Added July 2nd, 2008

Corey D. from Duluth, MN

Q: I have heard that Ray’s real family members have made occasional cameo appearances on the show. Is that true or just a rumor?

Phil Answers: True. Ray’s real brother, Richard—who Robert is based on, is in several episodes—“Golf For It”, “The Toaster”, “The Checkbook”. Ray’s kids have all been in various episodes, as have mine—we basically put everyone we know into as many episodes as we could. Ray’s real life father, Albert, is one of Frank’s lodge buddies and appears in all those episodes along with my dad, Max. We cast them together because we figured they deserve each other.

Added June 5th, 2008

Don from Las Vegas, NV

Q: When you were originally casting the show, were there any other big name actors or actresses that were under consideration?

Phil Answers: While we were casting our regulars, we did get a call from Scott Baio. He said, “I understand you’re casting a show called “Everybody Loves Raymond”. I’m interested in the part of Raymond”. I had to tell Scott that Raymond already came with the show, but for nine years, whenever Ray gave me any trouble, I’d warn him that I had Scott Baio standing by.

Added May 9th, 2008

Lizette D. from Manalapan, NJ

Q: Are many of the Raymond stories based on true-life events? Or are they more or less made up by writers?

Phil Answers: I would say that 90% of every story you’ve seen on the show actually happened to me, Ray, or one of the other writers. I had read that the great Carl Reiner ran “The Dick Van Dyke Show” by asking his writers: “What happened at your house this week?” And I thought this would be a good way to write this show about a family today. One of the best compliments we would get was, “You were listening outside our window last night.” We didn’t have to—it just turned out that what was happening in your house was happening in ours too. ( Although Ray still enjoys listening outside peoples’ windows).

Added April 17th, 2008

Frank O. from Philadelphia, PA

Q: In the episode where Ray catches the kitchen on fire, was that real fire or some kind of special effects? It looks very real, and I was wondering if it was more dangerous than a regular show.

Phil Answers: Real fire. Real fear on Ray’s face

Added April 3rd, 2008

Cheryl from Santa Monica, CA

Q: I was very sorry to hear about the loss of Peter Boyle. Frank is my favorite character. Was Peter Boyle a funny man off stage? Or was he more serious like in a lot of his movies?

Phil Answers: Peter Boyle was an absolute joy on and offstage. Nothing like Frank Barone—a true liberal in fact. We all still miss him terribly, but we’re grateful for the reruns—we can always visit him that way.