Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), known professionally as Kevin James, is an American comedian, actor, and television producer from New York. He began his career by preforming stand-up at comedy clubs in Long Island in the 1980s. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Doug Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens (1998–2007), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for the role in 2006.
In 2004, James made his first film appearance in 50 First Dates, and the following year co-starred in Hitch with Will Smith. He went on to star in I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009), Grown Ups (2010), Zookeeper (2011), Here Comes the Boom (2012), and Pixels (2015). He has also done voice work for Monster House, Barnyard (both 2006), and the first three films of the Hotel Transylvania franchise (2012–2018). He also was nominated for a People's Choice Award in 2017 for his role on the CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait (2016–2018). James also had roles in the drama films Little Boy (2015) and Becky (2020).
Early life
Kevin George Knipfing was born in Mineola, New York, on April 26, 1965, to American office worker Janet and German-American insurance agency owner Joseph Valentine Knipfing Jr. He grew up in Stony Brook, New York. He has a sister named Leslie and an older brother named Gary, the latter of whom also became a comedian and actor under the name Gary Valentine. The siblings were raised Catholic. James graduated from Ward Melville High School, where he reached the top position on the wrestling team, one spot above his friend and future professional wrestler Mick Foley. Both wrestled in the Heavyweight weight class. When James suffered a season-ending back injury, Foley took over the first string position. Both men went on to study at the State University of New York at Cortland, where James played halfback on the varsity football team until another back injury permanently ended his sporting ambitions.
Career
Stand-up
James began doing stand-up comedy in 1989, making his debut at Richie Minervini's East Side Comedy Club on Long Island. He also started performing comedy with a troupe at the club, during which time he adopted "James" as his stage surname in honor of his favorite school teacher. He gained popularity through numerous appearances on various talk shows, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Dennis Miller Live, The Late Late Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. James was listed at No. 76 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians. James has also done his stand-up routine on Just for Laughs, an annual comedy festival in Montreal, Quebec. Later he was on commercials for Mazzio's Italian Eatery. In 2001, James did his own stand-up special called Kevin James: Sweat the Small Stuff. He has also appeared as a musical guest on Just for Laughs. In 2018, James released another stand-up special on Netflix called Kevin James: Never Don't Give Up.
Television
James' first television job was in 1991 on The New Candid Camera, where he used his comedy timing and improvisation skills playing the actor that pulled the practical jokes on unsuspecting people. He appeared in A&E's An Evening at the Improv in 1994. James appeared on television as the announcer for the MTV sports game show SandBlast from 1994 to 1996.
James later moved to Los Angeles and befriended Ray Romano, and he guest-starred on a few episodes of Romano's hit CBS sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond. These appearances led to the development of his own sitcom, The King of Queens, which ran on the same network from September 21, 1998 to May 14, 2007, James played working class parcel delivery man Doug Heffernan who works for a company known as IPS. He is married to Carrie (Leah Remini), a sharp-tongued, ambitious secretary at a Manhattan law firm who is far less content with working-class life in Queens. Her obsessive, vindictive father, Arthur (Jerry Stiller), who is prone toward bizarre conduct, lives with them. For his work on the eighth season, James was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2006.
James hosted the 2010 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on March 27, 2010. He was nominated to be the inaugural member of the "Arm Fart Hall of Fame" in the following year's show, with host Jack Black calling him Kevin "Not-Quite-As-Good-As-Me" James. He and fellow nominee Kaley Cuoco lost in fan voting to Josh Duhamel.