Alta King
{{Infobox person
| name = Alta King
| image = AltaKing1921.jpg
| alt = A young white woman with a dimpled chin, wearing a light-colored costume with lacing across the bodice.
| caption = Alta King, from a 1921 publication
| birth_name =
| birth_date = March 21, 1899
| birth_place = Barnesville, Minnesota, U.S.
| death_date = March 1981 (aged 81–82)
| death_place = Troy, New York, U.S.
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| occupation = Dancer, singer
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse = {{marriage|James Edward Royce|1925}}
}}
Alta L. King (March 21, 1899 – March 1981) was an American dancer, singer, and Ziegfeld girl in musical theatre.
Early life
King was born in Barnesville, Minnesota,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35214380/alta_king_1920/|title=Ziegfeld Follies|date=June 20, 1920|work=New-York Tribune|access-date=August 23, 2019|page=50|via=Newspapers.com}} the daughter of John F. King (1866–1939) and Alta Mae Kimpton King (1876–1956), who had both been born in Wisconsin. She had a younger brother named Kenneth.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/169214195:7884|title = Join Ancestry®| website=Ancestry.com }} She left school after completing 10th grade.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5596705:2442|title = Ancestry - Sign up| website=Ancestry.com }}
Career
King's stage career began in a stock company in Minneapolis.[https://books.google.com/books?id=uthNAQAAMAAJ&dq=Alta%20King%20Ziegfeld&pg=PA160 "Flowers in Broadway's Beauty Garden"] Theatre Magazine (September 1921): 160. Her Broadway credits included appearances in Ziegfeld Follies of 1919, Ziegfeld Follies of 1920, Sally (1920–1922), Orange Blossoms (1922), and Cinders (1923).{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRmGDwAAQBAJ&q=Alta+King+Broadway&pg=PA45|title=The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals|last=Dietz|first=Dan|date=2019-04-10|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781538112823|pages=45, 122, 157|language=en}} She was also in the Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic,{{Cite journal|last=Mantle|first=Burns|date=December 1919|title=Play-Time|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8DLmAAAAMAAJ&q=Alta%20King%20Ziegfeld&pg=RA7-PA56|journal=The Green Book Magazine|volume=22|pages=56}} and performed on the roof of the New Amsterdam Theatre.{{Cite journal|date=December 1920|title=The Stage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UIzNAAAAMAAJ&q=Alta+King+Ziegfeld&pg=PA508|journal=Munsey's Magazine|volume=71|pages=508}} She was considered to have the "stage's most beautiful legs", along with Ann Pennington and Mistinguett.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5026291/alta_king_ann_pennington_french/|title=Who Has Stage's Most Beautiful Legs?|date=September 6, 1919|work=El Paso Herald|access-date=August 23, 2019|page=31|via=Newspapers.com}} She was in the same sextet of Ziegfeld dancers as Elizabeth Meehan and Billie Dove.{{Cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/entertainment-clipping-dec-14-1928-1325324/|title=Extra-Girl Writes Way to Fame|date=December 14, 1928|work=Bismarck Tribune|access-date=August 23, 2019|page=29|via=NewspaperArchive}}
After her marriage, she gave recitals as a soprano singer.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35215092/alta_king_royce_1927/|title=Mrs. Royce in Recital|date=March 8, 1927|work=Times Union|access-date=August 23, 2019|page=74|via=Newspapers.com}}
Personal life
King married English-born theatrical producer and director James Edward Royce (1870–1964){{Cite web|url=https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/bookshopdoor/signature.cfm?item=168#1|title=Edward Royce|website=The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door|access-date=2019-08-24}} in 1925.{{Cite journal|date=December 16, 1925|title=Legitimate: Edward Royce Marries Alta King, of 'Follies'|journal=Variety|volume=81|pages=20}} In 1940, her occupation was listed as model.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5596705:2442|title = Ancestry - Sign up| website=Ancestry.com }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IBDB name|id=48093}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Alta}}