Ray Romano

Romano was born in Queens, New York City, the second son of Luciana "Lucie" (née Fortini) (d. 2021), a piano teacher, and Albert Romano (1925–2010), a real estate agent and engineer.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/0/Ray-Romano.html|title=Ray Romano Biography (1957–)|work=Film Reference|access-date=April 12, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Albert-A.-Romano-88100334|title=Albert Romano Obituary| publisher=Tributes.com|date= March 12, 2010|access-date=March 28, 2015|archive-date=May 23, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200523011036/http://www.tributes.com/obituary/show/Albert-A.-Romano-88100334|url-status=live}} He is of Italian descent.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-television/pioneering-people/ray-romano/|title=Ray Romano: Standup to Sitcom |publisher=PBS|work=Pioneers of Television|access-date=January 11, 2018|language=en-US}} He grew up in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens.Strickland, Carol. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00EFDC1F3DF932A35751C1A960958260 "Can Sitcom Make It With L.I. Setting?"], The New York Times, December 1, 1996. Retrieved November 12, 2007. "For Everybody Loves Raymond, the route to Hollywood Hills began in Forest Hills, where Ray Romano, standup comedian and the star of the show, grew up." He has an older brother, Richard (born 1956), an NYPD sergeant, and a younger brother, Robert (born c. 1966), a second grade teacher in New York City.{{cite news|url= http://onlineathens.com/stories/050105/ent_20050501022.shtml|title=Ray Romano and his brothers see the humor in sibling rivalry – and they put it on paper|last=Critchell|first=Samantha|date=May 1, 2005|via=Online Athens|access-date=September 6, 2013|agency=Associated Press|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015102249/http://onlineathens.com/stories/050105/ent_20050501022.shtml|archive-date=October 15, 2013|quote=Robert, who, at 39, is still Bean to everyone, worked in public relations before becoming a second-grade teacher in New York City.}}

Romano attended elementary and middle school at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills. After transferring from Archbishop Molloy High School, Romano graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975.{{Cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800257587/bio|title=Yahoo Movies – Ray Romano|access-date=August 23, 2006}} He was in the same high school class as Fran Drescher. Before getting into show business, Romano briefly attended Queens College, in Flushing, New York, where he studied accounting.

His early comedy career started when he competed in the Johnnie Walker Comedy Search in 1989, directed by Saturday Night Live short film producer Neal Marshad and appeared on The Comedy Channel. His career included many outlets, such as Comedy Central, where he had been a recurring guest voice on the show Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. He also was a contestant on Star Search in the stand-up comedy category. He was cast to play Joe (originally named Rick) on the American television sitcom NewsRadio, but was fired and replaced with Greg Lee in the pilot and then Joe Rogan for the rest of the show. He then appeared on Late Show with David Letterman doing his stand up routine which formed his ties with CBS. Shortly thereafter, he became the star of his own show, Everybody Loves Raymond on CBS, that featured a cast and format more suitable to Romano's brand of humor. His work on the series earned him six Primetime Emmy Award nominations as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, a category he won in 2002. He also shared two Emmy Awards as an executive producer when his show won as Outstanding Comedy Series in 2003 and 2005.{{cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/award-search?search_api_views_fulltext=ray+romano&submit=Search&field_celebrity_details_field_display_name=&field_show_details_field_nominee_show_nr_title=&field_show_details_field_network=All&field_show_details_field_production_company=All&field_nominations_year%5Bmin%5D=&field_nominations_year%5Bmax%5D=&field_nominations_year_op=%3E%3D&field_nominations_year%5Bvalue%5D=1949-01-01&field_nominations_year_1%5Bmin%5D=&field_nominations_year_1%5Bmax%5D=&field_nominations_year_1_op=%3C%3D&field_nominations_year_1%5Bvalue%5D=2020-01-01&field_award_category=All|title=Ray Romano Primetime Emmy Awards and Nominations|publisher=Television Academy|access-date=July 16, 2020}}

Romano performed the opening monologue at the 1998 White House Correspondents' Association dinner.{{Cite web |title=Remarks at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-white-house-correspondents-association-dinner-1 |access-date=22 November 2022 |website=The American Presidency Project}}{{Cite web |last=Pace |first=Leah |date=16 April 2019 |title=White House Correspondents Dinner hosts from the year you were born |url=https://stacker.com/stories/2861/white-house-correspondents-dinner-hosts-year-you-were-born |access-date=22 November 2022 |website=Stacker}}

Romano and his comedian friend Kevin James starred in the salesman comedy Grilled as two average Joes of the same profession who are both desperate to land a big sale.

