After months of speculation, venerable interviewer Larry King announced last night that he is ending Larry King Live this fall. The series began on June 3, 1985 and King has logged more than 40,000 interviews.

King broke the news on Twitter, writing, “Announcing tonight: I’m ending my nightly show this fall but continuing at CNN.”

On his show, he made the following statement…

Before I start the show tonight, I want to share some personal news with you. 25 years ago, I sat across this table from New York Governor Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast of Larry King Live.

Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end Larry King Live, the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games.

I’ll still be a part of the CNN family, hosting several Larry King specials on major national and international subjects.

I’m incredibly proud that we recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot. With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders.

There has been much speculation about who might take over the timeslot with a new interview program. King supposedly would like to see frequent substitute Ryan Seacrest fill the spot while it appears that Piers Morgan is set to take over.

What do you think? Will you miss being able to see Larry King on a regular basis or should the show have been cancelled years ago? Who do you think should fill the timeslot on CNN?

Image courtesy CNN.