Ray Romano, who played a Newsday sportswriter on 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' inducted into Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame

Everybody still loves Raymond.

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame inducted Ray Romano on Thursday as its first nonmusical honoree in the museum’s 22-year history.

The star of the nine-season sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond," grew in fame following his stand-up career and a breakout appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman." In the sitcom, which premiered in 1996, Romano played fictional Newsday sportswriter Ray Barone while juggling family life based in Lynbrook.

On Thursday night, Romano returned to the set of his television family and home, down to a cardboard cutout sitting at the breakfast table. He said he felt like the set was time traveling and that it made him want to cry.

"I look at this and I remember every episode," Romano said in an interview just before the ceremony. He said that growing up in Queens, he felt close ties to Long Island, where his friends and family eventually moved. Romano said he stopped to grab a slice of pizza on the way to the ceremony.

"My family moved out to Long Island. My friends moved out to Long Island and we were ready to move to Long Island, but then this happened in Los Angeles," Romano said. "But my TV family was raised in Long Island, so it's home. It's home to me and it's great to come back. ... I still consider this my home and I always will."

Romano said he fought to keep the series based in New York when CBS wanted to appeal to Middle America.

"I said I'll go to Long Island, and that's it. I feel like I'm a Long Islander, and that feels organic to me," Romano said. "To me it represents this East Coast New York but that hometown feel. it could be anywhere ... but just a neighborhood with driveways and schoolyards, and I didn't get to do that, but my TV family did."

During his acceptance speech, Romano choked up thanking his manager, wife and family following a highlight film of his career.

"I really think luck is the theme of tonight because the reason I'm here is, there's talent involved, no doubt, but there's so much luck," Romano said.

He recalled his stand-up career and what it meant to relive his breakout television series by walking through the set at the hall of fame. He was joined by his wife and brother, a former NYPD officer.

"It is amazing how, when I walk through there. I feel younger. I feel 30 years younger. I feel the magic," Romano said.

Romano attended the grand opening of the 30-year anniversary of "Everybody Loves Raymond" exhibit last year at the Stony Brook museum, which features a full set, including the living room and kitchen, from the iconic television program, which ran until 2005. The exhibit has been extended into next year.

"We’ve seen how much Long Islanders love the show and love him," said the Hall of Fame's chairman, Ernie Canadeo. "They come here and they just feel at home. We feel like Ray’s the perfect first inductee into our entertainment category."

Romano, 68, had a burgeoning stand-up career before he was cast in his own sitcom, which earned him three Emmy Awards. His career flourished to include roles in movies such as the "Ice Age" animated franchise and the Netflix series "Running Point." He also appeared in "Bad Education," the HBO movie about the Roslyn school embezzlement scandal.

Canadeo said Romano’s portrayal in "Everybody Loves Raymond" was, fittingly, adored by fans. It featured Patricia Heaton as his wife, his eccentric parents, played by Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts, along with his dry-wit brother, played by Brad Garrett. The show was filmed in Los Angeles, but used exterior shots of a home in Merrick.

It particularly struck a chord with Long Islanders, Canadeo said.

"They can relate the show to their own families, for better or worse. It has every aspect of what a typical Long Island family goes through," Canadeo said.

The museum also honored and inducted Romano’s agent, fellow Long Islander Rory Rosegarten, who helped discover Romano and served as an executive producer on the sitcom, Canadeo said. He said Rosegarten helped secure the exhibit for the hall of fame.

"I thought Ray was incredible, just really fantastic and I wanted to work with him in the worst possible way," Rosegarten, of Manhasset, said. "I had no idea what would become of him, but I there was no way I was leaving there and not working with him."

Romano joins more than 130 Long Islanders and entertainers from Brooklyn and Queens enshrined in the hall. Past honorees have included Billy Joel, Debbie Gibson, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Joan Jett, Tony Bennett, Cyndi Lauper, Harry Chapin, Barbra Streisand, Lou Reed and members of KISS.

The Hall of Fame is looking to add additional entertainers who gained stardom on Long Island.

Long Island has been home to a rich tapestry of actors and entertainers including Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld, Alec Baldwin, Natalie Portman, Ralph Macchio, Lindsay Lohan and Amy Schumer.

"I dare anyone to find a place in the world with as much music and entertainment talent that came for Long Island," Canadeo said. "Ray will only be the first entertainer inducted."

Romano was humble as he was being honored, saying as a stand-up comedian, "I don't deserve any of it.

"To come back and just be among this and feel like I never left," Romano said ahead of the ceremony. "This is where the magic happened. My magic happened, I'm just lucky."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.