Ray Romano<\/a> arrived on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond fearing he could lose another sitcom job.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Ray Romano arrived on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond fearing he could lose another sitcom job<\/p>\n
Admitting he was \u201cterrified\u201d after previously being fired from the cast of NewsRadio before filming on the show even properly began, the comedian and actor, 68, reflected on the early days of the Emmy-winning comedy during a reunion panel at the 2026 ATX TV Festival in Austin, Texas. <\/p>\n
Ray actor reunited with Everybody Loves Raymond creator Phil Rosenthal and several of the show\u2019s original writers, including Tom Caltabiano, Tucker Cawley, Mike Royce, Lew Schneider, Steve Skrovan and Aaron Shure for the event, after the sitcom, which ran from 1996 to 2005, became one of the defining American comedies of its era, earning 69 Emmy nominations and 15 wins. <\/p>\n
Looking back on his first day filming the sitcom, Ray said: \u201cI was doing stand-up for a living. A couple acting opportunities came up, and one of them was the show called NewsRadio.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got cast in the original cast of NewsRadio. I’d never really acted before; I was doing stand-up. And on day two, I got fired.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nRay explained the experience left him deeply anxious when production began on the sitcom that carried his own name.<\/p>\n
\nHe said: \u201cFast forward to the first day, and I’d just gotten fired from a sitcom, and this sitcom has my name… and it was a little terrifying for me.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAnd I know when I watch that first season, I see myself get better towards the end of the season. I was a little stiff still, a little green.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nRay\u2019s portrayal of sportswriter Ray Barone helped establish him as one of television\u2019s biggest comedy stars, while the programme remains a staple of syndication more than two decades after its debut. <\/p>\n
\nIn recent years, Ray has continued acting in projects including Somebody Feed Phil, alongside Phil, as well as films and television dramas, while Everybody Loves Raymond celebrated its 30th anniversary with a cast reunion.<\/p>\n
\nBefore finding success with Everybody Loves Raymond, Ray had primarily worked as a stand-up comedian. <\/p>\n
\nHis role in NewsRadio was eventually recast, with Joe Rogan taking over the part after producers concluded Ray\u2019s delivery style was not suited to the show’s pace.<\/p>\n
\nEverybody Loves Raymond centred on Ray Barone, a sportswriter living on Long Island whose family life was regularly complicated by the constant presence of his relatives. <\/p>\n
\nPatricia Heaton starred as Debra Barone, while Brad Garrett played Ray\u2019s older brother Robert.<\/p>\n
\nDoris Roberts and Peter Boyle portrayed Ray\u2019s parents, Marie and Frank Barone \u2013 performances that became some of the show’s most celebrated elements. <\/p>\n
\nMadylin Sweeten and twins Sawyer Sweeten and Sullivan Sweeten played the couple\u2019s children.<\/p>\n
\nThe discussion also touched on the sitcom\u2019s enduring popularity and the cast reunion held to mark the programme\u2019s 30th anniversary.<\/p>\n
\nLast year, speaking to People magazine, Ray revealed he had taken one particularly memorable item from the set after the series ended.<\/p>\n
\nHe said: \u201cThat’s the first thing I took \u2013 that’s the only thing I wanted to take was the couch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDiscussing the floral sofa that became synonymous with the Barone family living room, Ray added: \u201cI took the couch and it’s in my home theater.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI hate saying that I have a home theater, but yeah, it’s in the theater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nHe said the sofa was temporarily returned for the anniversary reunion.<\/p>\n
\nRay explained: \u201cThey came and got (the couch) and they brought it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"8 June 2026 Ray Romano arrived on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond fearing he could lose another sitcom job. Ray Romano arrived on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond fearing he could lose another sitcom job Admitting he was \u201cterrified\u201d after previously being fired from the cast of NewsRadio before filming on the show […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":244893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[15587,13127,15588,11726,10304,15585,15590,15584,8018,15589,13130,1651,15591,15586,13129,15582,15583],"class_list":{"0":"post-244892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-make-up","8":"tag-aaron-shure","9":"tag-brad-garrett","10":"tag-damian-holbrook","11":"tag-doris-roberts","12":"tag-joe-rogan","13":"tag-lew-schneider","14":"tag-madylin-sweeten","15":"tag-mike-royce","16":"tag-patricia-heaton","17":"tag-peter-boyle","18":"tag-phil-rosenthal","19":"tag-ray-romano","20":"tag-sawyer-sweeten","21":"tag-steve-skrovan","22":"tag-sullivan-sweeten","23":"tag-tom-caltabiano","24":"tag-tucker-cawley"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}