For the fictional aspiring actor named Gary Valentine, see Licorice Pizza. For the original Blondie songwriter/bass player with the same stage name, see Gary Lachman.
Gary Joseph Knipfing (born November 22, 1961), known professionally as Gary Valentine, is an American actor and comedian. He is the older brother of actor Kevin James. Valentine starred as Kevin James' (Doug Heffernan's) cousin Danny Heffernan in The King of Queens (1998–2007) and as Kevin James' (Kevin Gable's) older brother Kyle Gable in Kevin Can Wait (2016-2018). Valentine has appeared in numerous Happy Madison Productions.
Early life
Gary Joseph Knipfing was born in Mineola, New York[1][2] to Janet, who worked in a chiropractor's office, and Joseph Valentine Knipfing, Jr., who owned an insurance agency.[2][3] His family is of German and Greek descent.[4] Valentine has two siblings: Kevin George Knipfing, known as Kevin James, an actor and comedian; and Leslie Knipfing.[5] Valentine and his siblings were raised in the Catholic faith.[6]
He is best known for his role as Danny Heffernan on The King of Queens, playing the cousin of principal character Doug Heffernan (performed by his real-life brother Kevin James) for nine seasons.
Valentine appeared on the television show Men of a Certain Age, which was written and directed by Ray Romano; the program received critical acclaim. Prior to Valentine's run on the series, he starred in his own half-hour special on Comedy Central and hosted The X Show on FX.
