K-Man, The - The nickname of Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) who appeared on the sitcom SEINFELD/NBC/1990-98. Kramer was a wacky 'hipster dufus." His talents included mooching food from his neighbor Jerry Seinfeld, and making fast entrances into a room. He once described his eyes as "dark brown...like rich Columbian coffee."

Kal-El  See - ALIENS: "Superman"

Kemo Sabe - Indian phrase meaning "Faithful Friend" or "Trusty Scout" used by the North American Indian Tonto (Jay Silverheels), to describe his close friend John Reid a.k.a. "The Lone Ranger" (Clayton Moore/John Hart) on the western adventure THE LONE RANGER/ABC/1949-57. The word "Kemo Sabe" was actually inspired by James Jewell, the director of the original Lone Ranger radio series that debuted on January 30, 1933. It was derived from the name of a boys camp called "Kee-Mo-Sah-Bee" established in 1911 at Mullet Lake in Michigan that was owned by Jewell's father-in-law, Charles W. Yeager. During the 1930s "Lone Ranger Camps" were held at this popular North Michigan campground. The camp closed in 1941. See also - LANGUAGES: "Tonto"

Kentucky Jones - Dennis Weaver played Kenneth Yarborough, a horse trainer turned veterinarian who operated a forty acre ranch in southern California on the medical drama KENTUCKY JONES/NBC/1964-65. His nickname "Kentucky Jones" was derived from the way he signed his name...KY Jones (KY being the initials for the state of Kentucky).

Kid, The - The showbiz nickname of former child actor Jackie Coogan who starred as Uncle Fester Frump on the bizarre sitcom THE ADDAMS FAMILY/ABC/1964-66. Coogan got his nickname from the title of the silent movie The Kid released in 1921 starring Charlie Chaplin as a tramp who adopts a small child (Jackie Coogan), learns to love him and them gives the Kid up for his own good. On the adventure THE FALL GUY/ABC/1981-86 stuntman Colt Seavers (Lee Majors) called his business manager and aspiring stuntman Howie Munsen (Douglas Barr) "Kid." And on the short-lived sitcom DOUBLE RUSH/CBS/1995 elderly actor Phil Leeds played "The Kid," a slow-moving, 75-year-old messenger who knew every shortcut in Manhattan (after 58 years of practice). TRIVIA NOTE: When Jackie Coogan's parents were killed in a car crash, all the money he had earned as a child actor was held captive in a major lawsuit. Consequently, the California State Legislature enacted the Child Actors' Bill (a.k.a. "The Coogan Act") to prevent such future abuses to children in show business. Jackie Coogan died from cardiac arrest on March 1, 1984, in Santa Monica Hospital. He was sixty-nine. See also - BEARS: "Bear the chimp"

Kindest Dog in the USA  See - DOGS: "Black Tooth"

King of All Guests, The - On May 12, 1997 talk show host Rosie O'Donnell presented comedian Martin Short, "the funniest man on the planet" (in Rosie's opinion) with a plaque that read "King of All Guests" for appearing for the fourth time in a year on THE ROSIE O'DONNELL SHOW/SYN/1996-2002. Martin was also given a crown (a la Imperial Margarine), a royal scepter and a luxurious red velvet cape. The spot ended with Rosie and Martin singing "King of the Show" (a variation of country hit song "King of the Road" by Roger Miller).

King of Kustomizers, The - The professional nickname of automobile customizer, George Barris. He created a number of spectacular cars for television including the Batmobile, the Munstermobile, the Drag-u-la, and the Monkeemobile.

King of Rock 'N' Roll, The  See - "Two-Bit"; HOMES & MANSIONS: "The Graceland Mansion; and MUSIC & MUSICIANS: "Elvis Presley"

King of Late Night Television - Jack Paar, the emotional host of THE TONIGHT SHOW on the NBC network was called the King of Late-Night Television during his late night reign from 1957-62. When Johnny Carson took over as host of the program, he proclaimed himself the Prince of Late Night Television" since the title of "King" was already taken.

