Kevin James Net Worth: Kevin James, a renowned American actor, comedian, producer, and writer, has left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. He has a career spanning more than three decades and is now considered one of the most beloved comedians and television personalities.
James has achieved both fame and fortune as a result of his role as Doug Heffernan on the popular sitcom “The King of Queens” and his cameos in popular comedies such as “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” and “Grown Ups.” Even if precise figures vary, it is evident that Kevin James has a substantial net worth, which cements his position as a well-known and successful Hollywood artist.
Kevin James Net Worth
Kevin James, an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer, is worth $100 million. Kevin James achieved the type of remarkable career ascent of which most stand-up comedians can only dream.
After performing stand-up in the late 1980s, he went on to guest star on Ray Romano’s sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” appear on numerous talk shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and Dennis Miller Live, and finally star in his own sitcom, “The King of Queens.”
The middle seasons of “The King of Queens” paid Kevin $300,000 per episode. For the past two seasons, he received $400,000 per episode. As an executive producer and owner of a portion of the show’s backend ownership, he has earned more than $50 million in syndication agreements.
Kevin James Life History
Kevin James was born in Mineola, New York on April 26, 1965. James is the second child born to Janet and Joseph Valentine Knipfing. While his father managed an insurance company, his mother was a chiropractor.
James participated in wrestling and football while attending Ward Melville School in 1983. He attended the State University of New York. However, he quit school before completion.
His mother, Janet, worked in an office, while his father, Joseph Valentine Knipfing Jr., owned an insurance agency. James completed high school at Ward Melville, where he competed on the wrestling team. He then pursued his education at the State University of New York at Cortland. Due to a back injury he sustained while playing varsity football in college, his athletic career came to a close.
How did Kevin James become renowned?
James, whose birth name was Kevin George Knipfing, and his brother Gary Valentine, another well-known comedian, were both reared in Stony Brook, New York, a section of Long Island.
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As a student at the State University of New York at Cortland, he participated in football, but an injury ended his athletic career. In 1989, he made his stand-up comedy debut at the East Side Comedy Club on Long Island, and subsequently appeared on talk programs and late-night television.
In 1991, James made his debut as a jokester on The New Candid Camera. He worked as a sports broadcaster for MTV’s SandBlast from 1994 to 1996.
After becoming acquainted with comedian Ray Romano, James appeared as a guest on Everybody Loves Raymond, and in 1998 he received his own spinoff of the popular sitcom. In 1998, King of Queens helped make James a ubiquitous name.
What was Kevin James’ earnings per episode?
In the early seasons of King of Queens, James reportedly earned $300,000 per episode, with raises to $400,000 and rumored compensation of $500,000 per episode in 2005–2006. During the two seasons of Kevin Can Wait, James reportedly earned $200,000 per episode, a significant decrease from his previous salary but still a substantial amount overall.
James made his stand-up comedy debut on Long Island’s East Side Comedy Club in 1989. Richie Minervini supervised his management. As his popularity developed, he began to appear on talk shows such as “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “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 Kathie Lee.”
Acting Profession
Using his stand-up comedic timing and improvisational skills, he made his television debut on “The New Candid Camera” in 1991. The performer played practical jokes on individuals who were unaware.
He announced MTV’s “SandBlast” sports competition from 1994 to 1996. After relocating to Los Angeles and knowing Ray Romano, he guest-starred on “Everybody Love Raymond” multiple times. From September 1998 to May 2007, his CBS comedy “The King of Queens” aired.
He portrayed Doug Heffernan, a working-class Queen’s parcel deliveryman. For the eighth season of the program, James was nominated for a 2006 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Following a brief appearance in “50 First Dates” in 2004, James made his starring début in “Hitch” in 2005. The actor then appeared in the films “Grilled” (2006), “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” (2007), “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” (2008), and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (2009).
Specifically, “Mall Cop” earned $39 million during its inaugural weekend in the United States and $219 million from ticket and home video sales. The sequel “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” was released in 2015. Both “Mall Cop” films were written, produced, and starred in by James.
Despite negative reviews, he appeared in the box office success “Grown Ups” (2010) and its sequel “Grown Ups 2” (2013). James continued his comic film career by writing and producing “The Dilemma” (2011), “Zookeeper” (2011), “Here Comes the Boom” (2011), and “Pixels” (2015). “True Memoirs of an International Assassin” (2016) and “Sandy Wexler” (2017) were both Netflix films in which he appeared.
In animated films such as “Monster House” (2006), “Barnyard” (2006), “Hotel Transylvania” (2012), “Hotel Transylvania 2” (2015), and “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” (2018), he has provided the voices of various characters. In September 2016, he returned to television with “Kevin Can Wait”, which ran for two seasons until May 2018.
Kevin Gibson appeared in the films “Becky” and “Hubie Halloween” in 2020 and the television series “The Crew” in 2021. He portrayed Sean Payton in the 2022 movie “Home Team.” Kevin James will play the lead role in “Guns Up.”