Larry King’s Children Chaia and Andy Die 1 Month Apart

Larry King was dealt with two tragedies less than a month apart. His son, Andy, died of a heart attack on July 28, weeks before his daughter Chaia died on Wednesday after a battle with lung cancer. The 86-year-old King is still recovering from the stroke he suffered last year and was unable to travel to Florida for his son’s funeral last month due to the coronavirus pandemic. Andy was 65 and Chaia was 51.

“Everyone’s feeling pretty bad and broken. Larry is really hurt and upset,” King’s granddaughter and Andy’s daughter, Jillian, told the Daily Mail Friday. “He was very sick last year. His kids were all taking very close care of him. He’s upset that he’s lost them now.” King adopted Andy in 1962 after he married his mother, Alene Akins, with whom he also welcomed Chaia. King’s three surviving children are Larry Jr., 58, from his marriage to Annette Kaye, and sons Chance, 21, and Cannon, 20, from his marriage to Shawn King.

Jillian said she heard about her father’s death just weeks after her father-in-law died in early July. “I was out of town because my husband’s father had passed away so we were up in Kentucky taking care of his funeral when I heard the news,” she told the Mail. “My dad passed away on July 28. We’re assuming it was a heart attack but there wasn’t ever an autopsy.”

Chaia’s death was “more expected” as she was dealing with cancer for some time, Jillian said. Jillian’s grandmother, Akins, died in 2017 after a second bout with lung cancer, Jillian said. She went on to describe her father as “wonderful” and “always optimistic.” Andy and Chaia “were both such wonderful people,” Jillian added. “They were lucky to be together in the end.”

A source close to King told the Daily Mail he is “truly devastated” by his children’s deaths. “He barely survived last year through his own ill health; now he’s lost two kids just weeks apart,” the source said, adding that the last time the family was together was Father’s Day. “It was the last time they were all together and Larry will always cherish it,” the source said.

In November, King told Page Six he suffered a stroke early last year before Shawn filed for divorce. “I had what they call a slight stroke in March. Everything is back to normal, except [for] my left foot. I can’t walk on my left foot, so I’m walking with a walker,” the legendary broadcaster said. “It’s making me feel old.” King said his doctors thought he was “going to die” in March and he did not remember much about the experience. “I had a sepsis infection, I had a new stent put on the heart,” he said. “It’s been amazing – everyone tells me they can’t believe I made it through.”