|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Kevin James (born April 26, 1965) is an American comedian and Emmy Award-nominated actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of lead character Doug Heffernan on the television sitcom The King of Queens. As a stand-up comedian and actor, Kevin James built a dual career out of his own homegrown reality. With a tall, burly build and innate likeability, James planted his roots firmly in performing at a young age. Based upon his Long Island life and upbringing, James’ material soon hit a familiar chord with working class viewers who stayed with his lengthy CBS series “The King of Queens” (1998-2007) for the long haul. Finding a second home onscreen in films expanded his persona into high-visibility comedies such as “Hitch” (2005) and “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” (2007), but the actor always kept his characters within reach of the audience’s everyday realities. As a stand-up comedian and actor, Kevin James built a dual career out of his own homegrown reality. With a tall, burly build and innate likeability, James planted his roots firmly in performing at a young age. Based upon his Long Island life and upbringing, James’ material soon hit a familiar chord with working class viewers who stayed with his lengthy CBS series “The King of Queens” (1998-2007) for the long haul. Finding a second home onscreen in films expanded his persona into high-visibility comedies such as “Hitch” (2005) and “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” (2007), but the actor always kept his characters within reach of the audience’s everyday realities. Originally born Kevin George Knipfing on April 26, 1965 in Mineola, NY, his family soon settled in Stony Brook, NY, where his father Joe, an insurance salesman, and mother Janet, who worked for a chiropractor, raised him and two siblings. James enjoyed a quiet childhood, developing into a serious athlete as he got older. Attending Ward Melville High School, he wrestled on the school team alongside future WWF wrestler Mick Foley before becoming a football running back in his senior year. After his 1983 graduation, he headed upstate to study sports management and play football as a fullback at the State University of New York at Cortland. Several credits shy of graduation, a disinterested James dropped out of college and spent his summer of 1986 looking for a life beyond sports – initially finding work painting houses, selling gym memberships and finally as a personal trainer. He auditioned for a comedic role in a play at a small theater in Shoreham-Wading and landed the part. Not surprisingly, he fell in love with performing. His brother had formed an improvisational comedy group, so James joined up. After performing all across Long Island, he was prompted to officially adopt James as his surname, while his brother became Gary Valentine. In 1989, James segued into stand-up comedy, making his comedy debut at the East Side Comedy Club and garnering a wildly enthusiastic reception that was nowhere to be found in his second performance a night later. Despite the blow, he was ready to make a career of it. James took a regular gig working at a warehouse that stocked industrial equipment and began crafting a comedy act in the multitude of local clubs available to the Long Island scene, as well as in New York City. Working out material about his local life and upbringing, he befriended a like-minded comedian, Ray Romano, and the two bonded; often supporting each other emotionally during their struggling years. As his material accumulated, James made it onto “Star Search” (NBC, 1983-2004) and, in 1992, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (NBC, 1992- ) – the holy grail of stand-up television bookings. In Montreal for the “Just for Laughs” festival in 1996, James made a strong showing, and his appearance led to a development deal with NBC, which in turn led to an introduction to producer Michael Weithorn. That year, while in Los Angeles going over his options, he found himself spending a lot of time with Romano again while the two were struggling to audition for parts and sharing their professional woes. James became frustrated as his ties with NBC stagnated, but Romano’s acting career took off, after inking a sitcom deal with David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants. This collaboration led to Romano’s own sitcom, the insanely successful CBS series, “Everybody Loves Raymond” (1996-2005). During the inaugural season of “Raymond,” James made his first appearance on the series as Kevin, the hang-out buddy of Romano’s sportswriter character, Ray Barone. He and Romano even wrote their own “Raymond” script together for what became James’ second “Raymond” appearance. That episode – “The Ball” – was seen by CBS head Les Moonves, who figured the network also needed to be doing business with Kevin James. Wiethorn and co-creator’s David Litt’s pilot script for “The King of Queens” originally landed on the desks of NBC, who passed on the show, failing to their grasp the concept of James’ character, Doug Heffernan, to be a winner, though married and content with his small, blue-collar life. CBS, however, saw the material as a good match for its demographic. “The King of Queens” (1998-2007) was developed for the air, kicking off in the fall of 1998 and focusing on the titular husband, a well-meaning parcel delivery man who shares a modest house with his legal secretary wife and her aging father. As James’ character Kevin had seemingly morphed into the character of