Romano was featured on a 2000 episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, on which he won $125,000 for the NYPD's D.A.R.E. unit.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} The following year, he and one of his brothers appeared on a New York Police Department recruiting poster.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

In 2004, Romano became the highest-paid television actor in history for his role of Raymond on CBS's Everybody Loves Raymond.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} The show broke another record by having the highest revenue, at $3.9 billion.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

On December 13, 2003, Romano was a guest star, sending a birthday card to Bob Barker for Barker's 80th birthday on the 27th "Million Dollar Spectacular" special of the CBS game show The Price Is Right.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Romano was the subject of the documentary film 95 Miles to Go. The film documents Romano's road trip for a series of rides across the south of the United States. The film was released in theaters on April 7, 2010, by ThinkFilm.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0428196/|title=95 Miles to Go|author=gavin6942|date=October 16, 2004|publisher=IMDb|access-date=April 12, 2015}} In August 2006 Romano was interviewed in front of a live audience at UCLA by fellow stand-up veteran David Steinberg, for an episode of Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg. The program first aired on the TV Land network in March 2007.

Romano returned to television with a new dramedy for TNT in 2008, Men of a Certain Age, which he co-created with former Everybody Loves Raymond writer Mike Royce. It co-starred Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher.

Romano made an appearance in the seventh season of NBC series The Office as Merv Bronte, a nervous job applicant interviewing for the job left vacant by Michael Scott.{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Matthew Aaron |date=23 March 2022 |title=The Office: 10 Best Cameos You Won't Forget |url=https://whatculture.com/tv/the-office-10-best-cameos-you-wont-forget?page=3 |access-date=22 November 2022 |website=WhatCulture}}

Romano made an appearance in the third-season premiere of the ABC sitcom The Middle as Nicky, a friend of Mike, who ruined his and Frankie's honeymoon. Romano was the second actor from Everybody Loves Raymond to be reunited with Patricia Heaton on The Middle; Doris Roberts guest starred in three episodes.

He joined the cast of Parenthood beginning with its fourth season premiere.{{cite magazine|first= Lynette|last= Rice|title='Parenthood' scoop: Ray Romano to guest star|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/06/19/parenthood-scoop-ray-romano-to-guest-star/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=June 19, 2012|access-date=October 25, 2019}}{{cite web|last=Mitovich|first=Matt Webb|url=https://tvline.com/2013/06/20/parenthood-season-5-ray-romano-returns-as-hank/|title=Parenthood: Ray Romano Books Season 5 Encore|work=TVLine|date=June 20, 2013|access-date=June 22, 2013}} He became a semi regular, playing photographer Hank Rizzoli, who hired and later had a romantic relationship with Sarah Braverman and developed a friendship with her nephew who has Asperger syndrome. The role was specifically created for him after he expressed his love for the series and met with creator Jason Katims on the set of Friday Night Lights.{{cite web|last=Fernandez|first=Maria Elena|title=Ray Romano is happy to be playing on Team Max on 'Parenthood'|url=http://www.today.com/entertainment/ray-romano-happy-be-playing-team-max-parenthood-2D11771620|publisher=Today.com|access-date=January 4, 2013|date=January 2, 2013}}

In 2002, Romano voiced the woolly mammoth Manny in the animated Blue Sky Studios film Ice Age. He has since reprised the role in four sequels: Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), and Ice Age: Collision Course (2016), along with two TV specials, and is set to return for sixth film in 2026.

