Doug Heffernan enjoyed his successful career as a delivery driver, his lovely wife’s love, his close friends, and the sporadic Whopper before dinner. He was in the prime of his life, but everything changed when his grouchy father-in-law moved into his basement. That was the basis of the CBS sitcom The King of Queens, which ran from 1998 to 2007 for nine seasons and 207 episodes. It became successful right away and remained one of the most watched sitcoms on television for the duration of its run.
The Everybody Loves Raymond spinoff included Kevin James, Leah Remini, and Jerry Stiller as its main cast members. Ray Romano, a stand-up comedian, cast James as his friend from Queens in a guest appearance on his show because they had been friends for a long time. A spinoff sitcom based on James’ role was developed by David Litt (Ned and Stacey) and Michael J. Weithorn (Family Ties) after CBS execs were delighted by his on-screen performance. Remini and Stiller played James’ wife and father-in-law, respectively.
The show, which debuted on September 21, 1998, was a success for CBS even though critics and award shows never gave it any credit. It only received one Primetime Emmy nomination throughout its whole run, for Kevin James’ performance in the comedy series in 2006. In May 2007, the final episode was broadcast.
James went on to have a fruitful career in film, appearing in the Paul Blart: Mall Cop films, Zookeeper, and Pixels. Leah Remini joined the programme in the second season as his love interest, resulting in a King of Queens reunion for fans. James made a comeback to CBS in 2016 for the new sitcom Kevin Can Wait.
The most well-known characters from the show are listed here, along with the actors who played them.
Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller)
The father of Carrie, Arthur, moved in with them after he set fire to his own home. Being a widower, Arthur might be difficult to get along with because of his harsh demeanour and impulsive nature. Arthur frequently caused trouble after relocating into Doug and Carrie’s basement through a variety of dubious plans and money-making scams. He keeps himself in check by going for daily walks with Holly the dog walker, but he eventually got married to Spence’s mother and started a family.
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Jerry Stiller and his wife Anne Meara performed as a comedy partnership, making appearances on several TV series, including The Ed Sullivan Show. When he was chosen for the Emmy-nominated part of George Costanza in Seinfeld, his career experienced a revival. In 2020, Ben Stiller’s father passed away.
Carrie Heffernan (Leah Remini)
While working as a club bouncer, Doug met Carrie. Although their romance had a difficult beginning, he gradually won her over. She is closest friends with Kelly Palmer, the spouse of Doug’s close buddy Deacon, and works at a law company in Manhattan. She is frank and outspoken, not afraid to speak her mind, whereas Doug would rather stay out of a fight.
Leah Remini made several TV appearances early in her career, including Saved by the Bell and Living Dolls. Her breakout part was in The King of Queens, after which she went on to act in Old School and The Exes. For her television series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, she won two Emmy Awards.
Danny Heffernan (Gary Valentine)
Doug dislikes being around his cousin Danny because he is a well-known failure, but with Carrie’s assistance, he eventually becomes friendly with him. Doug assisted Danny in obtaining employment at IPS after his wife left him and the pizza shop he opened failed to succeed. He eventually moved into an apartment with Spence.
Kevin James, who is younger, followed his brother Gary Valentine, a well-known stand-up comedian, into the entertainment industry. He made guest appearances for the first few seasons, but ended up appearing in 136 episodes, becoming a series regular in the fourth season after Larry Romano left the show. He has also had roles on Fargo (the TV series) and Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill. He appeared in his brother’s films, and was a cast member of Kevin Can Wait as well. Weirdly enough, Gary Valentine is the name of Paul Thomas Anderson’s protagonist in Licorice Pizza.
Deacon Palmer (Victor Williams)
Doug and Deacon first spoke when Doug applied for a position at IPS. His wife Kelly and Carrie became the best of friends, and so did they. Kirby and Major are his two children, and he and his family are frequent visitors to the Heffernans. He is incredibly devoted to Doug and frequently stands in for him with Carrie when he makes a mistake. Doug assisted him in a plan to win Kelly back when they briefly parted ways.
As a teenager, Victor Williams played a creature in the 1983 movie Boggy Creek II. His additional appearances in the upcoming series Justified: City Primeval include Cop Land, The Affair, Sneaky Pete, and Happy Together.
Doug Heffernan (Kevin James)
Doug has worked as a driver for IPS, a delivery service similar to UPS, for many years with his close friend Deacon. He purchased a home in Queens after being married to Carrie, where he continues to be close with Richie and Spence. Doug is a bit of a man-child who enjoys eating and watching sports on television and has a bad attitude when things don’t go his way. However, he is a loyal husband who will sacrifice anything for his loved ones.
Like his TV character, Kevin James, who is from Long Island, is a fan of the New York Mets, the New York Jets, and the Islanders. He started doing stand-up comedy in college, where he met Ray Romano, another aspiring comic. Romano hired him for a recurring part on his sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond in the mid-1990s after he had memorable appearances on Star Search and The Tonight Show. The characters from the two shows frequently appeared together once his character was promoted to the lead role in the spinoff The King of Queens. Despite the fact that James looks most comfortable in comedies, he occasionally takes on other parts, such as Becky’s opponent.
Holly Shumpert (Nicole Sullivan)
When Doug and Carrie become worried about leaving a bored Arthur at home all day, they come up with an unconventional solution: they hire Holly, a dog-walker, to take him around the neighbourhood every day. Holly, a Dress Barn aficionado, soon becomes part of the family, even coming over for Thanksgiving dinner. When she gets evicted from her apartment, she even moves in with the Heffernans for a time. While she often had trouble with her love life, she eventually married a great guy and moved to his penthouse apartment in Manhattan.
