Everybody Loves Raymond Actors You May Not Know Passed Away
Frequently cited as one of the best sitcoms in television history, "Everybody Loves Raymond" featured a stellar cast led by stand-up comic turned actor Ray Romano as sports writer Ray Barone, TV and stage actress Patricia Heaton as his long-suffering wife, Debra, and fellow stand-up Brad Garrett as Ray's underdog brother, Robert, with film vets Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts as Ray's intrusive parents. The series' Emmy-winning writing drew on Romano's comedy, skillfully blending humor with storylines about the ups and downs of family life that viewers found relatable and endearing.
"Raymond" ended its nine-year network run in 2005 on CBS while still in the Nielsen Top 10, and remains exceptionally popular in syndication. Many of its core cast members also remain active on screen: Romano transitioned to drama in "Vinyl" and "The Irishman," Heaton completed a nine-year run with her own series, "The Middle," and Garrett remains in-demand as a comic and actor in both comedy ("Single Parents") and drama ("Penny Dreadful: City of Angels"). However, many of their talented supporting and recurring castmates have passed away in the years since "Raymond" rang down its curtain. Following is a list of some "Raymond" alumni who are no longer with us.
Peter Boyle was tough but loving dad Frank Barone
Though an acclaimed and prolific actor with roles in some of the most critically praised movies of the 1970s, including "Young Frankenstein," "Taxi Driver," and his star-making turn as an aggrieved construction worker in the controversial 1970 drama "Joe," Peter Boyle may be best known as Frank Barone on "Everybody Loves Raymond." A perpetual crank with a gift for aggravating nearly everyone in his orbit through well-timed insults or pure stubbornness, Frank was also shown to have a gentle side through his relationship with his granddaughter, Ally (played by Madylin Sweeten), and even showed an occasional flash of softness and affection towards wife Marie and his sons.
Boyle received seven Emmy nominations, among many other laurels, for his turn as Frank, but would only claim a shared Screen Actors Guild Award with the cast in 2003 (he earned an Emmy for his melancholy performance in the Season 3 "X-Files" episode "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"). One year after "Raymond" aired its final episode in 2005, the 71-year-old Boyle died from the effects of multiple myeloma and heart disease in New York City on November 12, 2006.
Doris Roberts: the mother of all TV moms
Doris Roberts made the art of meddling into a science on "Raymond." Cast as Ray and Robert's mother, Marie Barone, Roberts found a way to make what seemed, on paper, an intrusive and overbearing character into a sympathetic figure whose desire to support and care for her family sometimes went to extreme lengths. One of the best examples of Roberts' ability to find humor and emotion in Marie's behavior came in the Season 5 episode "Ray's Journal," in which Ray discovers, to his horror, that his mother read the very personal (and embarrassing) journal he kept as a teenager.
Though the intrusion is played for laughs, Ray discovers that Marie has also read his angry words and feelings about her, leaving her doubting her abilities as a mother. The incident leads to some heartfelt dialogue between mother and son that showcases the series' ability to mine emotion and laughs with equal skill. For her performance in "Ray's Journal," Roberts won an Emmy — one of four (out of seven nominations) she earned during her run on the series.
Roberts died following a stroke at the age of 90 at her home in Los Angeles, California, on April 17, 2016.
Fred Willard was Amy's conservative dad, Hank
Fred Willard's brand of comedy – a mix of confidence and cluelessness — had been making people laugh since the late '60s, and found some of its greatest outlets in the "mockumentary" comedies of Christopher Guest, as well as "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," and countless television guest shots, including an Emmy nominated turn as Phil Dunphy's father on "Modern Family." One of his most successful small screen roles was Hank MacDougall, the outwardly mild-mannered but decidedly conservative dad of Monica Horan's Amy MacDougall on "Raymond."
Hank and wife Pat, played by fellow comedy and TV vet Georgia Engel, made plain their dislike for Robert due to his religion (he's Catholic, they're Presbyterian) and previous marriage, as seen in the characters' first appearance in Season 7's "Just a Formality." They eventually soften on him, though attempts to build bridges between the MacDougalls and Barones only makes matters worse, as seen in Season 8's "The Bird," where Pat's decision to put an injured bird out of its misery results in all-out war between the families. Like Engel, Willard received three Emmy nominations for his work on "Raymond."
Willard died at the age of 86 at his home in Los Angeles, California on May 15, 2020.
Georgia Engel was Amy's sweet and secretive mom, Pat
Georgia Engel, whose wide-eyed delivery and distinctive, feather-soft voice helped earn her two Emmy nominations for her recurring role on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," enjoyed even greater success and acclaim as Pat MacDougall, the infinitely even-tempered mother of Amy MacDougall on "Raymond." Paired with another effortless comic talent, Fred Willard, as her husband, Hank, Engel walked away with nearly every scene in which she appeared.
