Ray Romano facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ray Romano
Romano at the Voice Awards 2014
Birth name	Raymond Albert Romano
Born	(1957-12-21) December 21, 1957 (age 67) New York City, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up television film
Genres	Observational comedy slapstick
Spouse	Anna Scarpulla ​ (m. 1987)​
Children	4

Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is most famous for playing Raymond "Ray" Barone in the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005). For this role, he won three Primetime Emmy Awards. He also voiced Manny the woolly mammoth in the popular Ice Age movies. Ray Romano has been nominated for other awards, including two Grammy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

He also created and starred in the TV show Men of a Certain Age (2009–2011). From 2012 to 2015, Romano played Hank Rizzoli in the NBC series Parenthood. Later, he was in the movie The Big Sick (2017) and played a lawyer named Bill Bufalino in the crime film The Irishman (2019). From 2017 to 2019, he played Rick Moreweather in the TV show Get Shorty.

Early Life and Education

Ray Romano was born in Queens, New York City. He is the second son of Luciana "Lucie" Fortini, who was a piano teacher, and Albert Romano, who was a real estate agent and engineer. His family comes from Italy. He grew up in the Forest Hills area of Queens.

He has an older brother named Richard, who is a sergeant with the NYPD. He also has a younger brother named Robert, who is a second-grade teacher in New York City.

Romano went to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs for elementary and middle school. He later graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975. He was in the same high school class as actress Fran Drescher. Before becoming famous, Romano studied accounting for a short time at Queens College.

Ray Romano's Career Highlights

Ray Romano's comedy career began when he entered a comedy competition in 1989. He appeared on The Comedy Channel. He was also a voice actor on the show Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. He even competed on Star Search in the stand-up comedy category.

He was first chosen for a role in the TV show NewsRadio but was later replaced. After that, he performed his stand-up comedy on Late Show with David Letterman. This led to his own show, Everybody Loves Raymond, on CBS. The show became very popular.

His work on Everybody Loves Raymond earned him many awards. He won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2002. He also won two Emmy Awards as an executive producer when his show was named Outstanding Comedy Series in 2003 and 2005.

In 2000, Romano appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He won $125,000 for the NYPD's D.A.R.E. program.

In 2002, Romano started voicing Manny the woolly mammoth in the animated film Ice Age. He continued to voice Manny in all the sequels: Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), and Ice Age: Collision Course (2016).

In 2008, Romano returned to television with a new show called Men of a Certain Age for TNT. He created this show with Mike Royce, who also wrote for Everybody Loves Raymond. The show also starred Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher.

Romano also appeared in the seventh season of The Office. He played Merv Bronte, a nervous person applying for a job. He also appeared in the third season of The Middle as Nicky, a friend of the character Mike.

He joined the cast of Parenthood in its fourth season. He played Hank Rizzoli, a photographer who had a romantic relationship with Sarah Braverman. He also became friends with her nephew, who has Asperger syndrome. This role was created for him because he loved the show.

From 2017 to 2019, Romano had a main role in the TV show Get Shorty. In 2019, he starred in the Netflix movie Paddleton. He also played mob lawyer Bill Bufalino in Martin Scorsese's movie The Irishman.

Ray Romano is also set to play Jim Valvano in an upcoming film about him.

Competitions and Hobbies

Romano at the 2010 World Series of Poker main event

Ray Romano enjoys playing poker. He has competed in the World Series of Poker several times, including in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2023.

He also enjoys golf. In 2010, Romano was on a TV show called The Haney Project. In this show, golf coach Hank Haney tried to help celebrities improve their golf game. Romano's goal was to be able to score under 80. He also plays in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament every year. He finished fifth in 2012 with his partner, Steven Bowditch.

Personal Life and Family

Ray Romano married Anna Scarpulla in 1987. They met while working at the same bank. They have four children.

Romano's TV show Everybody Loves Raymond was inspired by his real family life. His character's daughter on the show, Ally, was named after his real-life daughter, Alexandra. In the show's first episode, Ray and Debra's twin boys were named Gregory and Matthew, just like Romano's real twin sons. However, he later changed the TV twins' names to Geoffrey and Michael.

Members of Romano's real family have appeared on Everybody Loves Raymond. His daughter appeared as Molly, the best friend of Ally on the show. His father, Albert Romano, appeared as Albert, one of Frank Barone's friends. His brother, Richard Romano, also appeared in some episodes. His wife, Anna, appeared as one of the moms in a school scene.

In 2012, Romano shared that his wife, Anna, had successfully fought breast cancer in 2010. They decided to share their story to help other people.

Romano was also very close friends with Doris Roberts. She played Marie Barone, Ray Barone's mother, on Everybody Loves Raymond. He said she inspired him to keep learning throughout his life. She also helped him feel more comfortable while filming the show.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Video Games

Writing Credits

For Everybody Loves Raymond

Ray Romano helped write these episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond:

Season one

• "Why Are We Here?"

Season two

• "Golf"
• "The Wedding"

Season three

• "Ray Home Alone"
• "How They Met"

Season four

• "Debra's Workout"
• "Bad Moon Rising"

Season five

• "Super Bowl"

Season six

• "Jealous Robert"
• "Talk to Your Daughter"
• "The First Time"

Season seven

• "She's the One"
• "The Bachelor Party"

For Men of a Certain Age

Season one

• "Pilot"
• "Let It Go"
• "Back in the ..."

Season two

• "If I Could, I Surely Would"

Discography

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

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Ray Romano para niños