Idealogian

King is Dead

Alan King, Comic With Chutzpah, Dies at 76

Both his parents were Russian immigrants, and as he recalled in his autobiography, "Name-Dropping: The Life and Lies of Alan King" (Scribner, 1996), when he took his mother, Minnie, to see "Fiddler on the Roof," he thought the fictional village of Anatevka might bring back memories of her own childhood village. "And when the show was over and we were back on the street," Mr. King wrote, "I said, 'Ma, how did you enjoy it? Did it bring back memories?' 'It was wonderful,' she said. 'Only I don't remember so much singing.' "