Kevin James sets second Staller Center show

Comedy star Kevin James, born in Mineola and raised in Stony Brook, has added a second date to his hometown stand in January at Stony Brook University's Staller Center for the Arts after the first show sold out in less than an hour.

James, star of TV's "The King of Queens" and "Kevin Can Wait" as well as numerous movies, will play a second show on Jan. 28, a day after his sold-out date. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. at StallerCenter.com. The venue recommends sign-up to its email list to receive a reminder before ticket sales open.

These are James' first appearances at the Staller Center.

"We knew our audience would be excited for Kevin James," Staller Center director Alan Inkles said in a statement, "especially since he grew up in the area, but we had no idea we'd sell out in only minutes."

James, 57, began his stand-up comedy career at the storied East Side Comedy Club in Huntington on July 26, 1989, a date he has recalled in interviews. A performance at the Just for Laughs: Montreal comedy festival in 1996 eventually led to a studio development deal for what became the hit sitcom "The King of Queens" (CBS, 1998–2007), about a Queens parcel delivery worker, and his wife (Leah Remini) and family, including his eccentric father-in-law (Jerry Stiller). It ran more than 200 episodes and netted James a 2006 Emmy Award nomination for lead actor in a comedy series.

He went on to star in the 2016-18 CBS sitcom "Kevin Can Wait,” about a retired cop in Massapequa, which was produced at Gold Coast Studios in Bethpage, and Netflix's 2021 NASCAR sitcom "The Crew," also filmed at Gold Coast. James' movies include "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" (2009) and its 2015 sequel, "Grown Ups" (2010) and its 2013 sequel, and "Here Comes the Boom" (2012).