Romano, Ray

▪ 2004

      American actor-comedian Ray Romano, who starred as prime-time television's regular dad on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, had reason to feel loved in 2003. CBS agreed to pay Romano nearly $50 million for the 2003–04 season and granted the show a two-year renewal, even though Romano had indicated that the upcoming season would likely be its last. Everybody Loves Raymond, after a quiet but critically successful debut in 1996, leapfrogged in the ratings when it was moved to Monday night in 1997, even as it competed for viewers with Monday Night Football. Known for its witty and insightful portrayal of the quotidian travails of family life, the show was nominated for the Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series each year from 1999 to 2003. For his role as the bumbling Ray Barone, Romano received the 2002 Emmy Award for best actor in a comedy series and the 2000 American Comedy Award for funniest male lead in a television series, as well as nominations for Golden Globe awards, Screen Actor's Guild Awards, and other honours.

      Raymond Romano was born on Dec. 21, 1957, in Queens, N.Y. His upbringing in the middle-class Forest Hills section 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 valuable exposure, and in 1990 Romano made his first national television appearance on the MTV Half-Hour Comedy Hour. It was an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in 1995, however, that heralded the beginning of his trajectory to superstardom. 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 the following year.

      Having established himself at the pinnacle of American television comedy, Romano extended his humour to the big screen. In 2002 he starred as the voice of Manfred, a woolly mammoth that helps return a human baby to its father, in the animated feature Ice Age. In the dark comedy Eulogy (2003), he was cast as the maladjusted eldest son mourning the death of the family patriarch. Filming was completed in the summer of 2003 for Welcome to Mooseport, a comedy about a small-town political race in which Romano costarred with Gene Hackman. Romano also wrote a book, Everything and a Kite (1998), and released an album, Ray Romano: Live at Carnegie Hall (2001).

Janet Moredock

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▪ American comedian and actor

byname of  Raymond Romano 

born Dec. 21, 1957, Queens, N.Y., U.S.

      American comedian and actor who was 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, N.Y., 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.

      It was an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman (Letterman, David) 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 Sept. 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 extended his humour to roles in film, beginning in 2002 as the voice of Manfred, a woolly mammoth that helps return a human baby to its father, in the animated feature Ice Age. In the dark comedy Eulogy (2004), he was cast as the maladjusted eldest son mourning the death of the family patriarch. Romano also appeared in Welcome to Mooseport (2004), a comedy about a small-town political race in which Romano costarred with Gene Hackman (Hackman, Gene), and he voiced Manfred in Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006). In addition to his acting, Romano wrote Everything and a Kite (1998) and released the album Ray Romano: Live at Carnegie Hall (2001).

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