King of the "B" Movies - Republic Studios was called "King of the B Movies" because of its cheap, quickly filmed productions such as the 1954 theatrical release (later a syndicated television series) COMMANDO CODY, SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE/NBC/1955 starring Judd Holdren. Other serials cranked out by Republic: King of the Rockets (1949), Radar Men from the Moon (1952) and Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952) featuring an early screen role of STAR TREK's Leonard Nimoy as a space zombie.

King of the Cowboys - The regal nickname of Roy Rogers, the star of the popular 1950s western adventure THE ROY ROGERS SHOW/NBC/1951-57. Born Leonard Franklin Slye on November 5, 1911, Roy Rogers spent his early years living in a small town near Portsmouth Ohio; working in a shoe factory with his father in Cincinnati; and then moving with his family to California in the depth of the Depression in the spring of 1930. He began singing with the musical group the Rocky Mountaineers in 1932, founded his own group The Sons of the Pioneers in 1934 and then was discovered on the lot of Republic Studios by producer Sol Siegal. The rest is history. Roy Rogers starred in 81 westerns for Republic Pictures and 100 filmed episodes for television. Once, New York Times critic Jack Gould said "Mr. Rogers is billed as the ‘King of the Cowboys’ but on the basis of the first film, he's got a piece to travel before catching up with his rivals-Bill Boyd and Gene Autry" (excerpt review about THE ROY ROGERS SHOW premiere episode which aired December 30, 1951). Despite his critics, Rogers became a heroic champion of good and justice to generations of children and adults alike. He put his boot-print in cement at Graumann's Chinese Theater on April 21, 1949. Memorabilia from his career can be found at the Roy Rogers Dale Evans Museum in Victorville, California. Roy Rogers died on July 6, 1998 at the age of 86. See also - "Queen of the West"

King of the Jungle  See - "Tarzan"

King of the Mini-series - Known as "King of the Miniseries" and "Mr. Miniseries," Hollywood's romantic leading man Richard Chamberlain made a career out of playing larger than life characters (a sort of Charlton Heston of the 70's and 80's) in such TV productions as Centennial (1978), Shogun (1980), Thornbirds (1983) and Casanova (1987). Earlier in his career, Richard Chamberlain made the ladies swoon when he starred as the caring, young intern, Dr. James Kildare on the medical drama DR. KILDARE/NBC/1961-66. In the late 1960s he left America to study classical acting in Europe, returning to become the hottest property in glitter land. His numerous honors include winning a Golden Globe Award for best actor in Shogun and People's Choice Award for best actor in Thornbirds. Chamberlain made a short-lived return to series television on the medical drama ISLAND SON/CBS/1989-90 as Dr. Daniel Kulani, an internist working at a Honolulu hospital. TRIVIA NOTE: In the '80s, Jaclyn Smith (of CHARLIE'S ANGELS fame) was unofficially dubbed “The Queen of Mini-series” because of her large collection of work in the genre.

King of the United States  See - BIRDS: "Garfield the Goose"

King of the Wild Frontier – The popular nickname of the frontier explorer/Indian fighter Davy Crockett (1786-1836) who died defending the Alamo. The Walt Disney Studio's resurrected this backwoods character in a series of adventures starring Fess Parker as Davy Crockett and Buddy Ebsen as his sidekick, George Russell. "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" intoned the lyrics "Davy, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier." The three original episodes which started the Davy Crockett craze in the 1950s were Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter (12/15/54); Davy Crockett Goes To Congress (1/26/55); and Davy Crockett At The Alamo (2/23/55). Due to popular demand, the Disney studios produced additional programs that chronicled Davy Crockett's earlier adventures. Born near Green County, Tennessee, the real Davy Crockett was reputed to have killed a bear when he was only three years of age. He served as US Representative for the state of Tennessee from 1827-31 and 1833-35 and then went to Texas to fight and die in the battle of the Alamo that raged from February 24th to March 6, 1836. TRIVIA NOTE: In the 1990s, the Kentucky Headhunters, a Grammy winning country rock band reprised "The Ballad of Davy Crockett.

