Mabel King
Encyclopedia
Mabel King was an American
film, stage and television actress.
, the daughter of Rosalie Washington. She was raised in Harlem
where she eventually became a gospel and nightclub singer. She did not start acting until her mid thirties, in 1966, when she played the role of Maria in the national touring play of Porgy and Bess
. The following year she played the role of Ernestina in the Broadway
musical/comedy Hello, Dolly!
. Then in 1972, she appeared in the Broadway
musical Don't Play Us Cheap
. The following year, 1973, she appeared in the film version of the play. That same year she played the Queen of Myrthia in the horror film Ganja & Hess.
In January 1975, she played the role of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West in the all-black cast of the Broadway musical The Wiz
. The role earned her a Drama Desk Award
nomination for outstanding featured actress in a musical.
Her performance in The Wiz brought her much attention and soon after she received roles in the films The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
, with Billy Dee Williams
and James Earl Jones
and the movie Scott Joplin also with Billy Dee Williams
and Clifton Davis
.
In 1976, she was offered the role of Mabel Thomas on the sitcom What's Happening!!
, a role she played from 1976 to 1978. Due to disagreements with the direction the creators wanted to take the show, King left What's Happening!! in 1978 after two seasons. That same year, she reprised the role of Evillene for the 1978 film version
of The Wiz. It was the second time in her career that she appeared in a movie after being in the stage version, the first time being the play/movie Don't Play Us Cheap. The following year she appeared in what was probably her most notable film role, as mother to Steve Martin
's character in The Jerk
.
In June 1980, King returned to stage work, starring in the Broadway musical It's So Nice To Be Civilized. However the show did not do well and was cancelled after eight performances. After the show, King received mostly guest spots on TV shows including Fantasy Island
, The Jeffersons
, Amazing Stories
and Tales from the Darkside
among others. In between, she signed on with then Hollywood agent Ruben Malaret who negotiated the reprised the role of Mama Johnson in the 1984 made-for-TV movie The Jerk, Too. Her last two movie roles were 1988's Scrooged
starring Bill Murray
and 1990's Dead Men Don't Die starring Elliott Gould
.
in Woodland Hills, California
. She also battled diabetes, and eventually lost both of her legs and an arm to the disease. In 1999, she died from complications of diabetes. She was cremated. Her only child, a son, Larry (from her marriage to Melvin King) preceded her in death three years earlier. One month later, her "What's Happening!!" co-star Shirley Hemphill
would also pass away; they were both honored in the "In Memoriam" segment during the 2000 NAACP Image Awards.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film, stage and television actress.
Early life and career
King was born Donnie Mabel Elizabeth Washington in Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, the daughter of Rosalie Washington. She was raised in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
where she eventually became a gospel and nightclub singer. She did not start acting until her mid thirties, in 1966, when she played the role of Maria in the national touring play of Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
. The following year she played the role of Ernestina in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical/comedy Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
. Then in 1972, she appeared in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Don't Play Us Cheap
Don't Play Us Cheap
Don't Play Us Cheap is a 1972 musical written, produced, and directed by Melvin Van Peebles, about an imp and a devil who take human form and try to break up a Harlem house party. A film version was produced in 1973.-Plot:...
. The following year, 1973, she appeared in the film version of the play. That same year she played the Queen of Myrthia in the horror film Ganja & Hess.
In January 1975, she played the role of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West in the all-black cast of the Broadway musical The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...
. The role earned her a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nomination for outstanding featured actress in a musical.
Her performance in The Wiz brought her much attention and soon after she received roles in the films The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings is a comedic sports film about a team of enterprising ex-Negro League baseball players in the era of racial segregation. Loosely based upon William Brashler's novel of the same name, it starred Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor...
, with Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee Williams
William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
and James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
and the movie Scott Joplin also with Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee Williams
William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer.-Early life:Williams was born in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta...
and Clifton Davis
Clifton Davis
Clifton Duncan Davis is an American actor, songwriter and minister. He has appeared on the television shows as A World Apart, That's My Mama and Amen...
