Portrait of Alexander King and Margie King LCCN2004663132

Alexander King (1899–1965), born Alexander Koenig in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, was a bestselling

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...

memoirist A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

and

media personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

of the early television era, based in the United States. In his late fifties, after becoming a frequent guest on the ''

Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010� ...

'' hosted by

Jack Paar Jack Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American talk show host, author, radio and television comedian, and film actor. He was the second host of ''The Tonight Show'' from 1957 to 1962. ''Time'' magazine's obituary of Paar repo ...

, King emerged as an incongruous presence in the realm of national celebrity: an aging, irascible

raconteur A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business ...

, with elegant mannerisms and trademark

bow tie The bow tie is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that th ...

, who spoke frankly and disarmingly about his

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

lifestyle, multiple marriages, and years-long struggle with drug addiction. His checkered past led ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine to describe him as:

an ex-illustrator, ex-cartoonist, ex-adman, ex-editor, ex-playwright, ex-dope addict. For a quarter-century he was an ex-painter, and by his own bizarre account qualifies as an ex-midwife. He is also an ex-husband to three wives and an ex-Viennese of sufficient age (60) to remember muttonchopped Emperor Franz Joseph. When doctors told him a few years ago that he might soon be an ex-patient (two strokes, serious kidney disease, peptic ulcer, high blood pressure), he sat down to tell gay stories of the life of all these earlier Kings.

He was also the author of several books, including ''May This House Be Safe from Tigers'', ''Mine Enemy Grows Older'', (an account of his addiction to morphine, and his recovery), ''I Should Have Kissed Her More'', and ''Is There Life After Birth''. He illustrated and/or translated numerous editions of classics in the early 20th century as well as a book by

Peter Altenberg Peter Altenberg (9 March 1859 – 8 January 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He played a key role in the genesis of early modernism in the city. Biography He was born Richard Engländer on 9 March 1859 in Vienna. The nom de p ...

released as ''Alexander King Presents Peter Altenberg's Evocations of Love'' (a collection of sweet memories of the heart from another place and time in history). King's easy conversational recollections of the first part of the 20th century are informative and often funny.

External links

Alexander King
A register of his papers in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

''May This House Be Safe from Tigers''
review from ''

'' magazine *
Alexander King on the Jack Paar ''Tonight Show'' – YouTube
20th-century American memoirists 1899 births 1965 deaths Austrian emigrants to the United States {{US-nonfiction-writer-stub