Stand-up comedian Kevin James is back with "Irregardless" He had a nine-year run starring in the CBS sitcom "The King of Queens,"
He says he found his purpose and realized what he wanted to do as a career after taking a public speaking course in school.
James topped the box office charts with the comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." But comedian Kevin James reserves his greatest affection for stand-up, which the college dropout honed while moonlighting at Long Island comedy clubs. James talks with correspondent Jim Axelrod about why he's thankful he bombed his audition for "Saturday Night Live," and why he keeps going back to his stand-up roots, now on view in the Amazon Prime special.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/stand-up-comedian-kevin-james-is-back-wit…
Kevin George Knipfing was born in Mineola, New York, on April 26, 1965, to American office worker Janet and German-American insurance agency owner Joseph Valentine Knipfing Jr. He grew up in Stony Brook, New York. He has a sister named Leslie and an older brother named Gary, the latter of whom also became a comedian and actor under the name Gary Valentine
The siblings were raised Catholic. James graduated from Ward Melville High School, where he reached the top position on the wrestling team, one spot above his friend and future professional wrestler Mick Foley. Both wrestled in the heavyweight weight class. When James suffered a season-ending back injury, Foley took over the first-string position. Both men went on to study at the State University of New York at Cortland, where James played halfback on the varsity football team until another back injury permanently ended his sporting ambitions