But the time is coming to put this beloved character to rest. However, even though King of Queens has been officially cancelled, with and ended the series in spring of 2007 after its ninth season, we certainly don’t need to worry about the future acting career of funnyman Kevin James. The noted television actor has already smoothly transitioned to the big screen with his highly praised role on Hitch in 2005, and has a number of films already slated for release in 2007.

James was born as Kevin George Knipfing in Mineola, New York, on April 26, 1965, to his parents Joseph V. Knipfing and Janet B. Knipfing, a brother to Gary Valentine and Leslie Knipfing. James attended the State University of New York at Cortland for awhile, majoring in sports management, and played football; however, he did not graduate. He started off in show business as a stand-up comedian and soon became quite popular, eventually becoming ranked 89th in Comedy Central’s Top 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.

Because of his close friendship with actor-comedian Ray Romano (of Everybody Loves Raymond), James was able to snag one of the two lead roles on King of Queens in 1998, opposite Leah Remini as his wife Carrie, and also starring Jerry Stiller (Ben Stiller’s father) as Carrie’s dad, who lives with the couple. Stiller is most known for his roles on Seinfeld and Zoolander. He finally received an Emmy nomination in the summer of 2006 for Best Actor, as Doug Heffernan.

The comedian transitioned onto the big screen with a small appearance in 2004’s 50 First Dates, which starred Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore; and then a year later landed a starring role in 2005’s hit romantic comedy Hitch, with Will Smith, Eva Mendes, and Amber Valletta. James is already working on a number of other film projects slated for release in 2007, including I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (with Adam Sandler, Dan Aykroyd, Jessica Biel, and Steve Buscemi), Monster Hunter, and Field Trip. In 2004, James married Steffiana De La Cruz, a model, with whom he has a daughter, Sienna-Marie, born on September 30, 2005.

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