.
In 1976, she was offered the role of Mabel Thomas on the sitcom What's Happening!!
What's Happening!!
What's Happening!! is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976 to April 28, 1979. The show premiered as a summer series. With good ratings and reviews, and after the failure of several other shows on the network, What's Happening!! returned in November 1976 as a weekly...
, a role she played from 1976 to 1978. Due to disagreements with the direction the creators wanted to take the show, King left What's Happening!! in 1978 after two seasons. That same year, she reprised the role of Evillene for the 1978 film version
The Wiz (film)
The Wiz is a 1978 musical film produced by Motown Productions and Universal Pictures, and released by Universal on October 24, 1978. An urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz featuring an entirely African-American cast, The Wiz was adapted from the 1975 Broadway musical...
of The Wiz. It was the second time in her career that she appeared in a movie after being in the stage version, the first time being the play/movie Don't Play Us Cheap. The following year she appeared in what was probably her most notable film role, as mother to Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
's character in The Jerk
The Jerk
The Jerk is a 1979 American comedy film. Directed by Carl Reiner, the film was written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb and Michael Elias. This was Steve Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The film also features Bernadette Peters, M. Emmet Walsh and Jackie Mason.-Plot:The film begins...
.
In June 1980, King returned to stage work, starring in the Broadway musical It's So Nice To Be Civilized. However the show did not do well and was cancelled after eight performances. After the show, King received mostly guest spots on TV shows including Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
, Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories (TV series)
Amazing Stories is a fantasy, horror, and science fiction television anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987, and was somewhat erratically screened in Britain by BBC1 and BBC2 - billed in the Radio Times as "Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories" - with episodes...
and Tales from the Darkside
Tales from the Darkside
Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series produced by George A. Romero; it originally aired from 1983 to 1988. Similar to Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, and Tales From The Crypt, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot...
among others. In between, she signed on with then Hollywood agent Ruben Malaret who negotiated the reprised the role of Mama Johnson in the 1984 made-for-TV movie The Jerk, Too. Her last two movie roles were 1988's Scrooged
Scrooged
Scrooged is a 1988 American comedy film, a modernization of Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol. The film was produced and directed by Richard Donner, and the cinematography was by Michael Chapman. The screenplay was written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue...
starring Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
and 1990's Dead Men Don't Die starring Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination...
.
Later years and death
In 1989, King suffered a stroke and entered the Motion Picture & Television Country House and HospitalMotion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital
The Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital is a retirement community, with individual cottages, and a fully licensed, acute-care hospital, located at 23388 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California...
in Woodland Hills, California
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...
. She also battled diabetes, and eventually lost both of her legs and an arm to the disease. In 1999, she died from complications of diabetes. She was cremated. Her only child, a son, Larry (from her marriage to Melvin King) preceded her in death three years earlier. One month later, her "What's Happening!!" co-star Shirley Hemphill
Shirley Hemphill
Shirley Ann Hemphill was an American stand-up comedian and actress. She was best known for her role on the television situation comedy What's Happening!!, which ran from 1976 to 1979.-Career:...
