Larry Elder

About Larry Elder

Laurence Allen "Larry" Elder (born April 27, 1952 in Los Angeles, California), sometimes called "the Sage from South Central" is an American radio and television personality. He is a talk show host and author whose program The Larry Elder Show is heard on talk radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles, California. Elder has been on 790 KABC since 1994 and was syndicated on ABC Radio Networks from 2002 to 2007. Beginning in 2008, he has been the host of Showdown with Larry Elder on Fox News.

Larry Elder was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the city's Pico-Union and South Central areas, Elder attended Washington Preparatory High School and later graduated from Crenshaw High School and earned his A.B. in Political Science in 1974 from Brown University. He then earned his J.D. from University of Michigan Law School in 1977. After graduation, he worked with a large law firm in Cleveland, Ohio, where he practiced litigation. In 1980, he founded "Laurence A. Elder and Associates", a business specializing in recruiting experienced attorneys.

While he was a lawyer in Cleveland in the late 1980s, Elder began to host a topic-oriented television show on PBS affiliate WVIZ produced by Dennis Goulden. "I auditioned for and got a television show on PBS, which I hosted for six years. I can't say I had a plan. I literally picked up the phone and talked my way into getting this audition on PBS and they hired me. They just happened to be looking for a cohost." In the early 1990s, the show's name was retitled to The Larry Elder Show and moved to the local Fox Network affiliate WOIO and cable TV. Goulden and Elder won the Ohio Cable Television Association's "Best Program Series Award" in 1992 for their work on the show, which lasted until Elder moved back to Los Angeles in 1994. Between 2000-2001, Elder hosted the court series, Moral Court, distributed by Warner Brothers Television. In September 2003 he began the television version of The Larry Elder Show, which was dropped on April 12, 2005 due to low ratings. Elder was profiled by 60 Minutes and 20/20 and served as replacement for Geraldo Rivera on CNBC’s Rivera Live while Rivera was on vacation. He was a host of the PBS program National Desk, including the segment, "Redefining Racism: Fresh Voices From Black America," for which he won an AEGIS Award of Excellence, a Telly award, and an Emerald City Gold Award of Excellence. Elder also won a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award in 2000 for his KCAL-TV News Special, Making Waves - LAUSD. He has played himself on the sitcoms Spin City and The Hughleys. Elder's newspaper and online column is carried by Investor's Business Daily, World Net Daily, Townhall.com, Jewish World Review and David Horowitz's Front Page Magazine and The Atlasphere.