David Anthony Higgins

David Anthony Higgins
Born	(1961-12-09) December 9, 1961 (age 63) Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Occupations	Actor writer producer
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Julia Higgins ​ ​ (m. 2000)​
Children	2
Relatives	Steve Higgins (brother) Alan J. Higgins (brother)

David Anthony Higgins (born December 9, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Craig Feldspar on Malcolm in the Middle , Joe on Ellen , and Reginald Bitters on Big Time Rush . He also had a recurring role as Harry on the television series Mike & Molly .

Early life and education

Higgins was born on December 9, 1961, in Des Moines, Iowa, one of five children (including brothers Steve and Alan) of Marian Higgins (née Coppola; 1932–2011) ^[1] and Harold Higgins (1934–1979), the latter of whom was a janitor at West Des Moines schools who was also a broadcaster who did high school plays. ^[2] After receiving encouragement from a fourth-grade teacher, he won a scholarship to the Des Moines Playhouse and performed in several summer operettas. He was raised in Des Moines and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1980. ^{[2] [3]} He attended the University of Iowa, where he studied liberal arts 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, ^[4] and performed at notable places, including Des Moines' Hotel Kirkwood. ^[5] Eventually they toured in other states, including California, and were so well received ^[6] that they were offered their own show, The Higgins Boys and Gruber, on HBO's The Comedy Channel in 1989. After the show ended in 1991, they each pursued separate careers in comedy. ^{[2] [7]}

Higgins received his big break when cast as outspoken barista Joe in the sitcom Ellen in 1994. ^[8] In 1997, he appeared in the Dave Foley film The Wrong Guy , which he also co-wrote with Foley and The Simpsons writer Jay Kogen.

Higgins is perhaps most well recognized for his roles as Craig Feldspar in Malcolm in the Middle and Mr. Bitters in Big Time Rush . He also guest starred on Nickelodeon's True Jackson, VP 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 series Mike & Molly , 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. ^[2] In 2004, Higgins was featured in a Hollywood edition of the Discovery Channel series Body Challenge , where he worked with a personal trainer. ^{[9] [10]} He is a fan of Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton. ^[2]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Hiding Out	Student	as David Higgins
1988	Tapeheads	Visual Aplomb	as Dave Higgins
1995	Coldblooded	Lance
	Payback	Jim Koval
1996	The Moravian Massacre	William Irvine	Documentary film
1997	The Wrong Guy	Detective Arlen	Also executive producer and writer
1998	Snake Eyes	Ned Campbell
2004	Three Blind Mice	Bruce Atkins / DMV Manager	Short film
2005	The Paperboy	Evil Project Manager #2	Short film; as David Higgins
2006	Venti Vice	Chip House	Short film; as David Higgins
2007	The Mediocre Samartan	Richard Paul Risvold	Short film
	When You Wish Upon a Fish	Shannon	Short film; as David Higgins
2008	The Great Buck Howard	Mark Simpson	as David Higgins
2010	Miss Nobody	Morty
2014	State of Bacon	Bacon Dreamer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989–1991	The Higgins Boys and Gruber	Self	Aired on The Comedy Channel, HBO's precursor to Comedy Central
1990	After the Shock	Lieutenant Rich Allen	Television film
1994–1998	Ellen	Joe Farrell	Main role; 102 episodes
1994	Trashed	Shane Gray	1 episode
1995–1998	NewsRadio	Manager / Santa	Guest role; 3 episodes
1996	Malcolm & Eddie	Bill Fontaine	Episode: "Pilot"
1998	The Pretender	Kidnapper	Episode: "Stolen"; as Dave Higgins
	The Army Show	Master Sgt. Dave Hopkins	Main role; 13 episodes
1999	Judging Amy	Detective Bob Redlich	Episode: "Last Tango in Hartford"
2000–2006	Malcolm in the Middle	Craig Feldspar	Recurring role; 39 episodes
2003	My Wife and Kids	Alexander Burns	Episode: "Graduation: Part 1"
2006	Misconceptions		Recurring role; 4 episodes, as Dave Higgins
	Help Me Help You	Dr. Al "Big Beat" Higgins	Guest role; 2 episodes
	American Men	Tyler	Television film
2007	Big Day	Francis	Guest role; 2 episodes
2008	Outsourced	Ronny	Unaired pilot
	True Jackson, VP	Dave	Episode: "Ryan on Wheels"
2009	In the Motherhood	Iceman	Episode: "Bully"
2009–2013	Big Time Rush	Reginald Bitters	Recurring role; 41 episodes
2011–2016	Mike & Molly	Harry	Recurring role; 27 episodes
2011	The Council of Dads	Troupe Leader	Television film
	Last Man Standing	Bill Calhoun	Episode: "Last Halloween Standing"
	American Horror Story: Murder House	Stan	Guest role; 3 episodes
2012	Californication	John	Episode: "JFK to LAX"
2013	Wendell & Vinnie	Ray	Episode: "Baseball and Bad Dates"
2014–2015	International Ghost Investigators	Dave	Main role; 11 episodes, also writer and creator
2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Janitor	Episode: "Mark Duplass Wears a Striped Sweater and Jeans"
2017	Mom	George	Episode: "Lockjaw and a Liquid Diet"
	School of Rock	Gooch	Episode: "Leader of the Band"
	Stan Against Evil	Sheriff	Episode: "Curse of the Werepony"
2020–2022	B Positive	Jerry	Recurring role (season 1); Main role (season 2)
2023	Call Me Kat	Jeff	3 episodes

References

1. "Marian Higgins Obituary (1932 - 2011) - Des Moines, IA - the Des Moines Register". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
2. Longden, Tom (2004-11-04). "Famous Iowans – David Anthony Higgins". desmoinesregister.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
3. Mendoza, N. f (1995-07-16). "WITH AN EYE ON . . . : David Anthony Higgins is right at home as 'Ellen's' resident cynic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
4. "Comic team outshines its material". Minneapolis Star-Tribune . 1988-01-09. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
5. Curtis, Jared (2012-02-23). "A laughing matter". dmcityview.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
6. Shirley, Don (1988-09-09). "Testing Negative' at McCadden Place; Comedy-Improv Group at Cast; 'Supreme Bean' at Haunted Studios; 'Thorns of Fire' at Act One Stage". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2013-01-25.
7. MacIntyre, April (2007-03-20). "M&C Interview: David Koechner/T-Bones, The Naked Trucker and 'Live At The Troubadour'". monstersandcritics.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
8. Menzoda, N. F. (1995-07-16). "WITH AN EYE ON . . . : David Anthony Higgins is right at home as 'Ellen's' resident cynic". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2013-01-25.
9. "Discovery Health's Body Challenge Goes to the Stars". cablefax.com. 2004-05-03. Archived from the original on 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
10. "Christopher Knight, David Anthony Higgins, Erik Estrada, Kym Whitley, Charlene Tilton, Susan Olsen in Production on Discovery Health Channel's BODY CHALLENGE: HOLLYWOOD". prnewswire.com. 2003-10-20. Retrieved 2013-01-25.

External links

• David Anthony Higgins on Twitter
• David Anthony Higgins at IMDb