His career included many outlets, such as Comedy Central, where he had been a recurring guest voice on the show Dr. Ray's early comedy career started when he competed in the Johnnie Walker Comedy Search in 1989. Romano quit after gaining only 15 credits in three years, but he would later return, however, making it to the Dean's List for three years. Before getting into show business, Ray briefly attended Queens College, City University of New York, in Flushing, Queens, where he studied accounting. He was in the same high school class as Fran Drescher and later appeared on Drescher's sitcom, The Nanny, as an old classmate.

After transferring from Archbishop Molloy High School, Romano graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975. Romano attended elementary and middle school at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills. Ray grew up in the Forest Hills section of Queens. Ray was born in Queens, New York of Italian descent, the son of Lucie, a piano teacher, and Albert Romano (–), a real estate agent and engineer.

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