Ray was born in Queens, New York of Italian descent, the son of Lucie, a piano teacher, and Albert Romano (1925–March 2010), a real estate agent and engineer. Ray grew up in the Forest Hills section of Queens. He has a brother named Richard A. Romano and another brother, Robert. 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.