By Lynette Rice,
photography by Gavin
Bond | Entertainment Weekly
From Struggling sitcom to
comedy Legend, A look Back
at Everybody Loves
Raymond
Now that
the taping of Everybody
Loves Raymond's series
finale is only days away,
Ray Romano should be using
this downtime to pack boxes
in his Burbank office. But
old habits die hard. Clad in
his typical workday ensemble
(flannel shirt, blue jeans,
gym shoes), Romano is
hunched over his laptop
computer, scanning the
Internet for nit-pickers.
It
doesn't take long to find
them; after years of frantic
post-episode surfing, Romano
knows exactly where to
locate Raymond's harshest
critics. (Today, they're on
an entertainment Web page
spouting words like
mediocre and awful.)
"It keeps you humble,"
explains the 47-year-old
comedian. "People come over
to me on the street and are
nice, nice, nice. But people
who hate you aren't coming
over to say they hate
you. The Web is a venue to
say it."
Wait, is
this Ray Romano talking? Or
his alter ego Ray Barone? After
spending nine years with
both of them, it's hard to
tell where one stops and the
other begins. This
relatability - an Everyman
blend of insecurity,
hound-dog expressions, and
benign buffoonery - has made
"Everybody Loves Raymond" an
unlikely top 10 staple for
the last five seasons.
(That and the fact that each
member of Raymond's
supporting cast is talented
enough to carry his or her
own series.)
With
ratings still strong - the
sitcom will finish the
season as TV's No. 1 comedy
with 16.7 million viewers -
why not go on for another
year? It's certainly a
question even Romano's
costars would like answered
as they tape the show's
final episodes.
"They
are finding some great
stories," says Patricia
Heaton, who plays Ray's
wife, Debra. "We did one
last week called 'The Power
of No,' where Ray realizes
if he turns down sex, I'm
more likely to be nice to
him and want to have sex
with him. That's such a
universal kind of thing, I'm
surprised it took us nine
years to get to that
episode."
Marvels
creator Phil Rosenthal's
wife, Monica Horan, who
plays Robert's spouse,
Amy: "I'm not being overly
dramatic when I say I get a
script, read it, and go 'How
are they not repeating
themselves?'" Even Romano's
boss wants the big guy to do
another round. "I know it
could go another season and
I've said that to Ray and
Phil," says Les Moonves,
co-CEO of Viacom, which owns
CBS. "They want to leave on
top - but I still think
they're leaving a year too
early."
So why
not, Ray? It seems like the
world that lives outside
your laptop wants
more. Romano says that
shortly after Raymond's
debut in 1996, he and
Rosenthal made a deal:
Never, never do something
the other doesn't want to
do.
Rosenthal, in particular,
feels this is the perfect
time for Raymond to end
(the finale airs May 16 at 9
p.m. on CBS after an
hour-long retrospective)
because he's simply run out
of stories. Never mind that
he said the same thing about
seasons 7 and 8 - this time
he really means it. ''We do
pride ourselves in going
home, getting in fights with
our wives, parents, and
kids, and making stories
from them. There's a limit
to that,'' says Rosenthal,
45. ''If we kept getting in
fights with these people,
they'll leave us.''
Adds
Romano, who at a reported $2
million per episode is the
highest-paid actor on TV:
''This sounds obnoxious, but
even my wife, who likes to
spend money, has enough...We
didn't want to feel like we
were just cranking out
another year because they
were going to pay us for
it.''
On the
set last January, rehearsal
for the show's penultimate
episode - No. 209 - has come
to a halt because Brad
Garrett, who plays Ray's
perpetually envious brother,
Robert, is getting silly,
and Romano is just plain
lost. No matter how many
times director Gay Halvorson
tells him where to stand,
Romano keeps facing the
wrong camera.
"Camera
A, Ray!" Halvorson yells
painfully, pointing to the
one that's clearly
identified as such. "After
nine years, you don't know?"
Garrett,
meanwhile, keeps cracking up
the crew by pointing to
several women on set and
declaring how he'll hit on
them "the moment we wrap."
(He's actually happily
married with two kids.)
Once rehearsal finally
starts again, the script
calls for Robert to get
angry at Ray, but Garrett
takes it over the top and
starts shouting. "Hold back
on the intensity, Brad,"
Romano urges. "Save it for
later." "I just want to get
the f ---- out of here!"
bellows Garrett, 45, in the
same bombastic voice. "I've
got six days to go!"