would also pass away; they were both honored in the "In Memoriam" segment during the 2000 NAACP Image Awards.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Don't Play Us Cheap Don't Play Us Cheap Don't Play Us Cheap is a 1972 musical written, produced, and directed by Melvin Van Peebles, about an imp and a devil who take human form and try to break up a Harlem house party. A film version was produced in 1973.-Plot:... |
House guest at the party | |
| 1973 | Ganja & Hess | Queen of Myrthia | |
| 1976 | The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings is a comedic sports film about a team of enterprising ex-Negro League baseball players in the era of racial segregation. Loosely based upon William Brashler's novel of the same name, it starred Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor... |
Bertha Dewitt | |
| 1976 to 1978 | What's Happening! | Mabel "Mama" Thomas | 37 episodes |
| 1977 | Scott Joplin | Madam Amy | |
| 1978 | The Wiz The Wiz (film) The Wiz is a 1978 musical film produced by Motown Productions and Universal Pictures, and released by Universal on October 24, 1978. An urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz featuring an entirely African-American cast, The Wiz was adapted from the 1975 Broadway musical... |
Evillene | |
| 1978 to 1981 | Fantasy Island Fantasy Island Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:... |
Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1979 | Barney Miller Barney Miller Barney Miller is a situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker... |
Mother Zilla | Episode: "Computer Crime" |
| 1979 | The Jerk The Jerk The Jerk is a 1979 American comedy film. Directed by Carl Reiner, the film was written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb and Michael Elias. This was Steve Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The film also features Bernadette Peters, M. Emmet Walsh and Jackie Mason.-Plot:The film begins... |
Mother | |
| 1980 | The Gong Show Movie The Gong Show Movie The Gong Show Movie is a 1980 film that shows how Chuck Barris lives through a week of being the host and creator of The Gong Show, through a series of outrageous competitors, stressful situations, a nervous breakdown and other comic hijinks in his life and work on the TV show... |
Mabel | |
| 1981 | Palmerstown, U.S.A. | Aunt Toog | Episode: "Future City" |
| 1981 | Getting Over | Mabel Queen | |
| 1983 | ABC Weekend Special ABC Weekend Special The ABC Weekend Special is a weekly 30-minute anthology TV series for children that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1977 to 1997. It featured a wide variety of stories that were both live-action and animated.... |
Mrs. Trussker | Episode: "All the Money in the World" |
| 1983 | Lottery! Lottery! Lottery! is an American drama series premiered on ABC on September 9, 1983. The series aired for one season of 17 episodes and starred Ben Murphy as Patrick Sean Flaherty, and Marshall Colt as Eric Rush... |
Mabel | Episode: "Los Angeles: Bigger Volume" |
| 1984 | The Jerk, Too | Mama Johnson | Television movie |
| 1984 | The Master The Master (TV series) The Master is a short-lived ninja-themed action-adventure TV series created by Michael Sloan which aired on NBC. The show focused on the adventures of John Peter McAllister, an aging ninja master , and his young pupil, Max Keller... |
Willie | Episode: "Fat Tuesday" |
| 1984 | The Jeffersons The Jeffersons The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985... |
Mother Tobin | Episode: "Some Enchanted Evening" |
| 1986 | Amazing Stories Amazing Stories (TV series) Amazing Stories is a fantasy, horror, and science fiction television anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987, and was somewhat erratically screened in Britain by BBC1 and BBC2 - billed in the Radio Times as "Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories" - with episodes... |
Jennifer Mowbray | Episode: "The Sitter" |
| 1986 | The Colbys The Colbys The Colbys is an American prime time soap opera, which originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985 to March 26, 1987. The Aaron Spelling-produced series was a spin-off of Dynasty, which had been the highest rated series for the 1984-1985 U.S. television season... |
Fortune Teller | Episode: "The Honeymoon" |
| 1986 | Tales from the Darkside Tales from the Darkside Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series produced by George A. Romero; it originally aired from 1983 to 1988. Similar to Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, and Tales From The Crypt, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot... |
Ruby Cuzzins | Episode: "Baker's Dozen" |
| 1983 | Whiz Kids Whiz Kids (TV series) Whiz Kids is an American action/adventure television series which aired on CBS for one season during the 1983-1984 television season. The show follows the adventures of a group of four teenagers — Richie, Alice, Hamilton and Jeremy — who are amateur computer experts and detectives... |
Episode: "Fatal Error" | |
| 1988 | Black Vampire | ||
| 1988 | Wiseguy Wiseguy Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J... |
Mae Nina | Episode: "Blood Dance" |
| 1988 | Scrooged Scrooged Scrooged is a 1988 American comedy film, a modernization of Charles Dickens' novella, A Christmas Carol. The film was produced and directed by Richard Donner, and the cinematography was by Michael Chapman. The screenplay was written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue... |
Gramma | |
| 1990 | Dead Men Don't Die | Chafuka | |