Kevin James
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Kevin James (born Kevin George Knipfing, on April 26, 1965) in Mineola, New York, is an American comedian and an Emmy-nominated actor.
James was raised in Stony Brook, New York. He was a one-time student at the State University of New York at Cortland (where James played football for three years and majored in sports management), he was a star in stand-up comedy before trying his hand in television. After an appearance on Star Search, his comedy career took off, and he would appear as a guest on other shows like The Tonight Show. He went on to do a standup comedy special known as Sweat the Small Stuff, an hour long special that is regularly re-aired on Comedy Central.
A close friend of Ray Romano, the star of Everybody Loves Raymond, James was cast as the lead character on The King of Queens in 1998. He plays Doug Heffernan, a slow-witted delivery-truck driver who lives with his wife Carrie (Leah Remini) and father-in-law Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller). Doug's best friend, Deacon, is portrayed by Victor Williams. His cousin on the show, Danny, is played by his brother in real life Gary Valentine, who is also a stand-up comedian.
James co-starred with Will Smith in the 2005 romantic comedy Hitch, as a schlub getting pointers from Smith's date doctor.
James and his wife, Steffiana De La Cruz, had their first child on September 30, 2005. They named their daughter Sienna-Marie.
In July 2006, James received his first Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Doug Heffernan on The King of Queens.
He is number 89 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.
Trivia
- Married to model Steffiana De La Cruz on June 19th, 2004. De La Cruz and James met on a blind date.
- James's parents are Joseph V. Knipfing, an insurance broker, and Janet B. Knipfing. They lent their names to Doug Heffernan's parents on The King of Queens. Additionally, the 2005-06 season finale of The King of Queens was dedicated to the memory of Joseph Knipfing, who died in 2006.
- James has two siblings, Gary Joseph Knipfing aka: Gary Valentine, also a comedian, was born 1961, and Leslie A. Knipfing, born 1967. Leslie works for Kevin and Gary and raises money through charity events for retinitis pigmentosa, which she has.
- James won a comedy award at the 1996 "Just for Laughs" Festival in Montreal.
- In a 2000 interview, James said he weighed about 260 pounds (118 kg) but after going on multiple diets and exercise routine in 2001 he has maintained a weight of 220 pounds.
- Ward Melville High School of East Setauket, Long Island, New York was James's high school. One of James' teammates on the Ward Melville wrestling team was (retired) professional wrestler Mick Foley.
- James did not graduate from Cortland. He was a member of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity. [link]
- James was selected for the role of Albert by Hitch co-star Will Smith, who also starred in a sitcom named for royalty (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). Smith is a big fan of The King of Queens.
- James is a big fan of mixed martial arts fighting, and has been seen in the crowd and interviewed live at many UFC events. He trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and has also had MMA fighters such as Bas Rutten, Frank Trigg, Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, and Quinton Jackson appear on The King of Queens.
- Before he played Doug on The King of Queens, James guest-starred as himself on a few episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond. Curiously, an episode of The King of Queens, sees James character, Doug, meet and befriend Ray Barone, Ray Romano's character on Everybody Loves Raymond.
- On November 16, 2005, James hosted the first annual "Driven to Find A Cure Gala" at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The event benefited the newly instituted Center for Cancer Research at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute.
- Kevin James was also a guest host on the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and presented on of the nominees.
External link
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