The King of Queens

Plot

Characters

Main

• Doug Heffernan is an average parcel delivery man working for International Parcel Service. Born on February 9, 1965, in Montreal, Canada, he has a cheeky personality and never hesitates to protest his grievances vocally. Some of his problems are fueled by his love of food. These basic desires sometimes cause him to think of selfish, dangerous schemes in order to get what he wants, although they usually fall through in the end, causing constant arguments between Doug and Carrie. Doug's tendency to give in to his temptations, despite promising Carrie otherwise, is another common cause of conflict. He generally enjoys the simple pleasures of watching sports and playing poker with his friends.
• Carrie Heffernan, née "Simone Spooner", is Doug's sardonic wife. She has a fiery temper and occasionally lashes out at people, mainly Doug. She has been characterized as scary by Holly and Doug, particularly when she is annoyed. During a flashback, Carrie concludes that she is happier when others are miserable. She never finished college and is employed as a legal secretary. Her constant attempts to make her relationship with Doug more romantic and loving cause Doug anxiety, as he prefers a simple life with as few restrictions as possible. The more impulsive and broad-minded of the couple, Carrie often pushes Doug to make more of himself and improve his outlook, but she is generally just as mean-spirited as he is. Although Carrie mocks Doug for his careless behavior, she has proven to be careless as well at times, with little patience for others' problems or tolerance for their quirks. Carrie's best friend is Deacon's wife, Kelly Palmer.
• Arthur Spooner is Carrie's widowed father, who has been married three times. His fourth marriage is to Spence's mother during the final episode of the final season, which ends shortly after in the same episode. Arthur is the classic oddball of the family. He lives in the basement of the Heffernan house because he accidentally set fire to his own uninsured home, burning it to the ground in the pilot episode. Very volatile, Arthur is mostly known for his incoherent, irascible outbursts and on rare occasion, offering up lucid thoughts and perspectives. He tells a lot of questionable stories of what he claims he has been through in his past, although his claim of having been a television and film actor for a time in years past turns out to be true. Arthur regularly causes chaos in the Heffernan household and gets on Doug's and Carrie's nerves. And, although he and Doug have a bitter rivalry in some episodes, he still approves of Doug, regardless. Doug and Carrie sometimes have trouble finding time alone because Arthur tends to get in the way. Arthur also tries to cause trouble with Doug's friends. He especially bullies Spence but also tries it on Deacon, who often refers to him as "the old man".
• is Doug's best friend and co-worker. Towering in height, and athletic, Deacon is a year and a few weeks younger than Doug, but the more level-headed of the two, in addition to being the classic "family man". He and his wife Kelly have two sons, Major and Kirby. He is often seen hanging out with Doug, whether it is on their lunch breaks at work, over the weekends, or for family gatherings. He will often help Doug plan elaborate schemes to fool Carrie, but he rarely likes to get involved himself. Deacon attended St. John's University in Queens, where he received two bachelor's degrees, one in art history and one in music. In the first-season episode "Best Man", Deacon mentions having served in the National Guard. He also volunteers as a big brother. In season 3, he gets caught having an affair with another woman and separates from Kelly in season 4, reconciling later in the series.
• Spencer "Spence" Olchin is another friend of Doug's and the nerd of the group. He tends to be angst-ridden, sickly, and takes an interest in science fiction, fantasy movies, and comic book conventions—interests that his friends do not share. Spence's birthday is February 14. He is of Albanian heritage, and works as a subway token booth clerk. He moved to New York City from rural West Virginia. In one episode he is a "house boy" for Deacon and Kelly. His character is based largely on the actor who plays him. Spence demonstrates intelligence and competence in a variety of pursuits, but he is haunted by his family history, his intimidating and troubled mother, and his inability to protect himself. Numerous episodes mention that Spence is asthmatic and allergic to peanuts. In the season eight episode "Hartford Wailer", Spence is said to be from Ottawa but it appears that he had only said that to Huey Lewis in an attempt to impress him. He has a pet Pug named Allen. In the series' penultimate episode "Single Spaced", Spence shows romantic interest in Carrie when it appears she and Doug will divorce.
• Richard "Richie" Iannucci is one of Doug's closest friends. He and Doug were roommates before Doug married Carrie. He was quietly written out of the show in season three so Romano could work on another sitcom. During that season, he only appeared in one episode, "Paint Misbehavin'". He mostly addressed Doug as "Moose". Richie was known as the ladies' man among Doug's friends, even admitting to sleeping with Doug's sister. Richie is an FDNY firefighter. He is also something of a con artist. His last appearance on the show was in the episode "Paint Misbehavin'", in which he has sex with Doug's sister Stephanie ; although she promises to call him afterward, she has no intention to. He was also briefly seen in a few clips during the flashback montage at the end of the series finale.
• Daniel "Danny" Heffernan is Doug's cousin, and he is also seen hanging out with Doug, Deacon and Spence. In the show's early seasons, Doug has a negative view of Danny bordering on hate due to the latter's over-eagerness to spend time with the former, but at the end of "S'no Job", they become friends and co-workers, and regularly hang out along with Deacon and Spence. Danny soon becomes Spence's roommate in a small apartment. The two fight like a married couple, and many of the jokes revolve around what looks to their friends like a romantic relationship. At one point, they legally marry in order to get a free TV from a sales pitch for which only married couples are eligible. Danny once owned a pizza parlor, and he is divorced from a woman named Eva. He once had the nickname "Stumpy", given to him by Doug. Episodes "Silent Mite" and "Paint Misbehavin'" reveal that Danny has asthma and uses an inhaler. Gary Valentine and Kevin James are real-life brothers. They each created last names for their acting careers. Valentine is their father's middle name.
• Holly Shumpert is a polite yet timid dog-walker who, like the Heffernans, lives in Queens, where she was hired by Doug and Carrie to "walk" Arthur. She is often seen arriving at the Heffernan home to pick up Arthur but is also a family friend of the Heffernans. She is often viewed as strange because of her habits, the men she dates, her "sketchy" ethics, and her habit of drinking too much, to which she openly confesses. Holly is a gentle soul, especially as she puts up with Arthur's antics, and is kind to Carrie despite the fact that Carrie often mistreats her. Holly was written out of the series at the beginning of season eight, but she later returned, pregnant, for one last appearance in the series finale. Sullivan also appeared in a different role in the season 3 episode "Pregnant Pause".
• Sara Spooner is Carrie's younger half-sister, an irresponsible aspiring actress. She appears in only five of the first six episodes, and was only mentioned one other time in episode 52 by Doug as an excuse to his boss to get out of performing a roast. After the show became more popular, Kevin James was asked during an interview to explain what happened to Sara. According to James, the producers could not think of any storylines to develop Rieffel's character, so she was discontinued. During the pilot, she was on camera for roughly half the episode. However, in the other episodes in which she was included, her character did not have much to say or do. Subsequent plot lines and dialogue suggest that Sara Spooner never existed, and that Carrie is an only child.