Kevin James Biography

Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), better known by his stage name Kevin James, is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer.

He is widely known for playing Doug Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens, which ran from 1998-2007. James is also known for his lead roles in the comedy films I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Grown Ups, and Zookeeper. He also starred in the 2005 romantic comedy film Hitch alongside Will Smith. James was the original voice of Otis in Barnyard, but for the rest of the series, Chris Hardwick replaced James (first in Back at the Barnyard).

Early years

James was born Kevin George Knipfing in Mineola, New York. He is the second son of Janet, a homemaker who also worked in a chiropractor's office, and Joseph Valentine Knipfing, Jr, who owned an insurance agency. He has German ancestry. James has two siblings, Gary Joseph Knipfing, known as Gary Valentine, also a comedian, and Leslie Knipfing; Leslie works for James and helped raise money through charity events for retinitis pigmentosa, with which she is afflicted. James was raised Catholic, and stated in 2012 that he is "involved" in his faith. He grew up in the "S-Section" of Stony Brook, New York, and graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1983, where he was on the football and wrestling teams. One of his wrestling teammates, Mick Foley, eventually became a professional wrestler. James was a student at, but did not graduate from, the State University of New York at Cortland, where he was a member of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity.

Career

James began doing stand-up comedy in 1989, making his debut at the East Side Comedy Club in Long Island, New York managed by Richie Minervini. 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 #89 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. 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.

Television

James first appeared on TV 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 later 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 the lead as a middle-class delivery man, Doug, who worked for a company known as IPS and was married to Carrie (Leah Remini). They lived with his father-in-law, played by Jerry Stiller. 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. In 2007, he was the grand marshal, for saying the most famous line in auto racing "Gentlemen, start your engines" for NASCAR racing in the 2007 Pepsi 400. He did it again in June 2010 with actor/buddy Adam Sandler to promote Grown Ups as well as 2012 at the fall Talladega race.

Film

James made his film debut in the 2005 romantic comedy, Hitch, alongside Will Smith and Eva Mendes. In 2006, he co-starred with his Everybody Loves Raymond colleague Ray Romano in the comedy Grilled and provided voice work in the animated films Monster House and Barnyard. In 2007, James co-starred opposite Adam Sandler in the widely scorned comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and also made a cameo in Sandler's 2008 film You Don't Mess with the Zohan. James' 2009 comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop, where he patrolled the West Orange Pavilion Mall on a Segway PT, opened as the #1 film in North America with a weekend gross of $39 million, despite overwhelmingly negative reviews, and eventually grossed $219 million from ticket and home video sales. More recently, James appeared in Grown Ups, which co-starred numerous Saturday Night Live alumni and was even more universally panned, yet was highly successful at the box office. In 2011, he had a lead role opposite Vince Vaughn in the comedy/Drama, The Dilemma, he also had the leading role in the movie, Zookeeper, which he wrote and produced. In 2012, James had the leading role in the mixed martial arts comedy film Here Comes the Boom.

Web

A web series titled Dusty Peacock produced by James and starring his brother Gary Valentine began streaming on Crackle in July 2009.

Award shows

James hosted the 2010 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on March 27, 2010 on Nick. He also was a nominee into the Arm Fart Hall of Fames of the next year's show as Kevin "Not-Quite-As-Good-As-Me" James; but lost to Josh Duhamel.

Personal life

On June 19, 2004, James married actress Steffiana de la Cruz. Their first child, daughter Sienna-Marie, was born in 2005. Their second daughter, Shea Joelle, was born in 2007; she was named after the New York ballpark Shea Stadium. They welcomed their first son and third child, Kannon Valentine, 2011. James is the younger brother of comedian Gary Valentine (born Gary Knipfing), who played Doug's cousin Danny Heffernan on King of Queens. He is a close friend of retired MMA fighter Bas Rutten, and trains with him at his school in Thousand Oaks, California. James is also known for being a big sports fan, particularly of the New York Knicks, New York Jets, and the New York Mets, as well as the UFC. James, a Catholic, appeared on Catholic-themed channel EWTN's World Over in 2012.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	MTV SandBlast	Himself - Announcer	2 seasons; 1994"96
1996, 1998"1999	Everybody Loves Raymond	Kevin, Doug Heffernan	8 episodes; 1996"99
1998"2007	'	Doug Heffernan	Lead Role Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
1999	Becker	Doug Heffernan
1999	Martial Law	Dallas Hampton
2001	Arli$$	Kevin
2002	Pinocchio	Mangiafuoco	Voice: English version
2004	50 First Dates	Fireman	Cameo
2005	Hitch	Albert Brennaman	Co-star Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Dance Scene Shared with Will Smith Nominated "? Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Liplock Shared with Will Smith
2006	Monster House	Officer Landers	Voice/motion capture
2006	Grilled	Dave
2006	Barnyard	Otis	Voice
2006	The Emperor's New School	The Royal Record Keeper	Television show voice role
2007	I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry	Larry Valentine	Co-star Nominated - Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor Nominated - Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple Shared with Adam Sandler and Jessica Biel
2007	Elmo's Christmas Countdown	Santa Claus
2008	You Don't Mess with the Zohan	Himself
2009	Paul Blart: Mall Cop	Paul Blart	Lead role, writer and producer
2010	2010 Kids' Choice Awards	Himself	Host
2010	Grown Ups	Eric Lamonsoff
2011	2011 Kids' Choice Awards	Himself	Nominated for Arm Fart Hall of Fame
2011	The Dilemma	Nick Brannen	Co-star
2011	Zookeeper	Griffin Keyes	Lead role, writer and producer
2012	Here Comes the Boom	Scott Voss	Lead role, writer and producer
2012	Hotel Transylvania	Frank	Voice
2013	Grown Ups 2	Eric Lamonsoff
2013	Little Boy	Dr. Fox