Comedian Alan King dies at 76
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With his sly smile and meticulously timed staccato delivery, Mr. King delivered sledgehammer blows to institutions such as insurance companies, airlines, the medical profession, politicians, New York's Long Island Expressway, which he dubbed 50 years ago as "the world's largest parking lot," and his super-efficient wife who could make the bed before he returned from a 5 a.m. trip to the bathroom.
Known also for his ever-present cigar, he exemplified an old school of Jewish New York humor in which one practically could hear the rim shot after each line.
Comedian Jerry Stiller, an acquaintance for more than 50 years, said Mr. King was "in touch with what was happening with the world, which is what made him so funny."
"He always talked about the annoyances of life," Stiller said. "He was like a Jewish Will Rogers."
Mr. King also has been called "the crabgrass comedian" and "an aggressive Jack Benny."
Mr. King himself discussed the nature of his art in a 1998 interview with Catherine Crier on her Fox News Crier Report: "Comedy is a reflection. We create nothing. We set no styles, no standards. We're reflections. It's a distorted mirror in the fun house. We watch society. As society behaves, then we have the ability to make fun of it, to show you — you're laughing at yourself. ... I think one of the big things about comedy is the ability for the audience to identify."
Mr. King broadened into more topical territory, including civil-rights protests. His politics were leftward, and in the late 1960s he made frequent fun of then-Vice President Spiro Agnew, which led to many angry letters when he repeated the jokes on television.
Mr. King also hosted network specials, became a guest host for Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," made comedy albums and wrote best-selling books. The comedian also was the revered abbot of the New York Friar's Club, often hosting its celebrity roasts, which recently have regained a national television audience through Comedy Central.
His books had such titles as "Anyone Who Owns His Own Home Deserves It" (1962), "Help! I'm a Prisoner in a Chinese Bakery" (1964), "Is Salami and Eggs Better Than Sex?: Memoirs of a Happy Eater" (1985) and "Alan King's Great Jewish Joke Book" (2002). A memoir, "Matzoh Balls for Breakfast and Other Memories of Growing Up Jewish," is scheduled for publication next year.
Mr. King was born Irwin Alan Kniberg in a tough part of Brooklyn, where he learned to use his mouth as a weapon. He also boxed, in case words failed him.
He played drums and led a band that played at bar mitzvahs and other events. He left high school to do comedy full time at burlesque houses and in the Catskill Mountains resorts.
Mr. King said he learned by watching Danny Thomas that he must talk to his audience rather than "at 'em, around 'em and over 'em" as he had been doing. He switched his act from one-liners to carefully timed, short anecdotes based on personal experience.
His assertiveness led to better gigs, such as when he persuaded management of the Paramount theater chain to let him replace an aging comic on a bill. His career began to flourish when he moved to Queens from Manhattan. The change provoked the humor that became central to his act as he discussed problems with the phone company, dealing with doctors and making airline reservations.
He spent years doing opening routines for such singers as Lena Horne and Billy Eckstine. His breakthrough came in 1956, when mainstream reviewers caught his act on the same bill with Judy Garland at the Palace Theatre in New York. He and Garland toured Europe and performed for royalty, including Queen Elizabeth II.
After that show, he had an audience with the queen, who asked, "How do you do, Mr. King?"
He replied: "How do you do, Mrs. Queen?"
A few painful seconds passed in silence. "She stared at me, and then Prince Philip laughed," he said. "Thank God Prince Philip laughed."
Mr. King became a regular on Ed Sullivan's show, appearing 93 times. He also was a favorite at the Latin Quarter in New York, the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas and other prominent clubs.
The appearances on "Sullivan" proved a major breakthrough, Mr. King said in a 2002 interview on NBC's "Today," by providing national exposure and doubling the weekly pay he could command.
He made his movie debut as a shore patrolman in the musical "Hit the Deck" (1955), followed by small roles in such films as "The Girl He Left Behind" (1956) and "The Helen Morgan Story" (1957).
He found Hollywood a letdown when he repeatedly was cast as "the sergeant from Brooklyn named Kowalski."
He had a rare leading part in Sidney Lumet's comedy "Just Tell Me What You Want" (1980), as a tycoon infatuated with his mistress, played by Ali MacGraw.
Mr. King made several Broadway appearances, notably as a psychiatrist writing a book about teenagers but who is hopelessly out of touch with his daughter in the comedy "The Impossible Years" (1965). In the mid- to late 1960s, he produced such Broadway shows as "The Lion in Winter," "Dinner at Eight" and "Something Different."
With investments in several successful businesses, he used much of his fortune for charitable donations. He also founded a pro tennis tournament, the Alan King Tennis Classic in Las Vegas.
He married Jeanette Sprung in 1947, and they had three children — Robert, Andrew and Elaine Ray. When Mr. 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 then. "But I've been allowed a comeback. The greatest danger is that we see what is happening but we don't want to see it."
With Mr. King's help, the son recovered.
But in the 2002 interview on "Today," King still was answering the question what would he do differently if he could repeat his life with: "As a parent, I'd — I'd be a better father."
Compiled from The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press.
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