Dec 17 2010 10:00 AM ET 49Share Larry King's Top 12 Greatest Moments: Marlon Brando, Ross Perot, and Carrie Prejean's non-walkout walkout

"When Larry King signed off last night, it marked the end of an era. For the past 25 years, Larry King Live has been CNN’s flagship show, a forum for long-form interviews with the famous by choice — politicians, heads of state, movie stars, television personalities, musicians — and the famous by circumstance, often ordinary folks affected by tragedy. King has been there for many of history’s most significant moments these past 25 years, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to 9/11, not just presenting history to us, but witnessing it with us. The greatest moments of Larry King Live, though, the ones many of us remember most, are generally ones without global significance, the ones that show a flawed, funny human being who above all is interested in…simply having a conversation. Here are our picks for Larry King’s 12 greatest moments. Piers Morgan, you have big shoes, er, suspenders to fill.

1. Marlon Brando (1994) — Sure an interview show can feature icons, but can it produce iconic moments of its own? The best answer I could offer would be a two-shot of Larry King facing an obese, barefoot, semi-recumbent Marlon Brando at the method-man’s comfy home. Truth be told, their 1994 face-off is not a great interview, more a televised meet cute. But then who could ever figure out what made Brando tick? Instead, we have him correcting King’s pitch during a duet and announcing that he’s wearing red suspenders under his outfit in tribute (a la Lady Gaga 16 years later), before planting a wet one right on his lips.

2. The NAFTA Debate (1993) — Hard to believe that Ross Perot was once a formidable enough political figure that the Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, would come on LKL to debate him over NAFTA. Drawing upon tactics he learned during his Harvard debate team days, Gore sat especially close to Perot to throw him off his guard. When the VP pressed Perot, saying, “I’m listening — I haven’t heard the answer, but go ahead,” Perot snapped, “That’s cause you haven’t quit talking.” The stuff SNL parodies are made of."

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