Comedian Ray Romano found big success as the star of the hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, though he suggests that it’s actually the love for his co-stars that drew people to the series. In particular, Peter Boyle was one co-star that Romano has credited as one of the reasons the sitcom worked so well.
Per Remind, Romano said Boyle portraying his father, Frank Barone, was “one of the main reasons it worked.” He also admitted to feeling apprehensive about how well Boyle would do in the role at first, ultimately casting Boyle based on his past accomplishments as an actor. After giving praise to Boyle for how well he did with Frank, Romano also gave credit to some of the other cast members, noting how Brad Garrett played a big part in shaping out the Robert Barone character as well.
‘I Was Mad at Tim’: Home Improvement Star Reveals the Real Reason the Sitcom Ended
Patricia Richardson comments on her issues with the series and shares the real reason why the comedy series was ended.
“He wasn’t supposed to read,” Romano said of Boyle. “We were just supposed to have a meeting with him. But he offered to read. And in his defense, it was a rough day for him. We really couldn’t gauge whether he was getting the comedy of it, and we still said, ‘It’s Peter Boyle, let’s just go with the best actor in the room.’”
“We really couldn’t gauge whether he was getting the comedy of it, and we still said, ‘It’s Peter Boyle, let’s just go with the best actor in the room.'”
He added, “Listen, when you’re creating a sitcom, you’ve got to get lucky. And we got lucky that we found Peter, we found Doris Roberts and even Brad Garrett. You know, we didn’t write that role. Brad brought this persona that was nowhere in our minds when we were creating the show. So, we got lucky there. All those things had to fall in place for it to be successful.”
Everybody Loves Raymond Was a Big Success
The series was created by Phil Rosenthal, and it was inspired by the comedy of Romano. It ran for nine seasons from 1996 to 2005, garnering high acclaim and strong ratings during its run. The hit sitcom starred Romano as Ray Barone, a sports writer with intrusive family members disrupting his married life at home. The show also starred Peter Boyle as father Frank, Doris Roberts as mother Marie, Brad Garrett as brother Robert, Patricia Heaton as wife Debra, Madylin Sweeten as daughter Ally, and Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten as twin sons Geoffrey and Michael.
