By Michaela Gordoni
You’d think a guy might like to have a show named after him, but not Ray Romano.
Series creator Phil Rosenthal chose the title EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND because he wanted a comedy similar to I LOVE LUCY.
He said in 2012, “Once you knew the show, you got that the title spoke to sibling rivalries, problems with parents, problems with your wife. Before I turned it in, I showed it to Ray. He said, ‘You can’t call it that because then we’re asking for it. I’m named Raymond. I don’t want that pressure of everybody having to love me.’ The next thing is, ‘Oh yeah? I don’t.'”
Some of Romano’s ideas were “Relating to Raymond,” “Raymond’s Tree,” “That Raymond Guy,” and “Um, Raymond,” TV Line reported. PEOPLE noted a few more: “Ray” “Guy Named Ray” and “Regarding Raymond.”
Les Moonves, former CEO of the CBS corporation, told Romano he’d change the name if it became one of the top 15 shows on TV.
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The names “were all terrible, which he admits now,” Rosenthal said. “He wrote them on a piece of paper, which we then framed and put up in our office.”
The show did make the top 15, but Moonves didn’t keep his promise.
Producer Tom Caltabiano also recalled Romano’s dislike of the title.
“Because Ray in real life is a modest guy, and he’s like, ‘EVERYBODY LOVES RAY, what if the show stinks? Thank God it was a hit,” Caltabiano continued. “He had to make it a hit just to overcome that title!”
In an interview with Larry King, Romano explained, “First of all, you’re a stand-up comic, you have very low self-esteem to begin with…It was a title that…invites hatred. Who is this guy? Let’s see how I love him.”
“I was worried about that…I’m learning to live with it now,” he explained.
The title was actually inspired by a sarcastic comment one of Romano’s family members said.
Romano’s brother, a police officer, said, “Look what I do for a living, and look at Raymond. Yeah, everybody loves Raymond.”
Rosenthal and Romano took a lot of inspiration from Ramano’s family to build the characters.
[Brad] came in and brought this character to it…My brother is, like I say, a cop, 5’11” with an attitude, and Brad brought this slant to it… at the time, [my brother] would take a lot of stuff from the other cops. They think it’s a documentary,” he explained.
You can stream the show on Paramount+, Peacock, Philo and other streamers.
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