Thanks to David Letterman, Ray Romano was given a huge opportunity with Everybody Loves Raymond on CBS. Not only did the show survive, but it thrived for nine seasons.However, there was some tension along the way, and it caused the supporting cast to walk off the set. Ray Romano’s salary increase did not sit well with the others, especially when they compared their salaries.
In the following, we’re going to take a closer look at how Patricia Heaton took a stand against her salary. We’ll also reveal how things were finally resolved behind the scenes.Back in 2003, The Washington Post ran a story entitled, Everybody Loves ‘Raymond,’ but They Love Money More. Things took a major turn behind the scenes after CBS made Ray Romano the highest-paid actor in all of television, while the supporting cast wasn’t given any boost.
Brad Garrett, in particular, was among the lowest-paid supporting stars in all of TV at the time. Patricia Heaton wasn’t making a signifcant salary either, despite her impact on the series for eight seasons.Patricia Heaton smiling in a red outfit on the red carpetvia Instar
The tension started with Brad Garrett refusing to work and breaking his contract. The show reacted by going ahead and filming the episode without Garrett and with the rest of the cast. However, things took a problematic turn after Patricia Heaton decided to call in sick for the next episode,The Washington Post wrote, “But production got gummed up anyway when Patricia Heaton, who plays star Ray Romano’s wife, called in sick, as did Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle, who play Ray’s parents, Marie and Frank Barone.”
“Garrett was by far the lowest paid supporting actor on the show, on which Heaton was said to be earning about $450,000 per half-hour episode, while Roberts and Boyle got slightly less.”
Doris Roberts, AKA Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, sadly suffered from a health condition before her 2016 passing.
In the end, everybody was able to return, and the show continued on. However, the cast opted for a different type of salary increase.
The Cast Returned To Filming The Show, But A Raise Wasn’t Necessarily Given
It was later reported that the salary strike had ended. According to backstage, the supporting cast was given a boost by being added to the backend profits of the show.
Backstage wrote, “His return comes after CBS and other profit participants in the show, including star-producer Ray Romano, agreed to give up a portion of their own “backend” shares in the series to sweeten the deals of his four disgruntled co-stars.”
“Three of the supporting players — Patricia Heaton, Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts — had accepted the multimillion-dollar profit-sharing offer and returned to work last week in time to film the sitcom’s season-opening episode without Garrett, according to a source close to the situation.”
