A former bank teller and futon delivery guy from Forest Hills, NY, Ray Romano went to an open-mic in 1984. His success there led to more opportunities to share his unique take on being a husband and father, eventually landing on Late Night with David Letterman. In 1995, after leaving a role on the NBC pilot Newsradio, Romano struck gold: Letterman's company World Wide Pants offered him a development deal. In 1996, Romano turned into Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond - a title which Romano is said not to have liked at the beginning.

Romano transformed his personal experiences into one of the most beloved sitcoms of the last two decades. Like his character Ray Barone, Romano's brother is a policeman who at the time was living with his parents - and his parents actually did live across the street. In fact, Romano lived with his parents until he was 29.

Like the TV Ray, Romano has a daughter and twin boys. In fact, the boys' names in the pilot aren't Michael and Geoffrey - they are Matthew and Gregory, Romano's sons' names. Daughter Ally Romano shows up in some episodes as Ally Barone's friend Molly.

Romano is a three-time Emmy winner for his work on Everybody Loves Raymond (once as an actor, twice as series co-creator.) He is also the 2002 and 2003 People's Choice Award winner for Favorite Male TV Performer. As one of TV Guide's Top 10 TV Dads of all time, the role of Ray Barone has garnered Romano two Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations as well as a shared win with the rest of the cast for the 2003 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Other Barone-fueled accolades include a American Comedy Award as the Funniest Male Lead in a TV Series, a Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy, and the TV Guide Award as Actor of the Year in a Comedy Series.

A writer of many of the classic Everybody Loves Raymond episodes, Romano joined forces with Raymond writer Mike Royce to create the 2009 TNT show Men of a Certain Age. Romano is known to family audiences worldwide as the voice of Manny the Mammoth in the Ice Age trilogy. He's also the author of Everything and a Kite, a published version of his stand-up routine. He lives with his wife and four kids in L.A.

Character Bio

A former futon-delivery boy, Ray Barone has become an award-winning sports writer for New York's Long Island-area newspaper Newsday. He lives in Lynbrook, NY with his wife Debra, his daughter Ally and his twin sons, Michael and Geoffrey. His parents and older brother live across the street from Ray and his family, and are the definition of intrusive.

Ray can't stand being disliked and certainly does not like conflict, especially with brutish, cookie-wielding Scout Troop leaders. But he can reach his breaking point with his parents - like when they drive their car into Ray and Debra's house.

He's close with buddies Andy and Gianni and enjoys eating pizza at Nemo's. He is not a fan of disciplining his kids and is known to do anything to bed his wife. But he rarely helps with any cooking or cleaning. When he does try, it sometimes has disastrous consequences - don't let him buy tissues. When it comes to Debra, his intentions adnd actions often misfire. He renews his vows with her, but only after he tapes over their wedding video with the Superbowl. When they have a war of wills over a suitcase, he is not above using a plastic bag as a suitcase to prove a point.

His Dad and brother make fun of his big nose and his whiny voice, though his brother affectionately calls him "Cubby" (and Dad calls him "Nancy"). Often, problems in the family somehow end up being his fault, though he often uses family crises to his advantage, like when his mother and wife are in a legendary conflict during Mother's Day.

But Raymond, on some level, expects everybody to love him, perhaps because his mother loves him most of all. It is a smothering relationship, but one that provides an endless supply of comedic situations.