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Biography
A true-to-life case of childhood dreams coming true, one gets the impression that the success of humble comedian turned actor Ray Romano is more of a surprise to him than it is to those who supported him in his years as a struggling futon deliveryman moonlighting in standup. Born in Queens, NY, in 1957 and raised in nearby Forest Hills, Queens, Romano found happiness early in life by tickling the funny bones of family, friends, and of course, girls. The middle child of three sons, the aspiring funnyman refined his comic talents when he formed the bravely titled "No Talent" comedy troupe at age 16 to the delight of the congregation they regularly performed for. Romano later put his spotlight aspirations on hold when he enrolled in Queens College as an accountants major after graduating high school in 1975. Dabbling in odd jobs as he developed his stage skills on the late-night comedy circuit, Romano began an exhausting decade-long struggle to succeed as a standup while holding a more reliable day job. Married to wife Anna in the mid-'80s, Romano decided to pursue comedy full-time in 1987. It was shortly after winning a N.Y.C. radio station-sponsored comedy contest two years later that Romano acquired a manager and his dreams began to become a reality. One of those dreams, to perform in front of legendary late-night television host Johnny Carson, came true in 1991. Finally gaining national exposure and seemingly on the fast track to stardom, more television appearances soon followed, with a 1995 appearance on Late Night With David Letterman prompting Letterman to begin talks with Romano about the idea of developing a sitcom. Premiering in September 13, 1996, Everyboy Loves Raymond found the now-popular comic's offbeat domestic observations striking a chord with both audiences and critics alike. Nominated multiple times for numerous awards (including three Emmy and two Golden Globes), ELR carried on well into the new millennium, which saw the now-established comic branching out into other arenas as well. A June 1999 recording of a Carnegie Hall performance was nominated for a Grammy, and his novel Everything and a Kite turned up on the New York Times bestseller list. Television appearances on Hollywood Squares, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and a somber turn in America: A Tribute to Heroes found American households increasingly willing to welcome the good-humored everyman into their homes. It was only a matter of time before Romano tackled feature films, and with his vocal role in 2002's Ice Age, the likable comic did just that. A lighthearted animated romp which followed the adventures of a group of animals weathering the new frozen landscape in order to return a human child to its father, Ice Age gave Disney a run for their money and further proved that popular computer-animated family fare was no longer exclusive to the Mouse House.
Filmography
- Eulogy (2004)
- Ice Age (2002) (voice of Manny)
Welcome to Mooseport
Cast: Gene Hackman, Ray Romano, Christine Baranski, Marcia Gay Harden, Fred Savage, Maura Tierney, Rip Torn, June Squibb; other cast not announced yet.
Premise: After completing his two terms in the White House, a former president settles down in a small coastal New England town to write his memoirs and enjoy his retirement. He's soon asked to run for the office of mayor of the town however, with the local hardware store owner (Romano) running against him "just to keep things honest". The president's life-long experience of political campaigns leads him, however, to accelerate the competitive nature of the race, to the point that it becomes one of the most contentious fights of his career... (Tierney plays Romano's longtime girlfriend; Harden plays Hackman's closest political advisor.)
Ice Age
Cast: (voices) Ray Romano (Manfred the Mammoth), John Leguizamo (Sid the Sloth), Denis Leary (Diego the Sabre-Toothed Tiger), Diedrich Bader, Jack Black (Zeke), Cedric the Entertainer, Jane Krakowski (Jennifer the Sloth), Goran Visnjic (Soto)
Premise: Set during the Ice Age, this is the story of a human infant who is found by a group of animals that includes a woolly mammoth (Romano), a sabre-toothed tiger (Leary), and a pair of giant sloths (Leguizamo, Krakowski). Together, they try to reunite the baby with his parents.
Next Movie(s)
Eulogy
Release Date: September, 2004 (limited release)
Cast: Hank Azaria (Daniel), Jesse Bradford (Skip), Zooey Deschanel (Kate), Glenne Headly, Famke Janssen (Judy), Piper Laurie, Kelly Preston (Lucy), Ray Romano (Skip), Rip Torn, Debra Winger, Lucy Boyle, Paget Brewster (Aunt Lily), Curtis Garcia (Fred Collins), Lisa Maris (Louise), Lana Novac (Lace), Michael Panes
Premise: This is an ensemble comedy about three generations of relatives that come together for the funeral of the family patriarch (Torn), where a long list of secrets are revealed. Among the various family members are oldest daughter Alice (Winger); Daniel (Azaria), a has-been actor who can only get work as (nonsexual) supporting characters in porn movies; Skip (Romano), the black sheep older son; a suicidal mother (Laurie); and Lucy (Preston), who is trying to find the right time to tell her family she's going to get married to her partner, Judy (Janssen). The event is seen through the eyes of college freshman granddaughter Kate (Deschanel), who soon realizes that her family is probably weirder than she thought she was.
Scared Guys
Release Date: TBA 2004
Cast: Ray Romano (in talks), Kevin James (in talks); other cast not announced yet.
Premise: This is the story of a therapist (Romano) who himself suffers from agoraphobia and obsessive compulsiveness, so he offers his services over the Internet, living with another agoraphobic (James). When he discovers the police depatcher that he's fallen in love with (who happens to work across the street) is about to be murdered, the duo must venture forth from the house for the first time in six years in an attempt to save her life...
Can two men cross the street?
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