t

How did a tough punk
from New York find a
successful lifi in humor?
Alan King tells you in
his new book.

MICHAEL ELKIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Far left: "This is the story of how a son
of Russian immigrants —who came to
this country in steerage — grew up to
live in a mansion that had been built for
Oscar Hammerstein."

Above, center: "1941: Irwin Alan
Kniberg's (Alan King) bar mitzvah.
"Today, I am a man."

Above, right: "I think of Billy Crystal as
a son, but he's much more than funny."

Left: In Las Vegas, Alan King, Carol
Channing and George Bums. "Who
said smoking is bad for you?"

No
Punches
Pulled
88

o wonder Alan King is
so good with a punch
line.
"I used to be a box-
er, you know," says King in his
handsome office high above New
York's Seventh Avenue. King
holds court here, discussing a ca-
reer that includes comedy, act-
ing, production, writing — and
boxing.
"I was pretty good," says King,
recalling the early days on the
Lower East Side and beyond.
"So one time I'm in Canada
and fight this black kid, who
pummels me, I mean really beats
me up good, and I'm thinking,
'This is no way for a Jewish boy
to make a living."'
Decked as a boxer, he decided
to deal with a different deck of
cards: comedy. The pummeling
he took in Canada, however, left
a lasting impression.

N

'The guy's name was King —
the guy that I fought — and I
started using that as my last
name onstage," says the star,
whose parents knew him as Ir-
win Alan Kniberg.
Today everyone knows Alan
King by his accomplishments.
And King seems to know every-
one, period, as evidenced in his
latest work: Name Dropping: The
Life and Lies ofAlan King, which
the comedian co-wrote with
Chris Chase.
Name Dropping is an uplift-
ing saga of how a tough punk
from New York found a success-
ful life in humor. In his book,
Alan King doesn't so much drop
names as ease them onto the
page. There's Frank Sinatra,
Jack Benny, George Burns, Judy
Garland.
"I've been on the scene 55
years," says the tireless" enter-

tainer. "I know a lot of people."
Billy Crystal knew a good
thing when he heard it. When
Crystal's co-star in the film Mem-
ories of Me regaled him with
memories of the old days, Crys-
tal told King to write it all down.
"It's an era," said Crystal,
whom King considers a kindred
spirit and surrogate son. ("He
never calls; he never sends mon-
ey.")
King was already familiar
with the writing field. His other
credits include Is Salami and

Eggs Better Than Sex?; Help, I'm
a Prisoner in a Chinese Bakery;
and Anyone Who Owns His Own
Home Deserves It.

King says his father Bernard
deserves much of the credit for
the way he turned out.
"He borrowed his way of think-
ing from Zorba the Greek, or
maybe he felt that ZOrba stole

(.±

\

