James feels like ‘King’ of the world — not just Queens

Kimberley McGee

Friday, May 4, 2001 | 8:45 a.m.

Kevin James is happy.

His career is taking off, his love life is in check and he just bought a sprawling new home near Los Angeles.

Life is good.

That doesn't mean he can rest, though.

The star of CBS' "King of Queens," which airs at 8 p.m. Mondays on CBS (Channel 8), is on the road performing more than a dozen shows, working on a movie deal and completing a Comedy Central special set to air in July.

James will perform Saturday through Monday at Paris Las Vegas.

"I don't even know what day it is," James said during a recent phone interview from his home. "It doesn't matter. They're all great."

James parlayed his part-time character from CBS' prime-time sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond" into his own show in 1998.

He plays Doug Heffernan, a mail-delivery driver who lives in Queens, N.Y., with his wife Carrie, played by Leah Remini, and father-in-law Arthur Spooner, played by Jerry Stiller.

The 33-year-old stand-up comic and television star took control of his comedy career relatively late in the game.

Raised in Stony Brook, N.Y., James studied sports management at Cortland State University for three years. It wasn't his field.

He performed in community productions before trying out his sense of humor on the stand-up stage in the late '80s and early '90s.

In 1996 James was showcased at the Montreal Comedy Festival. He was immediately signed by NBC to develop a show. Within a year he pitched the "King of Queens" to network executives, who were tepid in their response.

"They didn't like it," James said. "They wanted somebody more successful than (the character) Doug Heffernan. They thought he was a loser."

James continued to tinker with the idea of a cantankerous, lovable oaf from Queens and found work where he could.

He had met fellow comedian Ray Romano on the comedy-club circuit. Romano went on to write and produce the CBS Emmy Award-winning comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond," on which James was also a contributing writer and played recurring character.

In 1998 CBS picked up James' "King of Queens," and aired it the same night as Romano's show.

"It happened real fast. It's been a crazy process," James said. "In the beginning you're sky rocketed to fame from the show. You go from no one knowing you ... it was overwhelming."

Part of his good fortune, James said, lies in the ace cast he works with, which he doesn't take for granted.

In fact, Stiller had originally passed on the script after leaving NBC's "Seinfeld" in 1998.

"He passed on everything," James said. "But after the dust settled, he called and said he liked our script. It made him laugh."

Behind the scenes the comedic cast members take their job seriously, most of the time.

"We hang out together alot, we'll fool around," James said. "We're not like ... pulling pranks all the time, but we goof around. It's stuff you couldn't print."

The chunky comedian is more willing to discuss personal issues, particularly his weight.

"It bothers me only to the degree that I want to be healthy and look better," James said. "It's not so overwhelming that I spend every moment of my life thinking about it, obviously, or I would have done something about it."

He plans to whittle away at his waistline over the summer. No particular weight-loss plan circling Hollywood, such as the highly-touted protein diet, appeals to the comedian.

"I do them all, that way I get more food," James joked. "No, actually, none of them have worked for me so I think I'm just going to go my own way."

Some critics, and friends, have eluded that James' character's wife, played by the petite Remini, is out of his fictional league.

"A lot of people out there believe he couldn't be with her because she's so pretty and he's overweight," James said. "But if you watch the show you see these two people truly love each other. They belong together."

James' personal life is far from similar to his blue-collar TV persona.

He recently bought a five-bedroom home in the hills of Santa Monica, Calif., with his comedian-brother, who uses the stage name Gary Valentine. The two have lived together since James moved to Los Angeles in the early '90s.

"We collected so much crap we needed a bigger place," James said.

The fame has increased the pool of women he meets, but James is careful of the Hollywood hindrance of false friends.

"I get more of an opportunity to go out with more women," James said. "But you also find out who wants to be with you and who is with you for who you are."

Last year James met a woman who was in the audience at one of his stand-up shows. They have dated ever since.

"She laughs at my jokes -- the little, everyday ones," he said. "It's nice."

Though James does want to settle down eventually, his character might be changing diapers before he does.

"I'm still developing as myself and my career is taking over everything at this point," he said.

Romano and James are working on a movie with Paramount Pictures. The romantic comedy stars Romano as a newly divorced bachelor whose best friend, played by James, tries to get him out of his funk and back into love.

"It's like the blind leading the blind," James said.

Does he ever feel burned out from the television show, stand-up gigs, movie deals and appearances?

"Of course there's the money, and I can't complain," he said. "But I get to wake up every day and go to a place I love, do what I love to do and it doesn't seem like work."

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