Raymond Albert "Ray" Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American actor, golfer, writer, and stand-up comedian, best known for his role on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.

Early life

Romano was born in Queens, New York of Italian ancestry (his father's family was originally from the commune-town of Trenta, in the Province of Cosenza, in the Calabria region of Italy). His mother, Lucie, was a piano teacher, and his father, Albert Romano, was a realtor and an engineer.Ray Romano Biography (1957-) He grew up in the Queens neighborhood of Forest Hills.Strickland, Carol. "Can Sitcom Make It With L.I. Setting?", The New York Times, December 1, 1996. Accessed November 12, 2007. "For Everybody Loves Raymond, the route to Hollywood Hills began in Forest Hills, where Ray Romano, a standup comedian and the star of the show, grew up." Romano attended elementary and middle school at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills. After transferring from Archbishop Molloy High School, Romano graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975. He was in the same high school class as Fran Drescher and later appeared on Drescher's sitcom The Nanny as an old classmate. Before breaking into show business, Romano briefly attended Queens College, in Flushing, New York, where he had majored in accounting. Romano quit going to Queens College after gaining only 15 credits in three years. However, he would later return, making it to the Dean's List for three years while studying accounting.