(Rose M Prouser/AFP/Getty Images)
Larry King has announced that he'll stop hosting his nightly CNN show as of this fall. While many media outlets are predictably looking back at his stint on the all-news network, we feel it's an appropriate time to reflect upon one of his lesser-known side gigs.

Before there was Twitter, there was Larry King's column in USA Today - an unintentionally hilarious stream of non-sequiturs and lame observations about life and showbiz that had many readers questioning the TV host's analytical powers, if not his sanity.

King's weekly collection of puffball "thoughts" ran for almost 20 years, wrapping up in 2001. Here's a sample of his work: "Angelina Jolie, whose film Original Sin opened Friday, tells me she has nothing in the works right now ... Julie Andrews tells me she is 'certain' she will sing again ... A salute also to my man, Don Imus ... I'm very proud of my wife, Shawn. She's a great singer and a terrific talent who chooses to be a mother first ... Steve Martini's newest thriller, The Jury ... is a cracklin' good read. It's a puzzling whodunit. The only question I have is why the title? The jury plays no part in the plot."

King didn't exactly flesh out his inanities, preferring instead to jump from topic to topic like a hyperactive mosquito. Often, he wouldn't even bother to complete a full sentence ("A salute also to my man, Don Imus"). This unique writing style inspired several parodies, including a stellar entry from The Onion, a fake King column called "I Am F---ing Insane": "Kudos to those fine folks who make Bugles so consistently delicious.... I just thought of a great question to ask Jan Michael Vincent.... Boy, do I hate this shirt.... What's that guy over there doing?.... The Amish make fine houses."

Norm Macdonald regularly poked fun at King's column on Saturday Night Live.



Now that he'll have more free time, perhaps King will return to his print job, or at least make an effort to stake his claim as the spiritual father of Twitter. King has embraced the popular social network, and it fits him like a glove. Indeed, one of his recent tweets captures the essence of his pioneering work at USA Today: "Whoever came up with Peanut Butter and Jelly deserves a Nobel Prize in something."