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Who is Gary Valentine?
American actor and comedian Gary Joseph Knipfing, known better as Gary Valentine, was born in Mineola, New York State USA, on 22 November 1961, making Scorpio his zodiac sign. He has 23 acting credits, and is perhaps known best for playing Eric Voss in the 2012 action sports comedy movie “Here Comes the Boom”, which starred Kevin James and Salma Hayek, and was directed by Frank Coraci. It follows a high school biology teacher who’s taken on mixed martial arts training, and the film was nominated for three awards.
Gary’s also popular for being the older brother of famous American actor Kevin George Knipfing, known better by his stage name Kevin James; he’s appeared in 48 movies and TV series, and has won one of his 15 award nominations.
Education and early life
Gary was raised alongside Kevin and their sister Leslie Knipfing, by their father Joseph Valentine Knipfing, Jr. who was the owner of his own insurance agency, and mother Janet who worked at a chiropractor’s practice.
Gary studied at a local high school in Mineola, and was into several activities during his time there, as he wrestled, appeared in school plays and played football. He matriculated in 1980, and because he’s yet to speak about his further education, most people believe that Gary hasn’t attended college.
He worked as a stand-up comedian for nearly 20 years prior to launching his career on TV; he moved to Los Angeles, California after attracting a lot of attention with his performance at the Montreal Comedy Festival, and Gary was then invited to perform comedy on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”, and “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn”.
Roles in TV series
Gary’s debut TV series role was playing Danny Heffernan in 136 episodes (1999-2007) of the critically acclaimed comedy “The King of Queens”, which starred his brother Kevin and Leah Remini, and was created by David Litt. It follows the lives of delivery man Doug Heffernan, his wife Carrie and father Arthur, and the series won 14 of its 19 award nominations.
Gary’s appeared in only three other TV series. He played Gambler at Craps Table in the 2011 episode “Let the Sunshine In” of the comedy “Men of a Certain Age”, and the year 2014 saw him play Deputy Knudsen in six episodes of the critically acclaimed crime thriller “Fargo”, which today stars Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman, and was created by Noah Hawley. It follows the lives of people from Fargo, North Dakota and the series has won 62 of its 309 award nominations.
Gary’s other TV series role has been playing Kyle Gable in all 48 episodes of the comedy “Kevin Can Wait”, which starred his brother Kevin and Taylor Spreitler, and was created by Bruce Helford. It follows the life of a retired police officer, the series aired from 2016 through 2018, and was nominated for only a single award.
Roles in movies
Gary’s debut film role was playing Stunner in the 2001 short comedy “Velocity Rules”, and some of his following roles were in the 2003 comedy “Stuck on You”, the 2007 romantic comedy “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry”, and the 2009 action crime comedy “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”.
In 2009, he starred as Maury the Agent in the comedy “The Deported”, which also starred Nicholas Turturro and Talia Shire, and was directed by Lance Kawas. It follows an American-Italian actor who’s been deported to Mexico by crooked INS agents, and is now trying to find his way back to the USA. Also in 2009, Gary starred in the adventure comedy “The Dog Who Saved Christmas”.
In 2011, he portrayed Pizza Guy in the family fantasy comedy “Zookeeper”, which starred his brother Kevin and Rosario Dawson, and was directed by Frank Coraci. It follows a zookeeper who’s just discovered that the animals which he’s taking care of can talk, and the film won one of its three award nominations. Also in 2011, Gary played supporting characters in the comedy “Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury”, another comedy “The Dog Who Saved Halloween”, and the action comedy “Jack and Jill”.
The year 2012 saw him play George Bannister in the family comedy “The Dog Who Saved the Holidays”, which directed by Michael Feifer starred Peyton List and Joey Lawrence. It follows the Bannisters who’ve brought home a new puppy Eve, so that their other dog Zeus won’t be lonely; the movie was nominated for only a single award.
Some of Gary’s most recent film roles have been in the 2015 action crime comedy “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2”, the 2015 family drama “The Dog Who Saved Summer” and the 2022 sports comedy “Home Team”; he’s currently shooting for the upcoming movie “Grumpy Old Santa”.
Other credits
Gary wrote four episodes of the series “The King of Queens” in 1999 and 2000, and he wrote the episode “Gary Valentine” of the show “Comedy Central Presents”.
He produced the 2001 movie “Opinion: To Each His Own” and the 2015 film “The Dog Who Saved Summer”.
Gary’s most recent talk-show appearances have been in “Chelsea Lately”, “World’s Funniest” and “Gotham Comedy Live”.
Love life and marriage
Gary avoids speaking about his love life in public, but his wife has still kept him company during some of his red carpet events.
He married non-celebrity American Jackyline Alido in a small and private ceremony in 1993, attended by not more than 100 of their friends and family members; Jackyline’s profession remains undisclosed, but she’s believed to be an accountant.
Gary and Jackyline don’t have children together, and while most of Gary’s fans believe this to be because they both want to remain focused on their careers, others have pointed out the possibility of one of them, or perhaps both being infertile; this hasn’t been addressed by Gary.
There are no other women whom Gary’s perhaps been with, that we know about; he’s married to Jackyline Alido as of July 2023, and doesn’t have children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Gary’s the uncle of his brother Kevin’s son Kannon Valentine James and three daughters Shea Joelle, Sistine Sabella and Sienna-Marie.
He and American actress and author Mariel Hemingway were born on the exact same day.
Gary and Kevin were raised Catholic.
More than 10,000 people are following him on Instagram today, and he’s posted 325 pictures and videos, most of which feature him during his everyday life, whether he’s spending time with his brother, playing the guitar or travelling.
Gary’s a huge dog-lover, and his two pet dogs can be seen featured in his Instagram content.
His favorite food is pizza.
Adam Sandler’s one of Gary’s favorite actors, and some of his favorite movies include “Uncut Gems”, “Big Daddy” and “Grown Ups”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Gary’s age is 61. He has brown hair and eyes, is 5ft 6ins (1.69m) tall and weighs around 180lbs (82kgs).
Gary’s net worth’s been estimated at over $2.5 million, as of July 2023, and his brother Kevin’s at over $100 million.
