Jack Tati

The man in the New York subway is clearly out of his depth. He boards it bearing a pretty bunch of posies and a confident smile; both disappear as the subway doors close on the posies. It takes him forever to figure out on which side of the train the doors will open next, and when he does, he is sandbagged by a horde of inrushing travelers. By the time the train clears and he can escape, he has fallen asleep on his feet.

By the normal standards of American slapstick, featuring a Skelton in every closet, this is the lightest, flakiest brand of pie in the eye. But as performed last week by imported British Comedian Dave King in his first show as Milton Berle's TV summer replacement (NBC, Wed., 9 p.m.), it seemed tasteful and gratifyingly fresh. A comedian who works primarily in pantomime, King is a kind of Jack Tati in his characterization of the well-meaning Englishman who really could cope with life except for the fact that the world itself is a little out of kilter.

Only 29, Dave King bumped around in his teens as an electrician's and plumber's helper. He played in troop shows for the R.A.F., parlayed a 1954 one-shot on the BBC's Television Music Hall into his own show, became Britain's top-rated comedian. An even more striking one-shot: his decision to ask his agent to bring some TV films to Perry Como, who as producer of Berle's show was brooding about how to fill Berle's summer air time. Assured of employment until October at a fat U.S. TV salary. Entertainer King might even be able to cash in on the craze for westerns. His two-year-old daughter, as a result of his interest in Indian lore, is named Cheyenne.

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