Ray Romano

Actor

Career Highlights:  Ray Romano is best known as the Emmy Award-winning actor and comedian who starred in the CBS hit comedy “Everybody Loves Raymond,” (1996-2005) …Romano’s film credits include “Welcome to Mooseport,” “Eulogy” and “Grilled”…Also, was recently seen in “The Last Word” and “The Grand”…Romano can also be heard as Manny, the woolly mammoth in the hit animated movies, “Ice Age” and “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown” and the to-be-released “Ice Age 3” in 2009…An avid golfer, Romano starred along with Kevin James in an HBO documentary titled “Making the Cut,” about their quest to qualify for the PGA Tour’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am Golf Tournament…Romano’s life is a true-to-life story of dreams coming true…He began an exhausting decade-long struggle to succeed as a standup comedian while holding several odd jobs including futon mattress delivery man…He got his break when he won a New York City standup comedy competition in 1989…Following that success, Romano’s regular appearances at comedy clubs throughout the country led to guest spots on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and later with Jay Leno…An appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman” led to Letterman recognizing his talent and offering him a development deal with his production company leading to the evolution of his hit show “Everybody Loves Raymond”…From his role in the show, Romano won the 2002 Emmy Award as outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series…He was also nominated in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003…His other honors include the 2002 and 2003 People’s Choice Award as Favorite Male TV Performer…Additional nominations include the Golden Glove for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy Series in 2000 and 2001 and for the 2002 AFI Actor of the Year Award for a Male in a Series…His role in the series earned him nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards and he shared the 2003 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series…He won a TV Guide Award as Actor of the Year in a Comedy Series, and American Comedy Award as the Funniest male lead in a TV Series and the 1999 Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy…Romano is the author of the book “Everything and a Kite” based on his comedy…He released a CD titled Ray Romano:  Live at Carnegie Hall (CD was nominated for a Grammy Award) and donated all of its proceeds to the September 11 Fund.

Updated: May, 2008
Courtesy NBC