Doug on “Raymond;” Romano’s Ray Barone was able to make the occasional appearance on James’ show, putting them both in the same, viewer-comfortable outer-borough universe. In the series’ first year, CBS further put its New York-set comedies into the same cohabitated orbit as James’ Doug Heffernan also visited “Cosby” (1996-2000) and up to the Bronx for “Becker” (1998-2004). “The King of Queens” quickly found its stride and a loyal following with the network’s audiences. As the show took off, James came to realize a crucial romantic component was missing from his own life. While having his apartment redecorated, the interior decorator fixed him up with a friend, Steffiana De La Cruz, a pairing which ended up in an engagement by 2003. Having attained solid popularity on the small screen, a trip to the movies was in store by 2004. James had done some voice dubbing for a translated version of Roberto Benigni’s adapted fiasco, “Pinocchio” (2002), but officially hit the big screens with a small factory employee role in Adam Sandler’s romantic comedy, “50 First Dates” (2004). The actor then stepped into the male co-lead role of the Will Smith-anchored “Hitch” (2005) as Albert, the shy accountant patient of Smith’s “date doctor,” looking to woo a wealthy company client. At the close of the shoot, he married De La Cruz in June and immediately reteamed with Romano on a feature comedy about a San Fernando Valley-based meat salesman. Following production, the ensuing result, “Grilled,” was shelved while James returned to work on his sitcom. In the summer of 2005, “Hitch” was a surprise smash, both critically and at the box office. The movie made use of James’ everyman persona and honed comic verbiage, but also tapped into his gift for physical comedy; no small feat, opposite Smith. Nevertheless, James still managed to snatch a bit of the A-lister’s comedic thunder. A year later, James’ work on “King of Queens” was at last recognized by Emmy voters through a lead actor award nomination. With the familiarity on both TV and movie screens, James was soon putting his much-heard voice to use in a series of CG animation features. He spent the summer onscreen in the suburbs and in the country, first taking on the duties of an officer with “Monster House” (2006), followed by the carefree farm cow, Otis, of “Barnyard” (2006). The King of Queens bowed out in the spring of 2007, having admirably retained its core tone while managing to gradually expand the lifestyle and dreams of the Heffernans over nine seasons. On his downtime, the actor continued to perform his stand-up comedy as he had done over the years, but with his past taste of movie success, James was ready to explore the possibilities on the big screen full time. Awaiting the release of another summer comedy, “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” (2007) – one that put him back alongside comic superstar Adam Sandler, but this time, in a co-lead capacity – James did not stray too far from his “Queens” persona, starring as firefighter Larry, who marries Sandler’s firefighter Chuck in order to keep his family benefits package. James was born Kevin George Knipfing in Mineola, New York to Janet Knipfing, who worked in a chiropractor's office, and Joseph Valentine Knipfing, who owned an insurance company. He was raised in the "S-Section" of Stony Brook, New York and graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1983, where one of his teammates on the wrestling team was (professional wrestler) Mick Foley. James has two siblings, Gary Joseph Knipfing, known as Gary Valentine, also a comedian, and Leslie Knipfing. Leslie Knipfing works for James, helping raise money through charity events for retinitis pigmentosa, with which she is afflicted, while Gary Valentine plays his cousin, Danny, on The King of Queens. 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. James began doing stand-up comedy, gaining popularity through numerous appearances on various talk shows, including 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 Kelly. 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. During a play in which he had a comedic role, he so enjoyed the crowd reaction, that he joined his brother's (comedian Gary Valentine) improv group. He began going to clubs with Gary and realized he, too, had the knack for comedy. He has performed standup up for about 11 years. It was on the comedy circuit that he met Ray Romano. While Ray was getting a big break with his own sitcom, Kevin was getting recognition on "Star Search" (1983). After appearing on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992), his big break came at the 1996 "Just for Laughs" Montreal Comedy Festival. Afterward he landed a recurring role on Ray's sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996). He has since received his own sitcom "The King of Queens" (1998). In 2001, James did his own stand up special called Kevin James: Sweat the Small Stuff for Comedy Central. A close friend of Ray Romano, James guest-starred on a few episodes of the hit television show Everybody Loves Raymond. These appearances led to the development of his own sitcom, The King of Queens that debuted on September 21, 1998 and ended on May 14, 2007. The series ended with a one-hour series finale. James was cast as the lead character, Doug Heffernan. Leah Remini was cast as his sharp-tongued wife Carrie while Jerry Stiller was cast in the supporting role of Carrie's semi-psychotic father, Arthur Spooner, who lives in the Heffernans' basement. In 2006, Kevin James received his first Emmy Award