American comedian and actor
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Also known as: Raymond Romano
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: •Article History
Romano, Ray
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- Byname of:
- Raymond Romano
- Born:
- December 21, 1957, Queens, New York, U.S. (age 66)
- Awards And Honors:
- Emmy Award (2002)
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Ray Romano (born December 21, 1957, Queens, New York, U.S.) is an American comedian and actor perhaps best known as the bumbling well-intentioned father in the television show Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005), a witty and insightful portrayal of the quotidian travails of family life.
Romano’s upbringing in the middle-class Forest Hills section of Queens, New York, would later prove a rich mine for the wholesome family-friendly humour that became the comedian’s trademark. In the early 1980s, while studying to be an accountant and holding down a series of part-time jobs, Romano began performing stand-up comedy in New York clubs. In 1987 he decided to pursue stand-up as a career. Winning a citywide comedy contest in 1989 brought him valuable exposure, and in 1990 Romano made his first national television appearance on MTV’s Half-Hour Comedy Hour.
Britannica QuizPop Culture QuizIt was an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1995, however, that marked a turning point for Romano. Letterman was so impressed with his guest that he had his production company, Worldwide Pants Inc., develop a situation comedy around Romano’s humour. The first episode of Everybody Loves Raymond aired on September 13, 1996, and by the following year it was consistently among the most-watched shows on American television. The sitcom was frequently nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series and won the honour in 2003 and 2005. For his role, Romano received the 2002 Emmy for best actor in a comedy series. After nine seasons, Everybody Loves Raymond ended its run in 2005. Romano later starred in the series Men of a Certain Age (2009–11), about a trio of male friends facing the challenges of middle age. Romano joined the cast of the television dramedy Parenthood in 2012 and continued with the series until it ended in 2015.
In the early 21st century Romano extended his humour to roles in film, beginning with the voice of Manfred, a woolly mammoth who helps return a human baby to its father, in the animated feature Ice Age (2002); he reprised the character in four sequels (2006, 2009, 2012, and 2016). In the dark comedy Eulogy (2004) he was cast as the maladjusted eldest son mourning the death of the family patriarch. That year he also appeared in Welcome to Mooseport, about a small-town political race, starring with Gene Hackman. Romano played a tabloid reporter in the dark comedy Rob the Mob (2014). His other film credits included The Big Sick (2017).
Romano returned to television as a record promoter in HBO’s short-lived Vinyl (2016), about the 1970s music scene in New York City, and then as a washed-up movie producer in Get Shorty (2017– ). His first comedy special in over two decades, Ray Romano: Right Here, Around the Corner, premiered on Netflix in 2019. That same year Romano was cast in the movie Paddleton, playing a bachelor whose similarly unmarried friend is diagnosed with a terminal illness, and he played an attorney in Martin Scorsese’s mob drama The Irishman.
In addition to his acting, Romano wrote Everything and a Kite (1998) and released the album Ray Romano: Live at Carnegie Hall (2001).
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