Sitting
on a nearby couch, Doris
Roberts (nosy mom Marie
Barone) shakes her head and
sinks her face into her
hands. "Oh my God, one more
to go. How did we get this
far?"
Raymond
started - inauspiciously
enough - with a minor
felony. Romano's dad,
Albert, stole the code to
his son's answering machine
and taped the following
outgoing message: "You've
reached Anna and Ray. If you
want them, leave a message
at the beep. If you want
me, Al Romano, I'm at
268-2006."
Rather
than calling the cops,
Romano used that very prank
to persuade a budding sitcom
writer named Phil Rosenthal
to base his first TV show on
the comedian's boundary-free
home life. The two met in
1996 after Romano signed
with David Letterman's
Worldwide Pants and started
looking for someone to write
his show.
The
production company,
meanwhile, had received a
sample script from
Rosenthal, whose previous
credits included the ABC
comedy Coach. Over pastrami
sandwiches in L.A., Romano
regaled Rosenthal with
family tales. "Ray told me
that his parents lived close
by and were always bothering
him, and that his brother
Richard was a police
sergeant who lived with the
parents and was very jealous
of Ray, and who touched
every bit of food to his
chin before he put it in his
mouth," recalls Rosenthal.
"And I said, 'Well, it
doesn't sound like there's
anything we can use there.'"
He
immediately crafted a script
- but with Romano playing a
sportswriter Ray Barone
instead of stand-up Ray
Romano, to avoid
similarities to Seinfeld,
CBS agreed to buy the show
in 1996, and Rosenthal
turned to the task of
casting what would become
TV's pushiest family.
Doris
Roberts (Remington Steele)
and Peter Boyle (Young
Frankenstein) were immediate
picks as meddling Marie and
crotchety Frank, and
Rosenthal chose stand-up
comedian Brad Garrett to
play Robert. Finding Ray's
masterfully sarcastic wife,
Debra, however, almost
killed the show before it
even began. After
auditioning some 200 women,
Rosenthal says a CBS exec
demanded that he cast a
veteran blond TV actress (he
declines to name names).
Fearing
his show would turn into
Bridget Loves Bernie,
Rosenthal threatened to
walk. "The best advice I got
was from [Taxi creator] Ed
Weinberger, who said, 'Do
the show you want to do,
because in the end they are
going to cancel you
anyway.'" Moonves disputes
any demands for a blonde but
says, "We wanted a non ethnic
woman, somebody who wasn't
Jewish or Italian, more
middle-of-the-road. Patricia
ended up fitting that type."
She also
nailed her audition. "I was
in a big hurry because I had
a babysitting conflict with
my husband." Recalls Heaton,
47, whose previous credits
included the Designing Women
spin-off, Women of the
House. "Even though he's
British, and Ray is from
Queens, they have this
universal male idiocy that
crosses all continents. I
had a certain amount of
impatience I put into
reading that worked."
For all
the confidence that
Rosenthal had while
developing Raymond, Romano
was more comfortable
wallowing in self-doubt.
His biggest problem was what
to call the show: In the
pilot, Rosenthal used an
anecdote about how Ray's
brother Richard used to
sarcastically moan that
everybody loves Raymond -
and that became the comedy's
working title, much to
Romano's chagrin.
"Even
though you love and hate
yourself, you hate yourself
more," he says, "so the last
thing you want is the show
to be called Everybody Loves
You."
Romano futilely tried to
offer alternatives (a framed
list, including "I'm
Raymond, Raymond's House,
Raymond's Game, and Relating
to Raymond, hangs on his
dressing room wall), but
Moonves wouldn't budge.
"Trying
to appeal to him with
humor," remembers Romano, "I
said that this show was
going to be top 10, and I
was going to have to live
with that title for the rest
of my life. Les said, "Ray,
if this is a top 15 show,
you can change it to
whatever you want."
That
possibility seemed very
remote after Everybody Loves
Raymond premiered Sept. 13,
1996. Though critics
immediately embraced the
show ("So little of Raymond
is actually new, yet almost
all of it feels absolutely
fresh," said USA Today), the
comedy lured only 9.3
million viewers in its
Fridays-at-8:30 p.m. time
slot, and was soon
floundering in 73rd place.
"We had Moesha right on our
ass," says Romano. "Nobody
had watched CBS on Friday's
since Gomer Pyle," says
Rosenthal.
