Mabel King

Mabel King, born Donnie Mabel Elizabeth Washington on December 25, 1932, in Charleston, South Carolina, was an American actress and singer whose Broadway career spanned from 1964 to 1980. The daughter of Rosalie and Joseph Washington, she was raised in Harlem, New York, where she developed her voice as a gospel and nightclub singer. She recorded on the Rama Records label in 1956 and the Amy Records label in 1962 before transitioning into acting in her mid-thirties.

King's stage career began in 1966 when she took on the role of Maria in a national touring production of Porgy and Bess. The following year she made her Broadway debut playing Ernestina in Hello, Dolly! In 1972 she appeared in Don't Play Us Cheap, which was performed on Broadway as a stage play before its film adaptation was released in 1973. Her most celebrated stage work came in January 1975, when she originated the role of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the all-African-American Broadway production of The Wiz. That performance earned her a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical. In June 1980, King returned to Broadway starring in It's So Nice to Be Civilized, though the production closed after eight performances.

The success of The Wiz brought King considerable visibility in film and television. She appeared in The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings alongside Billy Dee Williams and James Earl Jones, and in Scott Joplin with Williams and Clifton Davis. In 1978 she reprised the role of Evillene in Sidney Lumet's film adaptation of The Wiz, marking the second time she had moved from a stage production into its screen version, the first being Don't Play Us Cheap. That same year she had also appeared in the horror film Ganja and Hess in 1972, playing the Queen of Myrthia. In 1979 she appeared in The Jerk as the mother of Steve Martin's character, and later reprised a related role as Mama Johnson in the television film The Jerk, Too in 1984. Her final film credits included Scrooged in 1988 and Dead Men Don't Die in 1990. Television work included guest appearances on Fantasy Island, The Jeffersons, Amazing Stories, and Tales from the Darkside.

From 1976 to 1978, King was a series regular on the ABC sitcom What's Happening!!, portraying Mabel "Mama" Thomas. Her character was known for the catchphrase "This is true," which she used when making a point to her children. King departed the series after two seasons following disagreements with the creative direction of the show.

King was married to Melvin King from June 1967 until September 1989. She and Larry Banks had one son, Larry Jr., who died in 1996. King was diabetic, and in 1986 one of her toes was amputated as a result of the disease. In 1990 she suffered a stroke and entered the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, which effectively ended her professional career. Her diabetes subsequently led to the amputation of her left leg in 1991, her right leg in 1994, and eventually one of her arms. Mabel King died on November 9, 1999, at the age of 66.