From 2017 to 2019, Romano played a leading role in three seasons of the MGM+ television show Get Shorty, created by Davey Holmes and co-starring Chris O'Dowd.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5761496/-Get-Shorty Get Shorty]

In 2019, Romano starred in the Netflix comedy film Paddleton and portrayed mob lawyer Bill Bufalino in Martin Scorsese's The Irishman.{{cite web |last=Nordine |first=Michael |date=February 21, 2018 |title=The Duplass Brothers Shot a Secret Movie With Ray Romano as Part of a Four-Picture Deal With Netflix |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/02/duplass-brothers-netflix-ray-romano-1201931185/ |website=IndieWire |access-date=February 24, 2018}}

Romano is set to play Jim Valvano in an upcoming film about him.{{cite web |last=Cain |first=Brooke |date=May 10, 2022 |title=Ray Romano will play Jimmy V in new movie about NC State basketball coach |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/article261279102.html |website=The News & Observer |accessdate=May 11, 2022}}

File:Ray Romano at the 2010 WSOP.jpg main event]]

Romano competed in the World Series of Poker in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2023.

In early 2010, Romano starred in the second season of The Golf Channel's original series The Haney Project in which Tiger Woods' former coach Hank Haney attempts to improve the golf games of different celebrities and athletes. Romano's goal was to finish the show being able to break 80.{{cite web|url=http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/comedian-ray-romano-star-golf-channels-hank-haney-project-series-32148/|title=Comedian Ray Romano to star in next season of Haney Project|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927193647/http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/comedian-ray-romano-star-golf-channels-hank-haney-project-series-32148/|archive-date=September 27, 2009}} Romano took time off from the show to be with his father, Albert Romano, who died in March 2010. Romano is also a regular competitor in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he finished fifth in 2012 with his partner, Australian professional Steven Bowditch. It was the first time Romano had qualified for the final round after failing to do so on 11 successive occasions. He also competes annually in the American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament owned by NBC and held at Lake Tahoe{{cite web|url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/Pairings-at-the-celebrity-Tahoe-event-that-we-d-8382477.php|title=Pairings at the celebrity Tahoe event that we'd like to see|last=Saracevic|first=Al|website=San Francisco Chronicle|date=July 16, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://tahoesouth.com/blog/hollywood_nfl_nba_nhl_superstars_compete_like_golf_pros_for_american_centur/|title=Hollywood, National Football League, National Basketball Association, NHL superstars compete like golf pros for American Century Championship title|last=Hartley|first=Georgette|website=Lake Tahoe Blog|date=July 17, 2012}} each July.

Romano married his wife, Anna Scarpulla, in 1987. They met while working at the same bank.{{cite web|url= https://people.com/archive/home-truths-vol-46-no-16/|title=Home Truths|last=Gliatto|first=Tom|work=People|date=October 14, 1996|access-date=February 15, 2017}} They have four children,{{cite web |title=Ray Romano Poses with Wife Anna and Their 4 Kids in Rare Red Carpet Appearance at Premiere of 'No Good Deed' |url=https://people.com/ray-romano-poses-with-wife-anna-and-their-four-kids-on-the-red-carpet-8756594 |website=People.com |date=December 5, 2024}} and they own a property in La Quinta, California.{{Cite news |last=Richards |first=Bailey |date=13 December 2023 |title=Ray Romano Jokes He Has to Make Ice Age 6 After Building 'Not Cheap' Desert Home with Nate Berkus |url=https://people.com/ray-romano-gives-a-tour-of-his-la-quinta-california-home-8415626 |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=People}}{{Cite news |last=Wallace |first=Rachel |date=12 December 2023 |title=Inside Ray Romano’s Desert Hideaway Designed by Nate Berkus |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/inside-ray-romanos-desert-hideaway-designed-by-nate-berkus |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=Architectural Digest}} Romano's character's daughter on Everybody Loves Raymond was named after his real life daughter, Alexandra "Ally" Romano. Also, in the series pilot, Ray and Debra's twin boys were named Gregory and Matthew, after Romano's real life twin sons, but Romano felt it was inconvenient to have all his television children have the same names as his real children and changed the twins' names to Geoffrey and Michael onscreen. He also said his brother was not pleased with Ray Barone's television brother.{{cite news|url=http://www.ohio.com/the330entertainment/heldenfels/mailbag-unforgettable-to-return-for-third-season-in-summer-2014-1.433679|title=Mailbag: 'Unforgettable' to return for third season in summer 2014|last=Heldenfels|first=Rich|work=Akron Beacon Journal|date=October 2, 2013|access-date=March 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015035459/http://www.ohio.com/the330entertainment/heldenfels/mailbag-unforgettable-to-return-for-third-season-in-summer-2014-1.433679|archive-date=October 15, 2013}}

