Kevin James, from 'Queens' to 'Grown Ups'

Kevin James — born Kevin George Knipfing — was raised in Stony Brook and graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1983. One of his teammates on the wrestling team was future WWE star Mick Foley.

Pursuing a career in stand-up comedy, Kevin James became friends with another up-and-coming comic named Ray Romano. That in turn led to a recurring role as Kevin on Romano’s hit comedy “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

The “Raymond” gig landed James his own sitcom — “The King of Queens,” which ran on CBS from 1998 to 2007. James played working stiff Doug Heffernan, a driver with a package-delivery service, a role that earned him an Emmy nomination.

Kevin James made his film debut in the romantic comedy “Hitch” (2005), garnering positive reviews for his performance. He played a nerdy client of a “date doctor” (Will Smith) who sought advice about how to land a beautiful celebrity heiress (Amber Valletta).

In 2007, he starred opposite Adam Sandler in the comedy “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.” They played two heterosexual NYFD firefighters who pretend to be a gay couple. James’ character was named Larry Valentine — a homage to his mother’s maiden name (and his brother, standup comic Gary Valentine).

Kevin James’ most popular movie to date is “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” which premiered in January 2009. Critics mostly savaged the comedy, but audiences didn’t care and it opened as that weekend’s No. 1 movie, grossing $39 million.

In this film publicity image released by Columbia Pictures, from left, David Spade, Kevin James, Chris Rock and Adam Sandler are shown in a scene from "Grown Ups." (AP Photo/Columbia Pictures-Sony, Tracy Bennett)

Kevin James is a huge New York Mets fan (well, he was the king of Queens, right?). He named his second daughter, Shea Joelle (born 2007) after the Mets’ old stadium. (June 22, 2010)