CBS took
a chance in March of 1997
and moved the show to
Mondays. "This was a
fabulous show that nobody
was watching, so I gave it a
six-week tryout." Recalls
Moonves. "I said, 'Guys,
this is it. If it works
we're okay, but if it
doesn't we've got a
problem." The risk paid
off: Viewership leaped to
13.3 million in season 2,
and by the time Raymond
moved to 9 p.m. in year 3,
it had become CBS'
most-watched comedy. (It
peaked in 2001-02 with more
than 20 million viewers.)
Now about
that title . . . Romano
reminded Moonves about his
promise, but CBS had no
intention of messing with
its newly minted hit. "I
remember calling Letterman
from a pay phone [during
season 3] and asking him if
he can do something about
it," says Romano. "He said,
'The show's gong to take on
a life of its own, and you
won't have to worry about
it.' He said he couldn't do
anything."
During a
break from taping, warm-up
comedian Mark Sweet keeps
the studio audience
entertained by hypnotizing a
pudgy young man and getting
him to harass Rosenthal for
paying the case a mere $5 a
hour. Cheerfully, Rosenthal
agrees to play along. "At
$5 an hour you're gonna
break the bank. It's 5
bucks a week!"
"Oh, I'm
sorry," says the mesmerized
fan. "I understand. You're
really cheap."
Everyone
delights in the exchange -
especially since money was a
very unfunny topic in August
of 2003, when Heaton,
Garrett, Roberts and Boyle
called in sick (while
coincidentally negotiating a
boost in pay). Their brief
absence from the set not
only delayed production on
the eight-season opener but
prompted Rosenthal to nix
Garrett - who became the
lone holdout - from an
episode. "I realized that I
couldn't get fired,"
remembers Garrett. "But I
wasn't going to end this
incredible job knowing that
I wasn't being taken care
of."
Romano,
who had already negotiated
his record-breaking deal,
stayed out of the talks and
was relieved when CBS
finally agreed to equitable
salaries (around $250K an
episode) and profit
participation among the
supporting actors. "I
remember Seinfeld saying to
just worry about the comedy
and the money will come,"
says Romano. "If you just
worry about the comedy, you
will end up - fortunately in
my place - where people
resent how much money you
make."
Money and
critical kudos - 56 Emmy
nominations and 12 wins
(including best comedy, and
acting awards for Romano,
Heaton, Roberts and Garrett)
- came easy for Romano, but
what didn't follow was the
buzzy zeitgeist that
Seinfeld, Friends, and Will
& Grace all enjoyed. (Heck,
even EW waited until the
show's finale to give
Raymond its first cover.)
Reasons Romano: "I think the
show is just as good as any
show, but I know what sells
your cover - and it's not my
ass."
True to
form, the half-hour series
finale - which Rosenthal
outlined in November 2003
when he was considering
pulling the plug at the end
of season 8 - won't be
supersized or stunt-filler,
and that's just fine by the
cast. "It's not like it was
with Friends, like whether
Ross is going to end up with
Rachel," explains Romano.
"There are no big
cliff-hangers that required
people to sign
confidentiality
agreements. We want to
recognize that it is the end
of the show without really
saying it. But we'll
satisfy the audience's
desire for a little
heart." Adds Boyle: "Doris
won three Emmys for abusing
Frank, and it would ruin it
if we started lovey-doveying
in the finale."
The
actual final taping of the
show was postponed two times
because Heaton came down
with laryngitis. "I was all
prepared," Rosenthal says.
"It was like an
execution. They would tell
me today was the day and
then they would make me wait
again." When asked if the
throat trouble was perhaps a
psychological manifestation
of her desire to keep the
show going, Heaton jokes,
"Yes, I'm just a completely
unreliable actress who faked
it. I had two sick people in
my house, and then there was
the whole emotion of the
final thing . . .
Physically, I was just worn
down." (The cast would
ultimately tape the series
finale Jan. 29 in front of a
studio audience of mostly
friends and family.)
Saying
goodbye hasn't been easy for
any of the troupe. "I'm
going to miss the
camaraderie, and the
parking. It took me 25
years to get that kind of
parking," says Garrett.
Roberts is a tad more
serious: "I've been crying
for two weeks. This was my
home." Romano is feeling
more resolve than regret -
at least for now. "In the
first episode of this
season, when Ray
accidentally slammed Debra
into a refrigerator [after
trying to lift her in a
moment of glee, I got more
response from that scene
from people than I got in
the previous eight years.
That was really
encouraging," he recalls.
"But I think this is the
absolute right time to end.
To go another year would be
compromising the show." And
just imagine what the
Internet would say about
that.
