King had many lives – musician, boxer, Catskill Mountains stand-up comedian, Broadway and Hollywood actor, best-selling author, political activist, and philanthropist. Remaining constant had been his intelligence, energy, courage, and dedication. Born on New York's Lower East Side, Alan King knew from an early age that he wanted to be a storyteller. His comic style and pugnacious nature made him a regular at the world's most popular clubs, from New York, to London, to Las Vegas. A stand-up comic for more than five decades (a favorite of Britain's Royal Family, he had given several Royal Command Performances), King's stand-up career had branched out to include TV ("The Ed Sullivan Show," frequent "Tonight Show" guest host stints), Broadway (Nathan Detroit in "Guys and Dolls"), and film ("Memories of Me," "Enemies," "A Love Story" and "Casino"). He had his own long-running show, "Alan King: Inside the Comedy Mind," on HBO's Comedy Central. Rounding out his accomplishments are his four best-selling books, including his autobiography, "Name-Dropping." His philanthropic commitments included founding the
Alan King Diagnostic Medical Center in Jerusalem, establishing a
scholarship fund for American students at Hebrew University, and
establishing a Dramatic Arts Chair at Brandeis University. He was also a
member of the Board of Trustees of the Long Island Jewish Medical
Center.
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Richard De La Font Agency,
Inc.
It
was once remarked that Alan King was to comedy what Levi's are to
jeans – a classic ... the standard against which all others are judged.
