh!

traditionalguy said...

Hebrew Proverb 4:23 says to ,"guard your heart for out of it come all of the issues of life". The issues caused by Monica Lewinski getting Clinton's zipper down remain always with him.

Unknown said...

Willie can't afford any more zipper malfunctions - of either type.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Although King is being treated coldly by CNN, which is shoving him aside for a younger host despite King's status as a television icon, he expressed no bitterness in his closing remarks..

Remember when Larry thought Seinfeld had been "cancelled"?

ha ha..

AllenS said...

I've never watched one Larry King episode.

AllenS said...

Is anybody else experiencing a major slow motion when trying to make a comment?

Rob said...

For the first time in eons, I watched Larry King last night--a crapfest that was relieved only by the hilarious zipper club moment. It's a pity Anna Nicole Smith couldn't have been there to take her rightful place among those wishing King well.

King is a poor advertisement for a life of debauchery. No one can blame CNN for cancelling him, though putting him down might have been more merciful.

gadfly said...

Larry King Alive, as Rush calls his show, got canceled in the ratings war. His viewership is down 44% from a year ago and he is getting creamed by Hannity and Rachel Maddow(!)in his time slot.

Trooper York said...

You have to love when Larry King goes to the movies.

NSFW.

Titus said...

No Blake Edwards obit Helen?

Titus said...

Piers Morgan is going to be "slightly dangerous" in his new show. At least that's what the ad says.

How interesting.

ricpic said...

With Larry King retiring where will all those public thieves and knaves - who have just caught some damaging exposure - go for a puff ball interview?

Hoosier Daddy said...

Larry King has had like 8 wives? How is this guy not on food stamps?

David said...

After the show, they all went out and had dinner and drinks at the Slipper Inn.

David said...

More than once a week, my wife will softly and kindly say "zipper."

Then she laughs.

I think I know what she means.

FormerTucsonan said...

King is a poor advertisement for a life of debauchery. No one can blame CNN for cancelling him, though putting him down might have been more merciful.

Yep, live on TV. Just get Woody Harrelson coked up and give him a bolt gun.

FormerTucsonan said...

His viewership is down 44% from a year ago and he is getting creamed by Hannity and Rachel Maddow(!)in his time slot.

Wow! He, cream, and Maddow; three words I never would have expected to see in the same sentence!

Phil 314 said...

The passing of an error

former law student said...

Years ago, an crusty old salesman told me the surgeon had opened him up, "from the apple to the banana."

AmPowerBlog said...

I watched it last night. It definitely felt like the 1990s, but there was a time when I liked the show and watched it regularly. Times change.

MamaM said...

...the surgeon had opened him up, "from the apple to the banana."

Thurber refers to the cut as Guggle to Zatch.

"I'll slit you from your guggle to your zatch," the Duke replied, ""and feed you to the Todal....it's made of lip and it gleeps."

DaveW said...

Huh. I'm in the zipper club. Who knew?

DaveW said...

Professor I just ordered a Kindle off your Amazon search link. I hope you get credit for that.

Gift for the wife, she's dropped a ton of hints about it, but says "no" if I ask her if she wants one at Christmas and birthdays. So...now she'll have one.

traditionalguy said...

R.I.P. Larry King. He was a good communicator that threw in some good questions and let his guests talk.

A.W. said...

larry king accidentally suggested he ever had sex?

yike. now i won't be able to have sex for like a month. thank you for that mental image.

rcocean said...

Wimmen's just can't get enough Larry King.

It points out the difference in the sexes. Women will marry 80 year old - walking mummy - Larry King. He's on TV and has $$$. But would any young man run after Terry Gross because she's on the radio and has some Dinero?

I mean, any man except Bill Clinton, who'd chase anything for a Lewinski. I bet Terry Gross gave Billy Jeff a boner.

The Dude said...

Ah, I had a better surgeon - my heart was accessed through my ribcage, leaving my sternum intact, in a procedure called "keyhole" surgery.

The post-op pain, though great, was not nearly as bad as I hear chest cracking is.

William said...

Larry was never the attraction, but he had a fair number of interesting or newsworthy guests. He gave them all a chance to expound their message or give their side of the story. He asked the appropriate questions, but never in a confrontational play. Whatever the chaos in his personal life, his on air persona was pleasant and good humored. He now joins Joe Franklin in that valhalla of the greats.