Romano: Don't Take My Wife

Steve Kroft Interviews Comedian Ray Romano

(CBS)  Romano has lots of time to practice now, with the basketball net located on his own tennis court. And he can work on his golf game on his private putting green. It’s not far from his pool and located on several acres in the San Fernando Valley, with a 9,000 square foot house, designed by his wife while Romano was working.

"It has a gift shop in it which I think is over the top. It's got a turtle pond. It's all her. I just picked the TV," says Romano.

"She does the whole thing. If aliens came and took her away and didn't hurt her and kept her in a safe place and was gonna bring her back in like six months, for those six months, I wouldn't know what to do. Yeah. I mean I'd throw a party, but I wouldn't know how to pay for it. 'Honey.'"

Romano seems very much the reluctant star, the unassuming low-key family man from Queens, bundled with the snarl of neuroses, and insecurities that afflict most entertainers.

"My theory is they all had some parent who wasn't demonstrative enough. My saying is if my, you know, my father hugged me once, I'm not here right now. I'm doing your books," says Romano. "I'm your accountant right now, if my father hugged me once."

So what's he doing with his time now?

"Ahh, well, I go to Hooters for lunch every day. Then for coffee," says Romano. "I would love to find a good film to do. Umm. I enjoyed the three that I did. Three that I did. I was gonna say, 'One that you saw,' but actually, nobody saw any of them. One was out there. Nobody saw it. Two haven’t been out yet."

"You’ve already done two that haven’t been released?" asks Kroft.

"Actually, one was released, and people ask me, 'When can I go see it?' And I said, 'Yeah, it’s out now, but if you’re driving and you hit traffic, just go right to the video store, ‘cause that’s where it’s gonna be. It came and it went in about a week,'" says Romano.

There’s always the standup act to fall back on. Last November, Romano and Garrett filled a theater at the Mirage in Las Vegas. And Romano is beginning to update an act, which has been getting laughs for more than a decade.

"Well, after one child, sex slows down. After twins, I'll tell you right now what it is for us. I really don't care. I don't care if 60 Minutes is watching. This is it," says Romano. "Every three months. That's right. … You know what I do every time we have sex? The next day I pay. My estimated tax is due. My quarterlies are due."

Boyle and Roberts say this show is the best thing they've ever done.

"The best," says Roberts.

"Yeah, this has been longer than grade school," says Boyle. "But not college."

"This is longer than my first marriage," says Roberts, laughing.

The final episode, which airs next week, was actually taped in January. It was an emotional night for the cast their friends and families when it came time for the final curtain call.

Did Romano tear up?

"I did. But that was an underwear problem. It was a very emotional time. And it got to me. It got to me a little bit. I broke down. And my father was there. So now he thinks I'm gay," says Romano, laughing. "We'll cut that, right?"