Kevin James

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