nomination, as Outstanding Lead Actor in a television series. He has also appeared as a musical guest on "Just for Laughs". James made his film debut in the 2005 romantic comedy, Hitch, alongside Will Smith and Eva Mendes. The film grossed more than $179 million in the United States. In 2006, James starred with old friend Ray Romano in the comedy Grilled and voiced a character in the animated hit Barnyard. James also voiced a character in the 2006 movie Monster House. In 2007, he starred opposite Adam Sandler in the comedy film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. He is currently filming You Don't Mess with the Zohan in which Sandler also stars. In March of 2008, he was spotted in Braintree, Massachusetts filming for the film Mall Cop. It is rumoured that he will star in John Carpenter's Time Chef, due for release in 2011. The portly James married model Steffiana de la Cruz on June 19, 2004, after meeting her on a blind date. They have two daughters, Sienna-Marie, born September 30, 2005 and Shea Joelle, born on June 14, 2007. Since he named daughter Shea Joelle, after his beloved Mets' home stadium, Kevin James promised his wife Steffiana De La Cruz first dibs on naming their next child. Her choice, though, may skew more towards entertainment than sports, he reveals on The Late Show with David Letterman. "I told her she can name our next child after something she likes. I think we're looking at a Grey's Anatomy coming out." Kevin says fatherhood the second time around is a lot less nervewracking. "I was so nervous with the first child, taking her home from the hospital and everything and you kinda loosen up with the second child a little bit, which is nice. The first child, I remember they just give it to you at the hospital, you're supposed to put her in the carseat and drive home. And I was so nervous. I was 10-2 on the wheel in the right lane 30 miles an hour on the highway with the flashers going. Second kid, I had the top down. I was steering with my knees. I think I hit a drive-thru. I didn't go straight home." As for being a hands-on parent, Kevin says he gets involved, but is glad he doesn't have to breastfeed, although Shea might want him to. "My wife does the breastfeeding, thank God. It's awkward because at night the baby will sleep with us and my wife will leave in the middle of the night right after the breastfeeding and the baby's still hungry and she'll roll over and just look at me. I'm like, 'No, no. These don't function.' She doesn't believe me. She's just looking at me like, 'If you don't want to give me any, that's fine. Those are bigger than mom's." Steffiana's breasts were sore for a bit from feeding, and a nurse advised her to stuff a bag of popsicles in her bra to alleviate the pain, an idea of which Kevin approves. "I'm thinking, 'Wow! Now I really wanna get in there.' There's no better combination in the world than a boob and a popsicle." James is also a corner man for MMA legend Bas Rutten. He was raised in Stony Brook, NY and graduated from Ward Melville High School (Long Island, New York) in 1983. One of his wrestling teammates at Ward Melville High School was future WWE star and author Mick Foley ("Mankind"). He also attended Cortland University with Mick Foley. His big break came in 1996 when he won at the "Just for Laughs" Montreal Comedy Festival. In June 1999 and 2000, he hosted the Florida Sports Awards, the official sports award show for the state of Florida, in Jacksonville, Fla. This event raises funds for the Otis F. Smith Foundation. He met his wife on a blind date arranged by his interior decorator. 19 June 2004 - He married his longtime girlfriend, model Steffiana De La Cruz, before 180 friends - including Ray Romano - and family members in Dana Point, California. Is a New York Jets and a New York Mets fan. His wife, Steffiana gave birth to their first child, Sienna-Marie on Friday September 30, 2005. Is an avid golfer and an avid fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Attended Cortland University, along with former wrestler and current best selling author Mick Foley (whom he also attended high school with). His now-wife Steffiana De La Cruz appears in 4 episodes of his sitcom "The King of Queens" (1998) (in small roles). Daughter, Sienna-Marie. One of his teammates on the wrestling team at Ward Melville High School was future WWE star and author Mick Foley. Born to Janet and Joseph Valentine Knipfing. Kevin and Steffiana became the parents of a second girl, Shea Joelle James, on June 14, 2007 in Los Angeles. Close friends with Ray Romano. They met while doing stand up comedy, on the comedy circuit. Is a member of Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. On July 22, 2007, reported that James named his second daughter after Shea Stadium saying, "I honestly...honestly did. I have been a New York Mets fan my whole life and have such good memories of going to Shea Stadium", he told Chris Yandek of TheSportsInterview.com. "Her middle name is Joelle after my dad Joe who passed away. I brought it in because he used to take me to Shea all the time. I can't believe this got by my wife. She ended up liking the name just for the name itself." On July 20, 2007, James introduced Shea on the morning talk show program Live! With Regis and Kelly with worries on how the public would react. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Celebrities Guide 
| WhoABC
Home : Disclaimer
: Terms
: Privacy
Policy : Contact
Us : Links All original content Copyright Celebrities Guide, WhoABC.com © 2004 - 2008. All Rights Reserved |