King was born in New York City, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants Minnie (née Solomon) and Bernard Kniberg, a handbag cutter.

King used humor to survive the tough neighborhoods, and performed impersonations on street corners for pennies.

At 15, King dropped out of high school to perform comedy at the Hotel Gradus[3] in the Catskill Mountains.

He later worked in Canada in a burlesque house while also fighting as a professional boxer; he won 20 straight bouts [dubious – discuss] .

He worked as a doorman at the popular nightclub Leon and Eddie's, while performing comedy under the last name of the boxer who beat him, King.

He was soon opening for Judy Garland, Patti Page, Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstine, Lena Horne, and Tony Martin.

Living just outside New York City, King was frequently available when Ed Sullivan needed a short-notice fill-in.

Lumet later cast him in a starring role in Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), a provocative comedy about a ruthless business mogul and his TV-producer mistress (Ali MacGraw).

He had another major role in Memories of Me (1988) as the so-called "king of the Hollywood extras", portraying Billy Crystal's terminally ill father.

King played the role of corrupt union official Andy Stone in Martin Scorsese's 1995 film Casino.

He inspired other comedians, including Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David, Billy Crystal, Robert Klein, and Bill Cosby.

He founded the Alan King Medical Center in Jerusalem, raised funds for the Nassau Center for Emotionally Disturbed Children (near his home in Kings Point, New York), and established a chair in dramatic arts at Brandeis University.