With ranges much broader than what’s required for a sitcom, here are 10 productions in which members of Everybody Loves Raymond’s cast starred.
The daily life of the all-too-familiar family in Everybody Loves Raymond brings laughter to its viewers, as the characters’ quick-witted, hilarious comments and reactions carry the show’s entire plot.
Many recognize the famous Ray Romano from his variety in film and TV appearances, but the rest of the cast also appeared in many productions, as well. Fans of the show may not even know what their favorite sitcom actors performed in. Their projects were and are some of the industry’s most popular classics in film history, and it would be a shame to hide these wonderful actors’ faces from the spotlight they deserve.
Bad Education: Ray Romano
As the star of the sitcom, Romano’s name definitely rings a bell, but even to those that aren’t big fans of his hit TV show. The actor’s fame has escalated over the past several years, and he landed important roles for his career in a vast array of films.
The HBO TV film Bad Education stars Hugh Grant and Allison Janney, based on the real-life embezzlement and fraud story of a superintendent and assistant superintendent in New York. Romano plays the superintendent’s colleague and real estate broker, Bob Spicer, who later discovers his coworkers’ malicious actions. Romano’s last line of the film, “I hope you find peace, Frank,” leaves the loudest silence of the film as he walks away from the powerful educator. Romano definitely knew how to make his mark on this television film.
The Santa Clause: Peter Boyle
Peter Boyle portrayed the undeniably and forever-funny father of Ray Barone, Frank. This character required an actor that could execute hilarious commentary alongside maintaining on-point comedic timing. Boyle proved himself to be the person who could accomplish that as his portrayal of Frank Barone brought skyrocketing laughs from audiences.
In terms of his other work in film, Boyle isn’t only seen in the first The Santa Clause as Scott Calvin’s uptight boss, and he’s also seen in The Santa Clause 2 and 3 as the character, Father Time. The soft-voiced yet harshly-hilarious and sarcastic Father Time seems like it was written for Boyle to play in these family-friendly holiday classics. Since Boyle put on such a great performance as Scott’s first boss, he was then later cast to play the mythical figure next to Santa.
Cars: Katherine Helmond
Katherine Helmond was a talented actress that played the role of Lois on the suburban-central sitcom. She is remembered for her character’s wealthy lifestyle, constantly traveling the world to the envy of others. She and her husband’s luxurious lives are used as a punchline joke in the show, especially by Ray since it’s his mother-in-law.
Helmon also starred in the three Disney Pixar famous films, Cars, as Lizzie in Radiator Springs. Lizzie is a highlight of the film with her innocent yet sometimes boisterous aloofness. This car is probably the oldest out of all the Radiator Springs cars, but certainly one of the funniest.
The Irishman: Ray Romano
Another film that the well-known newspaper sportswriter from New York, Ray Barone, is seen in a pretty different light from his normal laughter-inducing environment is The Irishman.
Romano plays the lawyer, Bill Bufalino, that represents the mafia members as their attorney. He specifically defends the film’s main character, played by Robert De Niro. Romano manages to steal the scenes he’s in, especially when he talks with his client about whether he committed the crime or not. However, perhaps one of the most memorable images of Romano was the light-blue suit he wore to walk his daughter down the aisle in that eerily slow-motion Church scene.
Single Parents: Brad Garrett
As the older brother in the Barone family, Garrett played Robert, who frequently argued with his brother, Ray. Robert lived with their parents across the street from Ray’s home and was normally jealous of his brother’s more successful lifestyle.
The actor is seen in a lot of other projects, but the TV show Single Parents is where Garrett’s talent shines again, just like it did in Everybody Loves Raymond. Co-starring with Leighton Meester and Taran Killam, Brad Garrett plays Douglas Fogerty, a widowed father with twin daughters and an older son.
Ice Age: Ray Romano
Not only is Romano involved in other live-action drama films, but he also has been involved in one of the most famous family-friendly animated films.
The Ice Age movie franchise features Romano’s voice as Manny, the sarcastic and big-mouthed woolly mammoth who experiences many self-reflecting character moments. It’s in these moments when viewers love Manny’s character even more aside from the fan-favorite comical, witty remarks he makes throughout each film. A sixth installment to the series focusing on another character, Buck, in the dinosaur world will premier in 2022.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: Doris Roberts
Doris Roberts had a long and prosperous acting career that started back in the 1960s, as she worked her way up in the industry to later be cast in bigger film and TV roles, like The Heartbreak Kid, The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three, but one of her most famous gigs was National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
The holiday classic centers around an entire family that spends Christmas facing countless problems. From getting chased by a squirrel to the constant bickering between the older parents—one of which was played by Roberts—the comedy doesn’t fail in giving viewers and long-time fans the funniest ride through the holidays.
Wizards of Waverly Place: Andy Kindler
Loyal fans of the show won’t forget about Ray’s fellow colleague, Andy, who was played by Andy Kindler. While the actor appeared on the show, he also made brief cameos or more significant roles in countless other shows, but one of the most notable was his appearances in The Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place.
Kindler played Chancellor Tootietootie, who oversaw several important wizard-world events for the Russo wizard teens. A memorable scene with Kindler was when he told Alex she was awarded “Wizard of the Year,” and had to break the bad news to Justin that he wasn’t even nominated.
The Middle: Patricia Heaton
Patricia played Ray’s wife, Debra Barone, who was always tackled with the Barone family’s overbearing, dramatic nature. Debra was normally left to handle a lot of the problems, as Ray sometimes left some responsibilities to her. Debra’s complaints about her in-laws though were justifiable and were a huge comical focus of the show.
Heaton went on to play Frances or “Frankie” Heck who lives in the middle of Indiana as a middle-aged, middle-class, Midwestern woman—a lot of “mids” in this show. By showing the mundane lifestyle of a typical family in a small town in the Midwest, the show accomplishes its comedy through its simplicity.
Who’s The Boss?: Katherine Helmond
Another one of Helmond’s accomplished works, aside from her high-maintenance character, Lois, included her presence on the show, Who’s The Boss?
The 80s-90s sitcom challenged societal stereotypes of who the money-maker of a family is, and who would work at home. The male star of the show is a retired MLB player and lands a job as a live-in housekeeper for a divorced, working woman. Helmond’s role is Mona Robinson, who dates different men, primarily of different ages, from college students to wealthy CEOs. Helmond’s character defied most expectations for middle-aged women of the time.
