Kevin James (actor)
| Kevin James | |
|---|---|
 James in February 2011 |
|
| Birth name | Kevin George Knipfing |
| Born | April 26, 1965 Mineola, New York, U.S. |
| Medium | Stand-up, Film, Television |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Genres | Physical comedy, Surreal humor, Observational comedy |
| Subject(s) | Everyday life, Self-deprecation, Body image |
| Spouse | Steffiana de la Cruz (m. 2004; 3 children) |
| Notable works and roles | Doug Heffernan on The King of Queens |
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. 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, The Dilemma, and Zookeeper. James was also the original voice of Otis in Barnyard, but for the rest of the series, Chris Hardwick was filled in to replace James (first in Back at the Barnyard).
He hosted the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on March 27, 2010.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Stand-up
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.[1] 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 Kathy 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.
[edit] Television
James 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 an overweight 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[2], 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 Adam Sandler to promote Grown Ups.
James also guest starred in an episode of Northern Exposure (Series 4 Ep 9) in which he played a noisy car mechanic neighbor.
[edit] 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[3] 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, opened as the #1 film in North America with a weekend gross of $39 million, despite overwhelmingly negative reviews,[4] 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.[5] In 2011 he had the leading role in the movie, Zookeeper, which he wrote and produced.
[edit] Web
A web series titled Dusty Peacock produced by James and starring his brother Gary Valentine began streaming on Crackle in July 2009.[6]
[edit] 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 Fame of the next year's show as Kevin "Not-Quite-As-Good-As-Me" James, but lost to Josh Duhamel.
[edit] Personal life
On June 19, 2004, James married actress Steffiana de la Cruz.[7] Their first child, daughter Sienna-Marie, was born on September 30, 2005. Their second daughter, Shea Joelle, was born on June 14, 2007, she was named after the ballpark Shea Stadium.[8] They welcomed their first son and third child, Kannon Valentine, on April 24, 2011.[9] 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.
Kevin James is also known for being a big sports fan, and is particularly a fan of the New York Knicks, New York Jets, and the New York Mets.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Everybody Loves Raymond | Kevin | 6 episodes; 1996–98 |
| 1998–99 | Everybody Loves Raymond | Doug Heffernan |
|
| 1998–2007 | The King of Queens | Doug Heffernan | Lead Role |
| 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 |
| 2006 | Monster House | Officer Landers | Voice/motion capture |
| 2006 | Grilled | Dave | |
| 2006 | Barnyard | Otis | Voice |
| 2007 | I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry | Larry Valentine | Co-star |
| 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 | Co-star |
| 2011 | Zookeeper | Griffin Keyes | Lead role, writer and producer |
| 2012 | Here Comes the Boom | Scott Voss | |
| 2012 | Hotel Transylvania | Frank | Voice |
| 2012 | Little Boy | Dr. Fox |
[edit] References
- ^ Konig, Susan (November 14, 1999). "L.I.'s Biggest Export? Try Standup Comedy". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DEFD8113AF937A25752C1A96F958260.
- ^ Kevin James Emmy Nominated
- ^ "critics' reviews for I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry". metacritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/i-now-pronounce-you-chuck-larry/critic-reviews.
- ^ "critics' reviews for Paul Blart:Mall Cop". metacritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/paul-blart-mall-cop/critic-reviews.
- ^ "critics' reviews for Grown Ups". metacritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/grown-ups/critic-reviews.
- ^ "Kevin James, Gary Valentine Get Reckless on ‘Dusty Peacock’". Tilzy.tv. July 17, 2009. http://www.tilzy.tv/kevin-james-gary-valentine-get-reckless-on-dusty-peacock.htm. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ Kevin James Biography on IMDB.com
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Kevin James Welcomes Son Kannon Valentine – Moms & Babies – Moms & Babies – People.com. Celebritybabies.people.com (2011-01-17). Retrieved on 2011-06-01.
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Kevin James |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kevin James |
- 1965 births
- Actors from New York
- American comedians
- American film actors
- American people of German descent
- American screenwriters
- American stand-up comedians
- American television actors
- American television producers
- American television writers
- American voice actors
- Living people
- People from Stony Brook, New York
- State University of New York at Cortland alumni
- Ward Melville High School alumni
