Richard Charles King

May 5, 1941 - December 7, 2020 Richard Charles King, 79, passed away December 7th, 2020, after a long struggle with heart and lung disease, in Los Angeles, California.Richard (Richie) was born May 5th, 1941 in Plainfield, New Jersey, to Charles and Lucille King.Richie was born into a large boisterous, competitive Irish American clan. He was the second of six children. A wonderful son, brother, husband, father and grandfather.He was a fun loving, larger than life man who filled a room with laughter, love and an infectious smile. His incredible sense of humor, one liners, acerbic wit and twinkle in his eye will be missed but always remembered.Richie lived life to the fullest. He loved deeply, he traveled, raised an incredible family and was generous to all he met. Friends and family have described him as a great raconteur, bon vivant, a risk taker, effervescent, but above all a family man. Proud of his siblings, his adored wife, Lauren, his children, grandchildren and extended nieces and nephews.Richie played semi pro football when younger before joining the Army. He followed in his father's footsteps beginning a career in radio at a local radio station in Worcester, MA. Richie was very proud of his family heritage, working from a young age, developing great people skills and joining his siblings in the family company, King World Productions, a company started by his father, Charles King, in 1964 with the acquisition of The Little Rascals. Upon their father's death in 1972, their mother, Lucille, inherited the company and gave it to her six children.All the King children worked at one point within the company to help bring it to the powerhouse syndication company it became, distributing shows that included Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Inside Edition, and Dr. Phil to name a few.Richie eventually moved to Florida and opened a chain of retail stores before settling as a real estate developer and building many buildings and homes.Richie felt his greatest success was his family. He loved them deeply, was inspirational to, encouraging and supportive of all his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.Richie is predeceased by his parents, Charles and Lucille King, and his siblings Robert King, Roger King, Michael King and Diana King.Richie is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 26 years, Lauren (nee Dorf), his four children Charlie (Maggie), Richard, Jr. (Janae), Michael (Laura), and Bobby (Alexis, fiancée). His five grandchildren Charlie, Jr., James, Elizabeth, Richard III and Matthew King. He is survived by his sister Karen King, sisters-in-law Lynn King (Robert), Jena King (Michael), Raemali King (Roger) and 31 nieces and nephews.His brother, Michael, called him a national treasure. Richie loved entertaining a houseful of friends and family with stories and jokes. His huge generous heart, kindness, and love of life and family will be missed by all. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Angels At Risk or Caron angelsatrisk.com caron.org