Comedian Alan King dies

[robviti]

I just learned that comedian Alan King died this morning of lung cancer at age 76. I'm old enough to remember some of King's appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, but I'm sure most of you are more familiar with his Friar's Club specials on Comedy Central. A great comedic mind with a searing wit, he will be missed.

By AP

NEW YORK -- Alan King, whose tirades against everyday suburban life grew into a long comedy career in nightclubs and television that he later expanded to Broadway and character roles in movies, died Sunday at the age of 76.

King, who lived in King's Point, N.Y., died of lung cancer, his wife Jeannette told local media. Services were scheduled for Tuesday morning, said Riverside Memorial Chapel in Manhattan.

King, who also was host of the New York Friars Club's celebrity roasts, which had recently returned as a staple on television's Comedy Central, died at a Manhattan hospital, said a son, Robert King.

King appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" 93 times beginning in the 1950s.

He played supporting roles in more than 20 films including "Bye Bye Braverman," "I, the Jury," "The Anderson Tapes," "Lovesick," "Bonfire of the Vanities," "Casino," and "Rush Hour 2." He also produced several films, including "Memories of Me," "Wolfen" and "Cattle Annie and Little Britches," and the 1997 television series "The College of Comedy With Alan King."

He said he was working strip joints and seedy nightclubs in the early 1950s when he had a revelation while watching a performance by another young comedian, Danny Thomas.

"Danny actually talked to his audience," he recalled in a 1991 interview. "And I realized I never talked to my audience. I talked at 'em, around 'em and over 'em, but not to 'em. I felt the response they had for him. I said to myself, 'This guy is doing something, and I better start doing it."'

King, who until then had been using worn out one-liners, found his new material at home, after his wife persuaded him to forsake his native Manhattan, believing the suburban atmosphere of the Forest Hills sections of Queens would provide a better environment for their children.

Soon he was joking of seeing people moving from the city to the suburbs "in covered wagons, with mink stoles hanging out the back."

His rantings about suburbia, just as America was embracing it, struck a chord with the public and soon he was appearing regularly on the Sullivan show, Garry Moore's variety show and "The Tonight Show."

Bookings poured in, and he toured with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, played New York's showcase Paramount theater and top nightclubs around the country.

He also worked as the opening act for such music stars as Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Billy Eckstine, Patti Page and Judy Garland, who he joined in a command performance in London for Queen Elizabeth.

After that show he was introduced to the queen and, when she asked "How do you do, Mr. King?" he said he replied: "How do you do, Mrs. Queen?"

"She stared at me, and then Prince Philip laughed," he recalled. "Thank God Prince Philip laughed."

King appeared in a handful of films in the late 1950s, including "The Girl He Left Behind," "Miracle in the Rain" and "Hit the Deck," although he didn't care for his roles. "I was always the sergeant from Brooklyn named Kowalski," he once complained.

He also appeared on Broadway in "Guys and Dolls" and "The Impossible Years," and produced the Broadway plays "The Lion in Winter" and "Something Different."

He wrote the humor books "Anyone Who Owns His Own Home Deserves One" (1962) and "Help! I'm a Prisoner in a Chinese Bakery" (1964).

Born Irwin Alan Kniberg, he grew up on Manhattan's Lower East Side and in Brooklyn.

"Both of them were tough neighborhoods, but I was a pretty tough kid," he recalled in 1964. "I had an answer for everything. ... I fought back with humor."

The son of Russian immigrants was one of the so-called Borscht Belt comics who in trademark acerbic delivery, cigar in hand, would gripe about the trials of everyday life. King especially poked fun at being Jewish.

In one typical joke, King quipped that a short summary of every Jewish holiday was: "They tried to kill us. We won. Let's eat."

In another, he asked: "What's the difference between a Rottweiler and a Jewish mother? Eventually the Rottweiler lets go."

King once recounted a Jewish man asking his wife if she would like diamond jewelry, a new car or a trip for their anniversary. She responded that she wanted a divorce.

"Oy vey," the man replied. "I wasn't planning on spending that much."

He married Jeannette Sprung in 1947 and they had three children, Robert, Andrew and Elaine Ray. When King was at the height of his career, he faced one son's drug addiction and said he realized he had neglected his family.

"It's not easy being a father," he said, "but I've been allowed a comeback."

He spent more time at home and his son conquered his addiction.

"Now everyone kisses," he said. "We show our affections."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Edited May 10, 2004 by jazzshrink

[Harold_Z]

When guys like Alan King go I feel like a part of my childhood goes. I grew up with 50s and 60s tv and Alan King was always there. I'm sorry to see him go. Borscht Belt comedians !! A phenonemon that will not reappear. They were classic...and Alan King was classic.

[Dmitry]

Alan King had chutzpah.

I don't know, maybe it's me, but I don't find most young stand up comics remotely funny. These old guys, they knew how to do it.

[Jim R]

What really hit home when I watched Comedy Central's recent airing of their "Top 100 Stand-ups of all time" was that today's comics (and even the older ones who are trying to remain hip) are focused primarily on how vulgar they can be. Now, I've been around a few years, I remember Lenny Bruce, Redd Foxx, etc, but when everybody is doing it, it really gets old. I saw a standup on "Premium Blend" or one of those CC shows recently, and I swear, every third word was bleeped. Not real good for television viewers.

At any rate, the point is that standup comedy is as weak as I've ever seen it, in terms of a lack of imagination, timing, delivery... you name it. More people should pay attention to those comedy roundtable discussions that Alan King did for PBS a few years back. They were inclusive of younger AND older comics, and you got the feeling that the participants really cared and wanted to be there. I have to admit that King was never a real favorite of mine (I always thought he was pretty funny, but just didn't kill me like some others did), but when I saw those PBS shows I realized how thoughtful and knowledgeable he was regarding the art form.

RIP Mr. King.

[Harold_Z]

Alan King had chutzpah.

I don't know, maybe it's me, but I don't find most young stand up comics remotely funny. These old guys, they knew how to do it.

Very true on all counts. Most of the current crop of comedians strike me as actors portraying a stand up comic.