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 Kevin
James:
CBS's Latest Comedy
Goldenboy Just Loves to
Make 'Em Laugh
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by J.C. Johnson / September
1999 issue of
Nightlife Magazine
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You
can take the comic out of the comedy club but you can't take the comedy
club out of the comic. At least that's the case with Kevin James, the
latest success story to leap from comedy club stage to TV sitcom success.
When his first season of King of Queens went into summer hiatus he didn't
miss the opportunity to return to his first love, the comedy club circuit.
"I love it," says James, "Number one it's what got me here. But more
so it's like a drug to me... to be able to get an audience to laugh.
I enjoy that immediate reaction, I enjoy being in control and creating
and trying to do new stuff on stage. I've always loved it. You know
when I first started stand-up there were some older jaded comics out
there who would tell me... 'You're so happy now about doing it but believe
me give it a few years and you'll hate it just like I do.' At the time
I thought, nuh, I don't think so. And you know I've been doing it 10
years now and I still enjoy it. Doing stand-up over the years, I remember,
I would be on the road for three weeks at a time. I'd finally have a
couple nights off to come back home. And those nights off I'd find myself
at a comedy club hanging out with my friends, because that's were I
wanted to be."
That's not to say that Kevin doesn't love being
an important part of CBS's successful Monday night comedy line up. "It's
nice, it's nice to have that ... it is," says James of his hit TV sitcom
the King of Queens. "It's a different type of thing but it's also got
that same feeling. You know when a joke lands I mean there's no better
feeling than that," adds James referring to the fact that the show is
taped in front of a live audience so he can still get a little of the
feel of his comedy club days during tapings.
 Kevin
James admits he didn't really have dreams of having his own sitcom when
he first started in stand-up, he just sort of fell into it. Actually
that's pretty much how he ended up becoming a stand-up comic as well.
"I went to school for sports management. Which, I don't even know what
it is today. I mean, I still don't know what it is. It was kind of like
a blend of sports and management. Self explanatory, I guess. I wanted
to do something I enjoyed and I enjoyed sports, so... But that never
really came through. I kind of lost interest in it, it just didn't matter."
After 3 years of college James returned home
one summer and tried out for a part in a small community theater production.
It was his first taste of performing comedy in front of a live audience
and after he got his first few laughs he was hooked. From there he joined
an improv group at Long Island's East Side Comedy Club, with his brother
and fellow comic, Gary Valentine, and eventually tried performing stand-up
for the first time.
"When you're doing stand-up you wear all the
hats," says James. "You're the writer, director, performer. And that's
the tuff thing, when you do a sitcom you have to give up some of those
responsibilities." But James is getting more and more comfortable with
that and he credits his excellent staff for helping make the adjustment
easier for him. "I honestly can say I have such a great staff and I
have such great trust in them now. They know how I am and they know
what I would do or wouldn't do. And they're learning more and more.
I mean obviously we still hit potholes where we're like, 'well I wouldn't
do this.' And then they say, 'oh really. Okay, I didn't know that'...
and we move on. But we're learning. And after just one season together,
I gotta say, they're really a great bunch of people and a very talented
crew." Kevin James says he loves to get in there with the crew and even
do some editing on the show. One of the most fulfilling things about
having his own sitcom says James is, "being able to work in both ends
of it. In the acting and performing, as well as, the creating and the
writing. I mean, if it was up to me, I would wear all hats, if I could,
be in all places. Because, I'm like a control freak with it."
 Kevin
James says one of the things he loves about doing the King of Queens
is the opportunity the show gives him to work with comedy legend Jerry
Stiller. "He's just a great guy and the sweetest man probably I've ever
met. He really is," says James of his costar Stiller. "He's an incredible
actor, and more so, an incredible man. He's just the most gracious fun
loving guy you'd ever want to meet. And he doesn't have to be because
he's a legend. He's hysterical. He'll do different takes and different
moves that just floor me, they really do. It's so tough getting through
a take with him a lot of the time. That's the reason I hate having scenes
with him, because I laugh too much, I really do."
Does Kevin James have any plans for the future?
Fellow CBS Monday Nighter Ray Romano and Kevin James talk about getting
together to do a movie from time to time... "We've talked about trying
a romantic comedy, with some serious moments. Kind of hitting all the
bases. Doing the same type of thing we do on TV with a film. We'd love
to do that. I mean obviously film is not like TV, its a different venue,
but we would like to bring our sensibility to the big screen and eventually
maybe write something together, do something together in film." He also
has an interest to trying his hand at drama someday, "I would love to
try to stretch and do different parts. You know, I'm still learning.
I laugh when people call me an actor. I certainly haven't been acting
(long)... its still very new to me and I'm still kinda learning now
so I don't want to jump too quick. I just want to take my time with
it. But eventually I'd love to stretch and do different types of roles
and see what I can do."
But for now, he says, he doesn't want to spread
himself too thin. "Right now, my desire is to make my show the best
it can be. I would love to do film, that probably would be my next goal,"
says James. "But for now I really want to concentrate on building a
more solid show, something that I'm extremely proud of. I am proud of
the show. But, I still think it can grow and I think it can improve.
And we still have a lot of ideas that we want to do. We still have so
much to explore and to experience together as a cast and grow. We haven't
covered all the ground yet. And that's exciting to me because there's
so much stuff I want to do. Right now, we just basically want to dig
deeper on the characters. Take Doug and Carrie Heffernan (Leah Remini)
and Arthur's (Jerry Stiller) characters through a natural path, and
see where it takes us." So far, it seems to be taking King of Queens
closer and closer to the top of the ratings heap and who can argue with
that.
Illustration by J.C. Johnson / Photos Courtesy CBS
To
Read a Small Sampling of My Interviews with Entertainers Click Below:
Comedy Legends Mel
Brooks & Carl Reiner
CBS's King of Queens
Star Kevin James
Stand-Up Comedian
& Playwrite Lou DiMaggio
Roger Lodge — Host
of TV's Blind Date'
To Read
a Small Sampling of My Humorous Articles Click Below:
Taxing Times for
Americans
Talking Turkey
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