Case in point: "Pat's Secret," from Season 9, in which Robert discovers that Pat has been smoking without Peter's knowledge for nearly three decades. After sneaking a few drags from Pat, Amy accuses Robert of smoking, and in desperation, he turns to Pat for a defense. But Pat, in her impossibly sweet way, refuses to take the blame. Engel received an Emmy nomination for the episode, and earned two more during her two-year recurring run on "Raymond."
Engel, who was also a veteran of the Broadway stage, died of unknown causes at the age of 70 on April 12, 2019.
Sawyer Sweeten was one of the Barone Boys
"Everybody Loves Raymond" employed three child actors, all siblings, to play Ray and Debra's kids. Madylin Sweeten played the eldest daughter, Ally, while her brothers, twins Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten, played Geoffrey and Michael who, in the pilot episode, were played by toddler triplets, and named Matthew and Gregory, the names of Ray Romano's real-life twin sons. Sullivan and Sawyer were hired to play the Barone boys when they were just 18 months old, and remained with the series until its conclusion in 2005.
Save for a few minor roles, the Sweeten twins' acting careers were relegated to "Raymond," and they remained off-screen for much of the decade that followed its last episode (sister Madylin remains active as a comic actress on television and short films). On April 23, 2015, Sawyer Sweeten was visiting a family member in Austin, Texas when he took his own life at the age of 19.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Who's the Boss mom Katherine Helmond was also Debra's mother
The extended Barone family added two new branches in Season 1 with the introduction of Debra's parents, Lois and Warren Whelan. Played by TV mainstays Katherine Helmond and Robert Culp, respectively, the Whelans were depicted as wealthy upper-class types with a penchant for world travel. However, as the characters' debut episode, "In-Laws," revealed, there were more than a few cracks in that façade. Helmond's Lois, in particular, was far more brittle and troubled than her polished veneer suggested: she and Warren had marriage issues that, despite counseling, resulted in divorce, as seen in Season 5's "Separation."
Helmond specialized in ladies of refinement with edge, netting Golden Globes for two such roles on "Soap" and "Who's the Boss?" and memorably depicting the extremes of vanity as Jonathan Pryce's mother in Terry Gilliam's "Brazil." Her turn as Lois Whelan earned Helmond her seventh Emmy nomination in 2002, and Helmond remained exceptionally active for nearly another decade, with roles on "True Blood" and Pixar's "Cars" before her death at the age of 89 on February 23, 2019.
Robert Culp: from TV spy to Debra's dad
Robert Culp had entertained TV audiences for nearly a half century before appearing on "Raymond." '60s viewers knew him from "Demon with a Glass Hand," one of the best episodes of "The Outer Limits," and as secret agent Kelly Robinson on "I Spy," while '80s kids remember him as wild card FBI agent Bill Maxwell on "The Greatest American Hero," for which he also wrote and directed episodes. In 1996, he parlayed his natural charm into the role of Warren Whelan, Debra's father, on 11 episodes of "Raymond."
Like wife Lois, played by Katherine Helmond, Warren gave off an air of contentment and self-satisfaction brought on by considerable wealth and travel. The truth, however, was that the couple was on the verge of splitting up, which came to pass in Season 5's "Separation." Having played it glibly for most of his appearances, the episode gave Culp a chance to show some emotion by confessing to Debra that the separation had been his idea, not Lois's, and long overdue.
Culp died at age 79 near his home in the Hollywood Hills on March 24, 2010.
Hey, it's Len Lesser as Garvin
After decades of menacing roles in films like "Papillon" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales," character actor Len Lesser gained newfound fame as the exuberantly weird Uncle Leo on "Seinfeld." Leo's eccentricities — the close talking, the arm grabbing, the endless anecdotes about his son, Jeffrey, in the Parks Department — also seemed to inform his recurring role as Garvin, a friend of Frank's, on "Raymond." Garvin, who made his first of nine appearances on the series in Season 1's "Win, Lose or Draw," was noted for his enthusiastic, very Leo-like response whenever Ray made an appearance on the scene ("Hey! Ray's here!").
The popularity of Garvin and Leo led to near-constant TV work for Lesser in the late '90s and early 2000s; he enjoyed numerous guest shots on shows like Brad Garrett's post-"Raymond" series "'Til Death" and "Castle" until 2009, when treatment for cancer curtailed his busy schedule. Lesser died from pneumonia at the age of 88 on February 16, 2011.
