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Kevin James (born Kevin George Knipfing on April 26, 1965 in Mineola, New York) is an American comedian and Emmy-nominated actor.

James was raised in Stony Brook, New York. His parents are Joseph V. Knipfing, an insurance broker, and Janet B. Knipfing. James has two siblings, Gary Joseph Knipfing aka: 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. He played football for three years, majored in sports management and was a member of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity.[1]

James began as a stand-up, gaining considerable exposure via appearances on Star Search and The Tonight Show, and was ranked #89 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of all time.

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 co-starred with Will Smith in the 2005 romantic comedy Hitch.

James married model Steffiana De La Cruz on June 19th, 2004, after meeting her on a blind date. They had their first child on September 30, 2005 - a daughter named Sienna-Marie.

In July 2006, James received his first Emmy nomination, for his portrayal of Doug Heffernan on The King of Queens. In 2007, he will star, alongside Adam Sandler, in the film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

Trivia

• James's parents inspired the names of Doug Heffernan's parents on The King of Queens.
• The 2005-06 season finale of The King of Queens was dedicated to the memory of his father, who died in 2006.
• 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 professional wrestler Mick Foley.
• 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.
• Kevin James was also a guest host on the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and presented on of the nominees.
• Kevin James also is big into MMA fighting. He helped train Bas Rutten in his fight against Kimo. He helped in motivation (Quote from Bas Rutten: "Kevin trains with us and stands also next to my ear screaming if I want to quit to let me know that I can’t quit, very motivational, I tell you that!") Kevin also brought Bas his so called "all in one doctor" Ryan Parsons who helped Bas and his diet and body conditioning. You can regularly see Kevin at UFC fights in Vegas. 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.
• James is an avid sports fan. His favorite teams are the New York Mets, New York Jets, New York Knicks and the New York Rangers.

External link

• Official Website

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