Nicole Sullivan has appeared in a massive amount of TV series, including recurring roles on Black-ish and Disjointed, and as part of the ensemble on the sketch comedy show MadTV. She is also a prolific voice actress, appearing on Family Guy and as Supergirl on DC Super Hero Girls.
Janet Heffernan (Jenny O’Hara)
Janet is Doug’s doting mother. She admits to spoiling him as a child, indulging his every want, although that caused some friction with him as an adult when he discovered the truth about the dog he’s had since childhood, Rocky. Not wanting to break his heart, she replaced his dog with a lookalike each time he died, and Doug realised his dog is not 30 years old, but rather Rocky IV. She also hid the fact that he was born during a trip to Canada, so he would never be able to be President, should he decide to run.
Jenny O’Hara appeared in 15 episodes as Janet. She got her start in acting in the 1970s, appearing on shows including The Rockford Files, Kojak, and Charlie’s Angels. She had a recurring role in the series My Sister Sam and appeared in the films Wishmaster, Mystic River, and Devil.
Joe Heffernan (Dakin Matthews)
Joe is Doug’s father and is now a retiree who, along with Doug’s mother, occasionally flies in to visit him. No-nonsense and stubborn, Joe always clashes with Arthur when he comes to visit, as Arthur thinks Joe is always trying to show him up.
Dakin Matthews has had a long career on stage and screen. The character actor has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows, including the remake of True Grit, Lincoln, Child’s Play 3, L.A. Law, Gilmore Girls, and General Hospital.
Kelly Palmer (Merrin Dungey)
Deacon’s spouse Kelly works in an office and is close friends with Carrie, who frequently watches her children. She and Doug discovered they enjoyed doing things together for a while until their wives felt it was strange and forced them to stop. She and Deacon temporarily drifted apart, but they later got back together.
In addition to Francie (and Evil Francie) on Alias, Ursula on Once Upon a Time, and Detective Quinlan on Big Little Lies, Merrin Dungey has played a variety of characters on well-known TV shows. She also made appearances in the movies Deep Impact, CHiPs, and Greenland.
Lou Ferrigno (Lou Ferrigno)
Doug’s neighbourhood is turned upside down when actor Lou Ferrigno moves in next door. Doug and his friends are all fans of his role as The Incredible Hulk, and initially, none could resist making Hulk references when speaking to him. Eventually, Ferrigno becomes one of the gang, often hanging out at Doug’s house (or more specifically, his garage) and even attending Super Bowl watch parties.
Ferrigno played himself in 18 episodes of the series (his real-life wife Carla played herself in several episodes as well) (his real-life wife Carla played herself in several episodes as well). He made headlines when he criticised the portrayal of the Hulk in the MCU, critiquing the CGI version. In addition to his role as The Hulk, he also starred as the lead role in Hercules (1983) and appeared on Trauma Center and The Fall Guy.
Ray Barone (Ray Romano)
Ray is Doug’s friend, who lives on Long Island. Ray is a sports writer for New York Newsday, and on occasion, finds himself in Queens to hang out with Doug.
Ray Romano gave his friend Kevin James his big break with a role on his show, Everybody Loves Raymond, which led to The King of Queens becoming a spinoff show. He appeared as Ray Barone on the show four times, including once after Everybody Loves Raymond ended its run in 2005 with 15 Primetime Emmy wins.
Richie Iannucci (Larry Romano)
Richie has been friends with Doug since high school. He is a New York firefighter and is actually responsible for Doug and Carrie meeting — Richie went on a date with Carrie, but they didn’t connect, and Carrie ended up with Doug instead. He briefly dated Doug’s sister Stephanie, but he never called her back after a date, leaving her upset.
Despite the last name, Larry is not related to Ray Romano. Larry Romano has starred in movies and television since the 1980s, including roles in The Irishman, Donnie Brasco, and Lock Up, appearing alongside some of the biggest actors in Hollywood.
Spence Olchin (Patton Oswalt)
Until Metro Cards forced him out of a job, Spence, Doug’s uncomfortable friend from high school, worked at the New York City subway’s token booth. He has a close relationship with Doug’s in-law Arthur that mainly entails driving him around and becoming entangled in his many schemes. He spent the majority of his adult life living with his mother before ultimately moving out to rent an apartment with pal Danny Heffernan. Spence is excellent with children and frequently watches Deacon and Kelly’s children, who enjoy spending time with him.
Perhaps Patton Oswalt’s stand-up specials and his role as Remy in Disney’s Ratatouille are what make him most well-known. Additionally, he has appeared in Marvel’s Eternals, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Simpsons, Justified, Blade: Trinity, Young Adult, Parks and Recreation, and Blade: Trinity.
Stephanie Heffernan (Ricki Lake)
Stephanie is Doug’s sister, and is a P.E. teacher who occasionally comes to Queens to visit him. She briefly dated Doug’s friend Richie, but he never called her afterward, leaving her angry and hurt. She did get a bit of revenge, however, when she joined Doug and his friends for a game of paintball.
Ricki Lake is best known for her talk show, which premiered in 1992. She started off her career as an actress, appearing in Hairspray and Cry-Baby. She also produces documentaries on various women’s subjects.
Veronica Olchin (Anne Meara)
Veronica is Spence’s mother, who took a liking to Arthur, pursuing him for years. Arthur resisted her advances initially, but eventually came around and married her.
Anne Meara appeared in nine episodes, although she played another character in the series’ first season. She made her first appearance as Spence’s mother in the fifth season, joining her real-life husband Jerry Stiller in the cast. She and Stiller were a comedy team dating back to the 1940s, and their son Ben Stiller has continued the family’s comedy legacy. She and Jerry would star together again in an episode of NBC’s Mercy in 2009. Her other roles included ALF, Sex and the City, Archie Bunker’s Place, Night at the Museum, and Fame. She passed away in 2015.
