Raymond Albert “Ray” Romano is a renowned American actor, stand-up comedian, and screenwriter. He is popularly known for the portrayal of the character of Raymond in the famed sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. He has lent his voice to the animated character, Manny in the successful Ice Age franchise.
Early Life
Romano was born in Queens, New York, to Albert Romano, who was a real estate agent, and Lucie, a piano teacher. He grew up in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens and has two siblings. His elder brother, Richard, is a sergeant with the NYPD, and his younger brother Robert, is a second grade teacher. The actor studied elementary and middle school at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forrest Hills and graduated from the Hillcrest High School in 1975. He later attended the Queens College, where he studied accounting, only to quit after gaining 15 credits in three years.
Personal Life
Romano is married to Anna Scarpulla; the duo met while they were colleagues in a bank. The couple married on October 11, 1987 and has four children: Alexandra (1990), twins Matthew and George (1993), and Joseph (1998).
TV Career
In 1989, early in his career, Romano competed in the Jonnie Walker Comedy Search, which was directed by Neal Marshad. Before rising to fame for his performance as Raymond in the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Romano worked in several TV shows. He was a recurring guest voice artist for the show Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, and was also a contestant on Star Search in the stand-up comedy category. He was also supposed to be a part of the sitcom NewsRadio, however, he was replaced by Joe Rogan. He later performed his routine stand-up comedy on the Late Show with David Letterman. This paved way for his relationship with CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), which later broadcasted the successful sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. As the show became popular, Romano became the highest paid television actor.

In 1996, CBS aired the first season of Everybody Loves Raymond, where Romano played the title character, Raymond Barone. The sitcom was immensely successful and completed 9 seasons; the final episode of the sitcom was aired on 16th May 2005. Romano’s performance in the show earned him six Emmy Award nominations, five Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, and two Golden Globe nominations; he won the Emmy Award in 2002.

Romano also featured in the 2000th episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, winning US$125000, which he donated to the NYPD’s D.A.R.E. Unit. In 2006, Romano was interviewed by a fellow stand-up comedian, David Steinberg, in one of the episodes of 'Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg'.

In 2008, Romano returned to television and appeared in the dramedy, Men of a Certain Age, which aired on TNT. Although the show received positive response, it was cancelled after the first two seasons. Romano was later seen in The Office, and The Middle. In 2010, Romano also appeared in the second season of The Hanley Project, a series aired on The Golf Channel. He is also a regular competitor in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, a professional golf tournament, and even today he competes in the celebrity golf tournament and American Century Championship.

In 2012, Romano was cast as photographer, Hank Rizzoli in the TV series Parenthood. It was later revealed that the show’s creator, Jason Katims, specifically wrote the character for Romano after the latter expressed his love for the show to Katims on the sets of Friday Night Lights. Apart from acting, Romano has also written several episodes for Everybody Loves Raymond, and Men of a Certain Age.
Movie Career
Romano was cast to give the voice for the character Manfred aka Manny, a woolly mammoth, for the film Ice Age (2002). He went on to voice for the character in the subsequent installments of the movie viz. Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Ice Age: Dawn of Dinosaurs (2009), and Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012).

In 2004, Romano was featured in a TV movie, 95 Miles to Go, which documents Romano’s standup comedy tour of the South. Later, in 2006, Romano also appeared in the movie Grilled along with his comedian friend, Kevin James. The movie never received a theathrical release and was only released as a video.

In 2016, Romano, lent his voice for the character of Manny in the next installment of the Ice Age series, Ice Age: Collision Course. His 2017 movie includes, The Big Sick, directed by Michael Showalter.