Here, the
Raymond cast members
reminisce about their
favorite episodes - and what
they'll do after the Barones
take their final bow.
RAY ROMANO
Favorite Episode: Talk
to Your Daughter (March 18,
2002): ''I love how the
whole family tried their
best to answer the question
of the meaning of life. All
my favorite Raymond episodes
start with a small relatable
concept and go somewhere
bigger and deeper. It also
takes place almost entirely
in one scene and with the
whole cast. That was usually
the formula for our best
shows.''
Least Favorite
Episode: The Super Bowl
(Jan. 29, 2001) ''Even
though I wrote this one, I
thought we lost a bit of the
reality of the situation
with the
second act when I ate the
Super Bowl tickets. It still
works, but I always thought
I could have found a better
resolution to the fight
between Debra and Ray.''
What's Next:
Romano reprises his role as
Manfred the woolly mammoth
in Ice Age 2, due in 2006,
and is awaiting release of
his big-screen comedy
Grilled, co-starring The
King of Queens' Kevin James.
He plans to suss out more
movie roles with his agent,
but doubts the conversation
will turn to TV. ''I don't
think I want to do a network
sitcom again,'' he says.
''I've done that.''
PATRICIA HEATON
Favorite Episodes:
The Letter (Dec. 8, 1997) &
Ally's Birth (May 21, 2001)
''I had written a letter to
Marie, telling her
everything I'd ever been
angry at
her about. I love those
ones, where Marie and I can
bond. And I love all of
our flashback episodes, like
the one where I'm giving
birth in the back of
Robert's police car and
Robert's trying to deliver
the baby. I got to spend
hours in the backseat of
this car with Ray and Brad
looking up my [skirt].''
What's Next: Heaton
scored a
development deal at ABC,
though she doesn't have a
project lined up for
September. ''I'll be really
thrilled to just focus on
the kids,'' she says.
''Maybe show up at their
school once in a while, get
to know teachers' names.''
BRAD GARRETT
Favorite Episode:
Robert's Date (Feb. 1, 1999)
'''Robert's Date' was really
the episode that put my
character over the top. That
was where I dated my female
partner, who was
African-American. And
Robert, always trying to
find the niche he fits in,
which is obviously nowhere,
thought he was black for a
while. I had to dance [in a
club], and that I had to
work on. When I was working
with the choreographer, he
goes, 'I'm so outta here
because I don't know what
you're doing.'''
What's Next: Now that
the rumored spin-off for
Robert and wife Amy appears
unlikely, Brad Garrett plans
to do stand-up on the road
before scouting new TV and
film projects. ''For the
first time in my life, I can
be picky,'' he says.
DORIS ROBERTS
Favorite Episode:
Lucky Suit (Feb. 4, 2002)
''Robert's trying to get a
job
with the FBI, and I don't
want him to be in danger, so
I do everything in the
world to ruin it. I burn his
favorite jacket. I fax the
FBI a whole history,
about how they shouldn't
give him the job. And then
there's a lovely scene
between myself and Robert
where I say I can't take
another day of worrying
about him on the streets
getting killed. It's really
sweet, wonderful, and
real.''
What's Next:
Roberts will star in Adam
Sandler's Happy
Madison-produced movie
Nana's Boy, playing - you
guessed it - Nana.
PETER BOYLE
Favorite Episode:
Boys' Therapy (Nov. 15,
2004) ''Frank and his boys
pretend to go to therapy,
but they really go to the
racetrack, and Frank tells
them how he was beaten by
his father. That explained
why he was a little hesitant
and not huggy, touchy, and
feely with Ray and Robert.
It also explained why he
would verbally be a little
hard on them. Ray and Robert
appreciated that he spared
them - so it's kind of funny
and touching at the same
time.''
What's Next:
Boyle is shopping for a new
show. ''We're talking to the
network biggies,'' he says.
PHIL ROSENTHAL
Favorite Episode: The
Angry Family (Sept. 24,
2001) ''That's based on a
time when my son literally
got up in front of his class
to tell a story about his
angry family. Other kids got
up and talked about things
like their chicken pox,
but Ben Rosenthal, 6 years
old, talks about his angry
family.
At first I was mortified,
but then I thought how lucky
I was to have a kid who
writes for my television
show. Everybody cracked up
and looked back at us. It
was great.''
What's
Next: Rosenthal
may have run out of ideas
for Raymond, but he still
needs to fulfil his end of a
reported $50 million deal
with CBS and Paramount.
''I love sitcoms and I'm
sure I'll do another ¡ª I
just need a little break.''
