Comedian Jerry Stiller, who knew Mr. King 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 played supporting roles in more than 20 films including "Bye Bye Braverman," "I, the Jury," "The Anderson Tapes," "Lovesick," "Bonfire of the Vanities," "Casino" and "Rush Hour 2." He also produced several films, including "Memories of Me," "Wolfen," and "Cattle Annie and Little Britches" and the 1997 television series "The College of Comedy With Alan King."
He said he was working strip joints and seedy nightclubs in the early 1950s when he had a revelation while watching a performance by another young comedian, Danny Thomas.
"Danny actually talked to his audience," Mr. King said in a 1991 interview. "And I realized I never talked to my audience. I talked at 'em, around 'em and over 'em, but not to 'em. I felt the response they had for him. I said to myself, `This guy is doing something, and I better start doing it.' "
Mr. King, who until then had been using worn out one-liners, found his new material at home, after his wife persuaded him to forsake his native Manhattan, believing the suburban atmosphere of the Forest Hills sections of Queens would provide a better environment for their children.
Soon he was joking of seeing people moving from the city to the suburbs "in covered wagons, with mink stoles hanging out the back."
His rantings about suburbia, just as America was embracing it, struck a chord with the public and soon he was appearing regularly on the Sullivan show, Garry Moore's variety show and "The Tonight Show."
Bookings poured in and he toured with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, played New York's showcase Paramount theater and performed at top nightclubs around the country.
He also worked as the opening act for such music stars as Lena Horne, Billy Eckstine, Patti Page, and Judy Garland, whom he joined in a command performance in London for Queen Elizabeth II.
After that show, he was introduced to the queen and when she asked, "How do you do, Mr. King?" he said he replied: "How do you do, Mrs. Queen?"
