Mabel King, an actress and singer best known for her portrayal of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the Broadway and movie productions of The Wiz and her role as the mother in the mid-’70s television comedy What’s Happening! died on Nov. 9 at a hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif., where she lived. She was 66.
She died after a long illness and complications from diabetes, said a friend, Vickie Chamberlain.
Ms. King was born on Dec. 25, 1932, in Charleston, S.C., and grew up in Harlem. She appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show early in her career and later made guest appearances on many other television shows, including Barney Miller, Fantasy Island, The Jeffersons and Wiseguy.
She appeared in nine movies, including Scrooged (1988); The Jerk (1979), in which she played Steve Martin’s mother; The Gong Show Movie (1980); and The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (1976).
In 1975 she appeared in the play The Wiz, an all-black musical based on L. Frank Baum’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz that was later made into a movie; Ms. King had the same role in the film version. She also worked on Broadway A Race With the Wind and The Women.
Ms. King’s most visible role was as Mrs. Thomas, or Mama, in the ABC series What’s Happening! from 1976 to 1979.
She is survived by her mother, Rosalee Washington, and a sister, Rose Washington, both of Manhattan. Her son, Larry, died in 1996.
