Adam King had an outsized presence on certain Twin Cities stages.
A journeyman performer with a distinctive bass voice, King played patriarchs and major-domos in plays and musicals over the past several decades.
King died Nov. 17 at the age of 63. He had received a lymphoma diagnosis in March, according to his sister Karen King-Brooks, of Scottsdale, Ariz.
"It was very fast," she said.
King was frequently cast in shows such as "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Fiddler on the Roof." He acted at venues that included Theatre in the Round and Nimbus in Minneapolis, N Lakeshore Players Theatre in White Bear Lake and Minnesota Jewish Theatre Co. in St. Paul.
"Because of his big stature, you might get the impression that he was standoffish and gruff, but he was exactly the opposite," said music director Anita Ruth, who worked with King on "Guys and Dolls" and "Fiddler" at Artistry at the Bloomington Center for the Arts. "Adam was really a sweet guy. And what impressed me most about him was how supportive he was of the theater community."
Ruth speculated that King "probably holds the record for doing the most productions of 'Joseph' in town. He had the stature to play Abraham or King Potiphar and he was constantly cast in those roles," she said. "Adam touched a lot of people."
King was born in Sioux City, Iowa, to broadcast executive Roland King and philanthropist Muriel King. He grew up in St. Louis Park, where he graduated from high school. He studied business and theater at the University of Minnesota, and combined both after college, making his living in broadcast advertising and marketing for such companies as KQRS, Northern Lights Broadcasting and, lately, Twin Cities PBS.
