From Stage to Screen: How Patricia Heaton Became the Heart of Everybody Loves Raymond

In fact, she was just focused on getting back home for the kids… pretty similar to the character that she would portray on the show.’

Heaton enjoyed major success, and she would land another sitcom for nine years, The Middle. Ray Romano would also appear on the sitcom, and it turned out to be quite the experience for Heaton.

We’ll look back at her time alongside Romano in The Middle, and why she was weirded out by the experience.

Patricia Heaton Revealed She Was Broke At The Time Of Her Audition For Everybody Loves Raymond

Patricia Heaton admitted that her circumstances were troubling just prior to landing the sitcom that changed her career. Heaton revealed alongside NPR, “My husband and I, by that time, had two kids – and we were broke. And I got this audition at the last minute for “Raymond.” I heard they were looking for a Patricia Heaton type.”

Once Heaton entered the audition, she didn’t make much of it all, and in fact, was crunched for time given that she had a babysitter at home watching the kids.

Heaton claims she was instantly underwhelmed when Ray Romano walked into the room.

“I’m looking at my watch, and then they say, oh, and this is Ray Romano. And I was like, oh well, this show’s not going anywhere. I thought – I was waiting for Ray to come into the room. I was just going to ask that guy to get me a cup of coffee while we were waiting.”

Heaton ended up getting the role and was thrilled about the way things worked out.

“I read it really fast. I was like, come on, let’s do this; I’ve got to go. And they were so lovely and the next thing I know, I was being called in to meet the president of CBS at the time, which was Les Moonves, and read for him and got the part.”

Patricia Heaton And Ray Romano Reunited For The Middle And It Was A ‘Weird Twilight Zone’ Kind Of Moment

Everybody Loves Raymond turned out to be a huge success and likely a lot bigger than what Heaton imagined at the audition stage. The show lasted nine seasons and released 210 episodes. The show continues to profit thanks to its syndication rights.

Following her time on Everybody Loves Raymond, Heaton landed on another sitcom for another nine seasons. This time she was cast in The Middle as Frankie Heck. In one episode, her two worlds’ collided as Ray Romano wad a guest-star.

Heaton recalled the experience, “We finally had to give him a part on the show. He’s been hanging around the set for a year. I’d say, ‘Ray, can you get me a coffee or something, make yourself useful, as long as you’re going to be hanging around here.’ Finally, we just had to give him a part so we could get rid of him.”

Heaton had a blast with the experience, however she did admit that it was odd to see her past and present at the time together.

“We had this wonderful, wonderful hour-long premiere where Ray comes on the show in a flashback,” she said. “It was really a lot of fun to have sort of have my two TV husbands. It’s one of those kind of weird Twilight Zone kind of Hollywood moments that you live for.”

It was all a positive experience and one Heaton will never forget.