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.
Biography
Early life
James was born
Kevin James in
New York, the son of Janet, a homemaker who also worked in a
chiropractor's office, and Joseph Valentine Knipfing, who owned an insurance company.
[Kevin James Biography - Yahoo! Movies][1][Kevin James Biography (1965-)] He was raised in the "S-Section" of
Stony Brook, New York and graduated from
Ward Melville High School in 1983,
[Konig, Susan. "L.I.'s Biggest Export? Try Standup Comedy", The New York Times, November 14, 1999. Accessed October 27, 2007. "Mr. James was born in Mineola, but his family soon moved to Stony Brook, where he graduated from Ward Melville High School."] 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.
Television career
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,