Romano's family has made various appearances in the show. Romano's daughter made several appearances on Everybody Loves Raymond as Molly, the best friend of his on screen daughter, Ally, and the daughter of Ray Barone's nemesis, Peggy the Cookie Lady. Romano's father, Albert Romano, has made various appearances as Albert, one of Frank Barone's lodge buddies in various episodes, such as "Debra at the Lodge", and "Boys' Therapy". Romano's brother, Richard Romano, appeared in the episodes "Golf For It", "Just a Formality", and "The Toaster". Romano's wife, Anna, appeared as one of the moms in the background at Geoffrey and Michael's school in season 6's episode titled "The Angry Family".{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

In February 2012, Romano revealed that his wife, Anna, had successfully battled stage one breast cancer in 2010. Romano told People magazine that "the reason we're going public is to share our experience, yeah, but to have an effect. Our goal is to help people."{{cite web |last=Messer |first=Lesley |date=February 8, 2012 |title=Ray Romano: My Wife Beat Breast Cancer |url=http://m.people.com/bb/newsitem.rbml?item=20568358&feed=2%5Burl%3DdlUrl%5D&dlUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.people.com%2Fpeople%2Fmediarss%2Fmobile%2Farticle%2F0%252C%252C20568358%252C00.xml |work=People |access-date=February 8, 2012}}

Romano was close friends with Doris Roberts, who played Marie Barone, Ray Barone's mother, on Everybody Loves Raymond. At the time of her death, Romano said he was inspired by her desire to continue learning throughout her life. She also served as a mentor, helping him to feel more comfortable on set.{{cite web |title="She Made Me": Ray Romano Credits Late Doris Roberts for Turning Him Into the Actor He is Today |url=http://www.closerweekly.com/posts/ray-romano-doris-roberts-exclusive-100208 |website=Closer Weekly |date=April 27, 2016 |access-date=September 29, 2017}}

In addition to his roles as star and producer of Everybody Loves Raymond, Romano also co-wrote the following episodes:

;Season one

• "Why Are We Here?" (with Tom Paris)

;Season two

• "Golf" (with Tom Caltabiano and Kevin James)
• "The Wedding" (with Philip Rosenthal)

;Season three

• "Ray Home Alone" (with Tucker Cawley)
• "How They Met" (with Philip Rosenthal)

;Season four

• "Debra's Workout" (with Tom Caltabiano and Mike Royce)
• "Bad Moon Rising" (with Philip Rosenthal)

;Season five

• "Super Bowl" (with Mike Royce)

;Season six

• "Jealous Robert" (with Tom Caltabiano)
• "Talk to Your Daughter" (with Tucker Cawley)
• "The First Time" (with Tom Caltabiano and Mike Royce)

;Season seven

• "She's the One" (with Philip Rosenthal)
• "The Bachelor Party" (with Mike Royce and Tom Caltabiano)

;Season nine

• "Angry Sex" (with Lew Schneider and Mike Scully)

;Season one

• "Pilot" (with Mike Royce)
• "Let It Go" (with Mike Royce)
• "Back in the Shit" (teleplay) with Mike Royce

;Season two

• "If I Could, I Surely Would" (with Mike Royce)

• Live at Carnegie Hall (2001, Columbia) - CD

• Everything and a Kite (non-fiction) (1999)
• Raymie, Dickie and the Bean (children's) (2005)
• Everybody Loves Raymond: Our Family Album (2004)

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• {{Official website|https://www.rayromano.com/}}
• {{IMDb name|0005380}}

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Category:1957 births

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