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Ray Romano (born 1957) is a stand-up comedia, actor and screenwriter. He is best know for his role on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, which ran for 9 seasons on CBS in 1996-2005, and for which he recieved an Emmy Award.
After Everybody Loves Raymond, Romano created and starred in the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age (2009-2011). In 2012-2015, he played Sarah Braverman’s love interest Hank Rizzoli in Parenthood.
Romano has also made appearances on the big screen, such as in the highly successful independent movie “The Big Slick” (2017).
Since 2002, Romano has voiced of the mammoth Manny in the still on-going Ice Age film series franchise.
Background
Raymond Albert Romano was born in Queen, New York City, in 1957, and grew up in Queen’s Forest Hills neighborhood. He is of Italian descent. His father, Albert Romano (1925-2010), was real estate agent and engineer, and his mother, Lucie Romano (née Fortini), was a piano teacher.
His older brother Richard, born in 1956, is a NYPD sergeant. His younger brother Robert is a school teacher in New York City.
Raymond Romano attended elementary and middle school at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills. He then proceeded to Archbishop Molloy High School, before transferring to Hillcrest High School from which he graduated in 1975. At Hillcrest, he was in the same class as Fran Drescher.
Romano briefly studied accounting at Queens College in Flushing, before getting into show business.
Show busienss career
Before Everybody Loves Raymond
Ramon got his comed career started by participating in the 1989 Johnnie Walker Comedy Search, which appeared on the The Comedy Channel.
Prior to getting his big break with Everybody Loves Raymond, he appeared in various TV-shows, such as Star Search and Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. His stand-up performance at the Late Show with David Letterman got him the attention of CBS, which eventually resulted in him becoming the star of Everybody Loves Raymond.
Everybody Loves Raymond
Raymond starred in the Philip Rosethal-created sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996 to 2005. Most episodes of the nine season series were filmed in front of a live studio audience.
Romano’s work on the series earned him an Emmy Award, an American Film Institue Award, three American Comedy Awards, and four People’ Choice Awards. The show itself also got two Emmy Awards.
In 2001, Romano was named one of E!’s top 20 entertainers of the year.
In 2004, he became the highest-paid television actor in history.
After Everybody Loves Raymond
Here are a few examples of what Ray Romano has been up to after Everybody Loves Raymond (ELR).
- Together with his friend Kevin James, he starred in the comedy film Grilled (2006).
- He co-created the 2008 TNT comedy-drama TV-series Men of a Certain Age with former ELR writer Mike Royce.
- He was the subject of the documentary film 95 Miles to Go, which premiered in 2010. The film follows Romano as he travels across the southern United States doing stand-up comedy.
- In 2010, he starred in the second season of The Golf Channel’s series The Haney Project.
- He has made guest appearances in tv series such as NBC’s The Office (7th season) and ABC’s The Middle (3rd season).
- From 2011, he was a semi-regular in the show Parenthood.
- He has continued his work voicing the woolly mammoth Manny in the Ice Age franchise, which started in 2002.
- Since 2017, he’s been starring in the comedy-drama TV-series Get Shorty.
Family
Ray Romano has been married to Anna Scarpulla since 1987. They met while working at the same bank. Together, they have four children.
- His daughter Alexandra (Ally) has played Molly in ELR, the best friend of his on-screendaughter Ally.
- His wife Anna appeared as an extra in the ELR season 6 episode “The Angry Family”. She can be seen as one of the moms in the background at the school.
- His father Albert Romano played his on-screen father’s lodge buddy in several ELR episodes.
- His brother Richardo Romano can be seen in the ELR episodes “Golf For It”, “Just a Formality” and “The Toaster”.