RAY ROMANO
Date of Birth: December 21, 1957
Born and raised in Queens, New York, Romano had originally planned to become
an accountant, but started his career on stage as a stand up comic. After
taking a chance in 1984, he found the stage experience addictive, and while
doing odd jobs during the day, he would entertain at night. After ten years
on the circuit, he made his first television appearance on The Tonight Show
with Johnny Carson. It was just the boost he needed.
While still touring the States, he returned to perform guest spots on The
Tonight Show with Carson, followed by Jay Leno, and finally on David
Letterman's late night show. Impressed with Romano's talent, Letterman had
his production company help Romano create his own sitcom, Everybody Loves
Raymond. The sitcom, which began in 1996, revolved around a sportswriter
and his family, who happen to live close to his extended family.
The popular show quickly made its way up the ratings and earned numerous
awards and nominations from the Golden Globes and the Emmys, as well as the
American Comedy Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
In 2002, with his show still going strong, Romano decided to work on other projects on the side, including voicing Manfred the Mammoth in the animated feature film Ice Age. His first starring role in a live action motion picture was in Welcome to Mooseport (2004). Unfortunately, the film was unsuccessful both with critics and the movie-going public and wasn't even able to make its money back at the box office. He joined an all-star cast for his next film—the ensemble black comedy Eulogy (2004).
After Romano's popular series came to an end in 2005, he took on a role in the 2009 TNT series Men of a Certain Age. He has also continued his work in film with the 2008 romantic drama The Last Word alongside Winona Ryder and Wes Bentley as well as the two sequels Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) and Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012).
Romano, who won the People's Choice award for Favorite Male TV Performer three years in a row (2002-2004), lives with his wife and four children in Los Angeles.
Filmography:
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) (voice)
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) (voice)
The Last Word(2008)
The Grand(2007)
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006) (voice)
Grilled(2006)
Eulogy(2004)
Welcome to Mooseport(2004)
Ice Age (2002) (voice)
El Anima de Sayula (1982)