For Kevin James, all roads lead back to stand-up

Kevin James, one of our most popular and successful comic actors of the last quarter century, recently returned to Huntington, Long Island, and stood outside what was once the East Side Comedy Club.

“The first place I did stand-up,” he said. “I think I had a couple of Coors Lights to get some courage. And then I walked in here and this was the first place: 1989, July 26!”

Thirty-five years later, he has a lot to remember.

Delivery man Doug Heffernan made it famous in the comedy “The King of Queens.” Mall cop Paul Blart turned him into a bankable movie star. But he’s still stand-up, like his new special “Irregardless” on Amazon Prime, which makes him happy.

To watch a trailer for “Kevin James: Irregardless,” click on the video player below:

James, a high school football star, went on to play college ball at Cortland State in upstate New York. When a back injury ended his athletic dreams, a public speaking course sparked new ones, when he played it for laughs. “I didn’t know what it was, but there was something about it,” he said. “I don’t know how you bottle it and make money from it, but I never went back to school.”

He set to work perfecting his style: affable and observant, never dirty and always with an eye toward the future. He never worked “blue,” he says, “because I knew that would keep me from appearing on a TV show. I want my act to be able to go and play anywhere. It’s like, I want to build an act that people can identify with.” “.

By the mid-’90s, James was old enough to land an audition for “Saturday Night Live,” a chance to shadow comedy legends like John Belushi, Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy.

He fell on his face.

“It was the worst audition I’ve ever had in my entire life,” he said. “Because I was literally in a room, and it was absolutely brutal. And I started doing my monologue without laughing, but I kept doing it.”

That’s where you learn everything you need to know about Kevin James, living proof that no one fails; They just stop trying.

And while a botched “SNL” audition might cause 99 people out of 100 to curl up in the fetal position and never move again, James said, “It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Losing “SNL” meant he was free to audition and win the lead role in a pilot called “The King of Queens.” The bet James made on himself when he left college had paid off.

In less than a decade he had gone from driving a forklift while working in Long Island comedy clubs to starring in a television sitcom (too quickly, perhaps, to fully rely on success, to believe it would last). “Well, that’s been my whole career,” she said. “If someone literally tapped me on the shoulder and God just said, ‘Hey, we know what’s going on, right?’ I was like, ‘Yeah. Where am I going? Is everything ready? Okay. It was a fun run, thanks!'”

But at 58, married for 20 years, James would now find it difficult to argue that this isn’t going to last. Maybe the only ones who doubt now? His four children.

When asked if his kids think it’s funny, James replied: “Sometimes they do. They have really good taste, which hurt me a little bit! They said, ‘We get it, you’re falling for it.'” from Mall Cop, and it’s good. But we’re looking for a little more, you know?

But despite all the success he found in Hollywood, this son of Long Island will never stray too far from his roots.

When asked if he had to decide between doing just stand-up, comedy or movies for the rest of his life, James had a quick response: “Stand-up. It’s just me and a microphone and I can do it. And there’s no process.” through the studio or the network saying, ‘Well, let’s change it this way. We’re trying to cast this way…’

“You know, I really enjoy the process. And there will be times when this doesn’t work the way you want and you don’t connect with people the way you hope. And there are other times where it’s like, ‘Yeah, you can still do this.’ This is great!” But the opportunity is there to do it.

“And I’m grateful for that,” he said. “I’m grateful to still be here!”

For more information:

Story produced by Gabriel Falcón. Editor: Karen Brenner.