KEVIN JAMES At The St. Louis Red Carpet Premiere of THE ZOOKEEPER

Donkeys, llamas, eagles, and snakes were at the St. Louis Zoo yesterday to greet actor Kevin James, along with several hundred human fans of the PAUL BLART MALL COP star. They lined the red carpet on a hot Wednesday morning to catch a glimpse of the actor who was in town for the premier of his new comedy ZOOKEEPER which was screened inside the Zoo’s Living World Center at 10am. This is the first time our city’s Zoo has hosted a movie premiere and it went well. Additional animals in attendance included several St. Louis Blues hockey players, Adam Wainwright and Jack Clark from the baseball Cardinals, The Loop’s Joe Edwards, some guy from The Bachelorette, and Channel 2’s Tim Ezell in a gorilla suit. Kevin James arrived on the Zoo train and graciously signed autographs and mingled with fans. I didn’t see him talk to any animals like he does in the movie, but he seemed like a friendly, approachable guy and seemed to be having a good time. He spoke briefly before the film and claims he chose the St. Louis Zoo for the premiere because it’s the “best free zoo in the country”. I wonder how he knows that. Congrats to the gang at Allied Advertising for pulling off this fun event. ZOOKEEPER, which co-stars Rosario Dawson (unfortunately not at the Zoo yesterday) opens next Friday, July 8^th.