Kingfish, The - One of television's first connivers was George "Kingfish" Stevens (Tim Moore) from the all-black sitcom AMOS 'N ANDY/CBS/1951-53. His nickname "Kingfish" was derived from his title as the head of the local fraternal organization "The Mystic Knights of the Sea" located in Harlem, New York City. Picking the pockets of his fellow lodge members through schemes and trickery was his favorite past time, especially the most gullible of his fraternal brothers, Andrew "Andy" Brown (Spencer Williams). When his swindles backfired, George said "Holy Mackerel, Andy! We's got to stick together...remember we is brothers in the great fraternity, the Mystic Knights of the Sea." TRIVIA NOTE: Kingfish was also the nickname of the American politician Huey Pierce Long, the governor of Louisiana from 1928-31. He was elected to the US Senate in 1930 but later assassinated by Dr. Carl A. Weiss in September, 1935. See also - "Lightnin'

Kit Kat - Family nickname of Catherine Margaret Rollin Lane, (Patty Duke) the Scottish relative of Patty Lane, an American look-alike cousin on the sitcom THE PATTY DUKE SHOW/ABC/1963-66. Cathy's father, Kenneth Lane (William Schallert), often called her Kit Kat.

Kitten - The pet name of Kathy Anderson (Lauren Chapin) that was used by James (Robert Young) and Margaret (Jane Wyatt) Anderson when addressing their youngest pigtailed daughter on the sitcom FATHER KNOWS BEST/CBS/NBC/ABC/1954-63. Kathy's brother, Bud (Billy Gray) called Kathy "Shrimp," "Squirt" and "Shrimp Boat" on occasion. When the series was canceled, Lauren Chapin who played "Kitten" found the real world a bit less wholesome. Falling on hard times, Lauren became a prostitute, selling her body for heroin. She climbed out of her private Hell when she found God and became a Christian. On an installment of the daytime talk show OPRAH, she told the audience that when she was young, everyone told her that she was the "best, the brightest, and the cutest. As an adult, however, she could never live up to people's expectations. Nobody wanted to know the real Lauren; they just wanted to know Kitten." (Esquire 8/91). On the sitcom MR. BELVEDERE/ABC/1985-90 sportscaster George Owens (Bob Uecker) referred to his teenage daughter Heather (Tracy Wells) as Kitten. At her 16th birthday, Heather asked her father to stop calling her Kitten because she wasn't a kid anymore. Later, however, she changed her mind and hugged her dad when he said "Happy Birthday, Kitten." TRIVIA NOTE: "Kitten" was also the nickname used by Spencer Tracy (until his death) when referring to actress Elizabeth Taylor. She was first called "Kitten" in the movie Father of the Bride (1950) when Spencer Tracy played her father. Tracy referred to himself as "Pops." See also - "Bud" and "Princess"

Kodiak - The nickname of a very tall, burly member of Alaska's State Patrol who patrolled some 50,000 square miles of rugged territory on the police drama KODIAK/ABC/1974. Officer Cal "Kodiak" McKay (Clint Walker) earned his nickname because his size (6' 8") reminded the local residents/Eskimos of the great Kodiak bear that roamed the ice fields of the North. Clint Walker was quoted as saying "I came up with the name (Kodiak) because I thought it sounded Alaskan. Besides, I like short names."

Kookie - The nickname of Gerald Lloyd Kookson, III (Edd Byrnes), the parking lot attendant for Dino's restaurant who regularly appeared on the detective drama 77 SUNSET STRIP/ABC/1958-64. Check out Kookie's colorful phrases at LANGUAGES & PHRASES: "Kookie-isms"

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