Four years removed from "Everybody Loves Raymond," Ray Romano has pocketed his (many, many) millions, but has had a tough time deciding on his next act.

He's voiced Manny for two "Ice Age" sequels, dabbled in a couple of small films and plays in charity golf tournaments. And for a week each year, he and former "Raymond" castmate Brad Garrett hit a few cities to do stand-up comedy and reminisce about the show's nine years. They'll be at the Fox Theatre tonight.

Plus, he finally found his next TV gig: Atlanta-based TNT has picked up Romano's drama, "Men of a Certain Age," which will hit the air in January.

Q: What's the show going to be like?

A: We'll each do 30 minutes of stand-up, then take questions from the audience. I'm PG-13. No curse words. But I do talk about sex or my lack of having sex. A lot of people haven't seen Brad. They still see him as Robert. He's a little more R-rated. Think of Don Rickles with a little edge to it. It's funny. We also show outtakes from the show.

Q: When you see those outtakes, how do you feel?

A: It's weird. I get nostalgic. I miss it. It feels like another life. It was such a bubble. I was producing, writing and acting. I didn't feel I even had time to sit back and enjoy it.

Q: Has it been an easy transition for you, post-"Raymond"?

A: It's real hard. I've tried a couple of movies. But people see you as a character for nine years and you become ingrained into their consciousness. My buddy Kevin James ["King of Queens"], he's doing it right.

Q: Who would have thought he'd have such a big hit with "Mall Cop"?

A: That thing was huge! We played Vegas together a couple of weeks ago. We went out onstage and I noted that his movie grossed $145 million. So with "Mall Cop" and my "Welcome to Mooseport," we've grossed $148 million together!

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Ray Romano and Brad Garrett
8 Tuesday night. $35-$70. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-249-6400, www.ticketmaster.com.

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Six soldiers were honored, each receiving Meritorious Service Medals, Thursday for heroic actions responding to the shooting at Fort Stewart. “One of the things I can say unequivocally is that the fast action of these soldiers — under stress and under trauma and under fire — absolutely saved lives from being lost,” U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told reporters as the six soldiers stood near him Thursday. “They are everything that is good about this nation.” (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

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