David Anthony Higgins (born December 9, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as

Craig Feldspar The following characters had significant roles in the American television comedy series ''Malcolm in the Middle'', which was originally televised from 2000 to 2006 on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Network. Characters Originally, the se ...

on ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...

'', Joe on ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

'', and Reginald Bitters on ''

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013 and is currently available in Paramount+. It focuses on the Hollywood misa ...

''. He also had a recurring role as Harry on the television series ''

Mike & Molly ''Mike & Molly'' is an American television sitcom created by Mark Roberts on CBS. It premiered on September 20, 2010, and aired 127 episodes over six seasons. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the eponymous Mike and Molly, ...

''.

Early life and education

Higgins was born on December 9, 1961, in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, one of five children (including brothers Steve and

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

) of Marian Higgins (née Coppola; 1932–2011) and Harold Higgins, the latter of whom was a janitor at West Des Moines schools. After receiving encouragement from a fourth-grade teacher, he won a scholarship to the Des Moines Playhouse and performed in several summer

operettas Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

. He was raised in Des Moines and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1980. He attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, where he studied

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

until he realized he wanted to pursue a career in entertainment.

Career

Higgins, along with his brother Steve and Dave Gruber Allen, performed in a comedy troupe, Don't Quit Your Day Job, and performed at notable places, including Des Moines'

Hotel Kirkwood The Hotel Kirkwood, also known as the Kirkwood Civic Center Hotel, is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The building was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of H.L. Stevens & Company and built in 1930 ...

. Eventually they toured in other states, including California, and were so well received that they were offered their own show, ''The Higgins Boys and Gruber'', on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel (promoted on air as comedy) is a defunct Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, and Optus Television. The channel ceased broadcasting on 1 September 2020. History A joint venture between Artist Serv ...

in 1989. After the show ended in 1991, they each pursued separate careers in comedy. Higgins received his big break when cast as outspoken

barista A barista (; ; from the Italian/Spanish for "bartender") is a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks. Etymology and inflection The word ''barista'' comes from Italian where it means a male ...

Joe in the sitcom ''

'' in 1994. In 1997, he appeared in the

Dave Foley David Scott Foley (born January 4, 1963) is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian, director, producer and writer. He is known as a co-founder of the comedy group The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of television, stage and ...

film ''

The Wrong Guy ''The Wrong Guy'' is a 1997 Canadian black comedy film directed by David Steinberg, and starring Dave Foley, along with David Anthony Higgins, Jennifer Tilly, Colm Feore and Joe Flaherty. It was written by Foley, Higgins and Jay Kogen. The scri ...

'', which he also co-wrote with Foley and ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' writer

Jay Kogen Jay Kogen is an American comedy writer, producer, actor and director. Biography He was born to a Jewish family. His father is comedy writer Arnie Kogen. In 2001, Kogen had a son, Charlie, who is now a musician. Career Kogen co-wrote several ep ...

. Higgins is perhaps most well recognized for his roles as Craig Feldspar in ''

'' and Mr. Bitters in ''

''. He also guest starred on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's ''

True Jackson, VP ''True Jackson, VP'' is an American teen sitcom created by Andy Gordon for Nickelodeon. It aired from November 8, 2008, to August 20, 2011. The series stars Keke Palmer, Ashley Argota, Matt Shively, Danielle Bisutti, Greg Proops, Robbie Amell ...

'' as Dave. He later appeared in three episodes of '' American Horror Story: Murder House'' as minor character Stan. He began a recurring role as Harry in season two of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

series ''

'', and was eventually upgraded to a series regular in season three.

Personal life

In 2000, he married his wife Julia, and they have two children. They live in

Studio City, California Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

. In 2004, Higgins was featured in a Hollywood edition of the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

series '' Body Challenge'', where he worked with a personal trainer. He is a fan of

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

and

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, David Anthony 1961 births 21st-century American comedians American male comedians American male screenwriters American male television actors American television writers Comedians from California Living people Male actors from Des Moines, Iowa American male television writers People from Studio City, Los Angeles Screenwriters from Iowa Screenwriters from California University of Iowa alumni Writers from Des Moines, Iowa 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers Theodore Roosevelt High School (Iowa) alumni