Early Years
James was born Kevin George James in Mineola, New York. He is the second son of Janet, a homemaker who also worked in a chiropractor's office, and Joseph Valentine Knipfing, Jr., who owned an insurance agency. He has German ancestry. James has two siblings, Gary Joseph Knipfing, known as Gary Valentine, also a comedian, and Leslie Knipfing; Leslie works for James and helped raise money through charity events for retinitis pigmentosa, with which she is afflicted. James was raised Catholic, and stated in 2012 that he is "involved" in his faith. He grew up in the "S-Section" of Stony Brook, New York, and graduated from Ward Melville High School in 1983, where he was on the football and wrestling teams. One of his wrestling teammates, Mick Foley, eventually became a professional wrestler. James was a student at, but did not graduate from, the State University of New York at Cortland, where he was a member of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity.
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