Mabel King, r’n’b singer, actor in film, TV and Broadway is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist.

The Phantom Dancer is your weekly non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV every week.

LISTEN to this week’s Phantom Dancer mix (online after 2pm AEST, Tuesday 3 May) and two years of Phantom Dancer mixes online at, at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

MABEL KING

Mabel Elizabeth King was raised in Harlem, New York where she became a gospel and nightclub singer.

She sang on Alan Freed’s Rock’n’Roll Dance Party on CBS radio in 1956, backed by Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor. The songs she sang were her current hits and you’ll hear them on this week’s Phantom Dancer.

Mabel sang on four releases:
1. “Alabama Rock’n’Roll” (RAMA Records, 1956)
2. “Mabel King With The Royal Sita Chorus – Symbol Of Love / Second Hand Love” (RAMA Records, 1956)
3. “Go Back Home Young Fella/Lefty” (Amy Records, 1962)
4. “When We Get The Word / Love” (Amy Records, 1962)

BROADWAY

Mabel began acting in her mid thirties, in 1966, when she played the role of Maria in the national touring play of Porgy and Bess. The following year she played the role of Ernestina in the Broadway musical/comedy Hello, Dolly!. Then in 1972, she appeared in the Broadway musical Don’t Play Us Cheap. The following year, she appeared in the film version of the play. That same year, she played the Queen of Myrthia in the horror film Ganja & Hess. In January 1975, she played the role of Evilene, the Wicked Witch of the West in the all-African-American cast of the Broadway musical The Wiz. The role earned her a Drama Desk Award nomination for outstanding featured actress in a musical.

FILM AND TV

Her performance in The Wiz brought her much attention and soon after she received roles in the films The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings, with Billy Dee Williams and James Earl Jones, and Scott Joplin, with Billy Dee Williams and Clifton Davis. In June 1980, King returned to stage work, starring in the Broadway musical It’s So Nice to Be Civilized. However, the show did poorly and closed after eight performances.

In 1976, Mabel was offered the role of Mabel Thomas in the sitcom What’s Happening!!. Her character often used the catch phrase “This is true”, which she said to her children when she tried to prove a point to them. King played the role from 1976 to 1978, but due to disagreements with the direction the creators wanted to take the series, she left What’s Happening!! in 1978 after two seasons.

That same year, she reprised the role of Evillene for the 1978 film version of The Wiz. It was the second time in her career that she appeared in a movie after being in the stage version, the first being Don’t Play Us Cheap.

In 1979 she appeared in the film The Jerk as the mother to Steve Martin‘s character. King received mostly guest spots on television series including Fantasy Island, The Jeffersons, Amazing Stories and Tales from the Darkside. In between, she signed on with then Hollywood agent Ruben Malaret, who negotiated her reprised role of Mama Johnson in the made-for-TV movie The Jerk, Too (1984). Her last two movie roles were Scrooged (1988) starring Bill Murray and Dead Men Don’t Die (1990) starring Elliott Gould.

3 MAY PLAY LIST