What Is Gary Valentine's Net Worth?
Gary Valentine is an American actor, comedian, and writer who has a net worth of $2.5 million. Gary Valentine first began performing as a stand-up comedian in the early '90s in New York. He relocated to Los Angeles after a successful appearance at the Montreal Comedy Festival. He appeared at many popular comedy clubs in Los Angeles and also on such talk shows as "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." In 1999, he began appearing in a supporting role on the hit comedy, "The King of Queens." He remained with the show through its final season in 2007. He has also appeared in such films as, "Stuck On You," "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," "Paul Blart: Mall Cop," "Jack and Jill," "Wrong," and "Here Comes the Boom." Gary's brother is fellow comedian/actor Kevin James.
Early Life
Gary Valentine was born Gary Joseph Knipfing on November 22, 1961, in Mineola, New York. He is the son of Janet and Joseph Valentine Knipfing, Jr. His mother worked in a chiropractor's office, while his father owned an insurance agency. His family is of German and Greek descent. Valentine grew up in a Catholic household with his siblings Kevin and Leslie. Kevin later became an actor and comedian and adopted the name Kevin James. Valentine enjoyed entertaining and performing from a young age and became interested in stand-up comedy.
Career
Valentine began his stand-up comedy career in New York in various clubs and bars and assumed the stage name of Gary Valentine. As he developed his skills and following, he appeared at the Montreal Comedy Festival. He then decided to leave New York to pursue his comedy career in Los Angeles. For some years, he lived with his brother, Kevin, who was also pursuing a career in entertainment in Los Angeles at the time.
Gary soon began landing spots on various late-night talk shows, performing comedy on "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Over time, he developed a large enough fanbase to begin touring around the country and eventually began headlining comedy clubs and theatres in major American cities. He also developed his own half-hour comedy special on Comedy Central and hosted "The X Show" on FX from 1999 to 2001.
In addition to his stand-up comedy career, Gary has also experienced success as an actor. Beginning in 1999, he had a recurring role on the sitcom "The King of Queens," which starred his brother, Kevin James. He played Danny Heffernan, the cousin of the show's main character. From 1999 to 2007, he appeared in 81 episodes of the popular series.
While on "The King of Queens," Valentine also appeared in a few films. In 2001, he appeared in the short film "Velocity Rules." In 2003, he played the character of Wes in "Stuck on You." In 2007, he landed a role in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry."
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Valentine appeared in a number of television films in the late 2000s, including "Alive N' Kickin," "The Dog Who Saved Christmas," and "The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation." In 2009, he appeared in his brother's film "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" as a karaoke singer. The same year, he also had a role in "The Deported." The following year, Gary appeared in "Hosed" and then had roles in "Zookeeper," "Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury," and "Jack and Jill" in 2011. In 2012, he appeared in "Wrong," "Here Comes the Boom," and "The Dog Who Saved the Holidays."
In 2014, Valentine landed the role of Deputy Knudsen in the series "Fargo," appearing in five total episodes." In 2015, he appeared in "The Dog Who Saved Summer." He also appeared in "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2," the sequel to his brother's popular film.
From 2016 to 2018, Gary was a member of the main cast of the series "Kevin Can Wait." The series starred his brother and aired on CBS beginning in September 2016. In the show, Valentine played Kyle, the older brother of Kevin's character. He remained on the show until it was canceled in 2018. In 2022, Gary appeared in another of his brother's films, "Home Team," as Mitch Bizone. The film is a biographical sports comedy film that tells the story of the New Orleans Saints head coach, Sean Payton, who spent his one-year suspension from the NFL coaching his 12-year-old son's football team.
Valentine has continued to keep up with his comedy origins by occasionally performing stand-up. He has also appeared as a frequent guest comedian on shows like "Comics Unleashed" and "Chelsea Lately." He additionally appeared in the web series Dusty Peacock," which aired on Crackle.
Personal Life
Valentine married Jackyline Alido in 1993.
