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A stand-up guy
Comedian Ray Romano has a hit network TV show, but he says it's stage work that keeps him creatively juiced.
By PAMELA DAVIS
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 31, 2001
[Publicity photo]
Many of the plots for Ray Romano’s television show, Everybody Loves Raymond, and the jokes in his comedy act, are based on his real family life.
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On the phone, Ray Romano apologizes for being lethargic, but frankly it's hard to tell the difference between the lethargic Romano and the regular Romano.
They both have that slow, nasal New York whine.
Romano is calling from Las Vegas, where he's performing his stand-up act, something he's been doing for the last 12 years and continues to do even though his sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond, just finished its fifth season.
With a successful TV career, why would Romano even bother with stand-up?
"It's what I do. It's what I did before the show and I just love to do it," he says. "Acting is the hard work. My pulse rate goes down when I'm on stage doing stand-up. In the TV show you're creatively involved, but there's a director and other writers and a network. In stand-up it's you. You're the boss. You're the director, the writer and everything. Creatively you're more juiced. You're more fulfilled. But don't get me wrong, the show is mine too."
The show is indeed his. Not only is it named after him, but many of the plots are based on his real family life.
As on the show, Romano, 43, has twin boys and an older daughter (he and his wife have had another son since the show started). In real life, he also has an older brother and close-knit, oftentimes meddling parents.
Romano is also a contributing writer to the show, which he landed after an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman in 1995.
By the next year, Letterman's Worldwide Pants production company had Everybody Loves Raymond on the air at CBS.
Romano is so consumed with his show that he doesn't always have time to work on his stand-up routine.
"I've accumulated some material, but what's good is that some of the people coming to the show have never even seen me do stand-up. They're just fans of the show. They think it's new material, so don't tell them. You're going to get an hour and 10 minutes, so you're going to hear every little joke I've ever done."
"It's basically who I am on the show, but it's more me. It's a little more, I don't want to say uncensored because it's not like I'm blue or anything, but it is a little more real, a little more raw. I talk about the family and the wife and the kids and that kind of stuff. I give it a PG-13."
Like most comedians, Romano exposes his home life, for better or for worse, which doesn't always sit well with his wife.
"Whenever my wife complains about that, I tell her to go cry in a bag of money," he says.
With Jerry Seinfeld touring at the same time as Romano, a little comedy competition is heating up.
"When we're not in the same city it's fine (Seinfeld will do two shows at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center July 21). He's got an hour of brand new material. I always feel guilty that I'm not writing new material like he is, but then again his show is off the air, so he has all that time to do that now."
One of his network's biggest hits is Survivor, and Romano recently expressed interest in doing a celebrity version of the show.
"Is it going to be in a hotel somewhere? It's true that I said 'I'll do it,' but that's the extent of it. It's not going to be 39 days, that's for sure. And which celebrities?"
Maybe it would be all CBS people.
"I hope not. I don't want me and Cheech Marin in the woods."
Don't worry. Marin's Nash Bridges was just canceled. How about you and your buddy Kevin James from King of Queens instead?
"He'd eat me."
PREVIEW
Ray Romano, Friday 8 p.m. at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater. Tickets are $39.75 at the box office (727) 791-7400 or Ticketmaster (727) 898-2100.
Also
Some upcoming comedy shows:
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center: Sandra Bernhard (July 7) $22.50-$55.50; Jerry Seinfeld (July 21). Sold out. (813) 229-7827.
Side Splitters: Pat Godwin (June 12-17). 12938 N Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. (813) 960-1197.
Tampa Improv: Christopher Titus (June 8-10); Kid (June 12-17); Tommy Davidson (June 21-24); Brian Regan (June 28-July 1); D.L. Hughley (July 6-7); Robert Schimmel (July 12-15); Rondell Sheridan (July 17-22); Richard Jeni (July 26-29); Amazing J (Aug. 3-5); David Alan Grier (Aug. 9-12); Wanda Sykes (Aug. 14-19); Jake Johannsen (Aug. 22-26); Jay Mohr (Aug. 29-Sept. 2); Carlos Mencia (Sept. 6-9); Arnez J (Sept. 13-16); Jim Bruer (Sept. 21-23). 1600 E Eighth Ave., Ybor City. (813) 864-4000.
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