The broadcasting world was shaken Saturday with the news that Larry King died at the age of 87. Anybody who was somebody appeared on his CNN talk show. One of those somebodies was Notre Dame alumnus Regis Philbin, who passed away in July. When the Irish battled Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium in 2002, Philbin invited King to the game, and the two appeared on WNDU-TV’s pregame show:
Larry King came to Notre Dame on Oct. 5, 2002 for the Stanford game on an invitation from Regis Philbin.
The two swung by "Countdown to Kickoff" to chat with Jeff Jeffers and Larry was already impressed by the beauty of Notre Dame.
Rest in Peace, Larry King. pic.twitter.com/GSlL5BPtHp
— Megan Smedley (@Megan_WNDU) January 23, 2021
The Cardinal were a bad team in 2002, so it should be no surprise that the Irish crushed them that afternoon, 31-7, in the first of a rivalry-long seven consecutive wins in the battle for the Legends Trophy. Notre Dame’s two-headed rushing monster of Ryan Grant and Rashon Powers-Neal combined for 211 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries. On defense, Courtney Watson and Shane Walton returned interceptions for touchdowns from 34 and 18 yards out, respectively. To say the least, King was in South Bend on a good day.
Shrek fans know that King and Philbin worked together on those films. They were the respective voices of Doris and Mabel, the ugly stepsisters. But whatever they did together, they were broadcasting legends who happened to be legends. Let’s be happy that they didn’t have to be separated from each other for very long.