Charles Durning tried to advise the Barones as Father Hubley
One of the most prolific character actors in feature films for more than a half-century, two-time Oscar nominee Charles Durning was also one of the most versatile, moving easily from drama like "Dog Day Afternoon" and "When a Stranger Calls" to comedies that included "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "Tootsie." Durning also maintained a steady schedule of television, including an Emmy-nominated stint as a series regular on "Evening Shade" and six episodes of "Raymond" as Father Hubley, a Catholic priest at the church attended by the Barones.
Father Hubley officiated at Ray and Debra's wedding, as seen in the Season 2 two-parter "The Wedding," and served as occasional counsel for the family. Though he appeared to face the family's unusual issues — like Ray's phobia of being touched by Debra while he's sleeping in Season 3's "Move Over" — with a mix of dismay and resignation, Father Hubley managed to provide them with thoughtful and caring advice. Durning — a highly decorated World War II veteran — died of natural causes at the age of 89 on December 24, 2012.
Jean Stapleton took on Doris Roberts as Aunt Alda
Actress Jean Stapleton was a television legend, having won three Emmys (out of seven nominations) and two Golden Globes for playing Edith Bunker, the eternally optimistic spouse of Archie Bunker on the groundbreaking "All in the Family." So for her appearance on "Raymond" in Season 1's "I Wish I Were Gus," they gave her a role that pitted her against an equally formidable actress, Doris Roberts, as Marie's sister, Alda, who has carried a grudge against her for placing her in a remote corner at Ray and Debra's wedding. The episode, which focuses on the funeral of Alda's husband, Gus — for which Ray is tapped to deliver the eulogy — gives both actresses plenty of material to deliver some tart lines.
At the time of her appearance on "Raymond," Stapleton was a busy guest and supporting player in features and on television, and still netting laurels for her work, including an Emmy nod for her appearance on "Grace Under Fire" in 1995. Stapleton continued to act until 2001, and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame the following year. She died at the age of 90 on May 31, 2013.
Two actors served slices as Nemo
Every great sitcom needs a hangout place, and for "Raymond," that was Nemo's Pizza. Ray, the family, and friends Gianni (Jon Manfrellotti), Andy (Andy Kindler), and Bernie (Tom McGowan) not only chowed down on Nemo's pies in eight episodes of the series, but in Season 1's "Captain Nemo," Ray takes over the captain spot of an amateur basketball team sponsored by the restaurant from Kevin James' Kevin.
Manning the counter was Nemo himself, played by veteran character actor Joseph V. Perry. The Pittsburgh native amassed a sizable number of television roles in a four-decade career, including the original "Twilight Zone" and "Seinfeld." When Perry died on February 23, 2000, Robert Ruth — another longtime character player who appeared in "Reservoir Dogs" — stepped in to play Nemo in Season 5's "What Good Are You" and "Stefania Arrives."
The latter episode marked both Ruth and Nemo's final appearance, as Stefani's father, Marco ("Sopranos" actor David Proval), took over Nemo's — and, as Robert alleges in the Season 6 episode "Odd Man Out," bumped off the pizza cook ("He looked at me with that face and said, 'He go away'," says Robert), though this is never proven. Ruth died the age of 82 on December 29, 2019.
Phil Leeds' Uncle Mel out-cranked Frank
No one topped Frank Barone in the curmudgeon department — no one, that is, except his brother, Mel. Uncle Mel, as Ray and Robert knew him, was a pint-sized ball of bad temper in four episodes of "Raymond," beginning with Season 1's "Turkey or Fish." The episode also launched the recurring gag of Mel loudly declaring to everyone that he meets that while he is always solo at family events, it's not because he's gay.
Mel was played by Phil Leeds, a one-time standup comic who turned to acting on stage and then in movies and in television after entertaining the troops as part of the Army Special Service Unit during World War II. His slight stature and cagey demeanor made him ideal for hustlers and fast talkers, including an amiable spirit in "Ghost," though one of his most widely seen roles was as Dr. Shand, a "famous dentist" and secret Satanist in "Rosemary's Baby."
In the late '90s, Leeds was a go-to for irritable elderly men, most notably as a hygiene-obsessed judge on "Ally McBeal." His final screen performance in the David Spade comedy "Lost & Found" (1998) was posthumous: Leeds died on August 16, 1998, at the age of 82.
David Byrd was Frank Barone clone Harry Stipe
To the chagrin of Frank and Marie, Robert finally cuts the apron strings in Season 3's "Moving Out." Unfortunately, he discovers that his new landlords, Harry and Rita Stipe, are just as combative and intrusive as his parents. Harry, in particular, is almost a clone of Frank, right down to the catch phrase — though Harry favors "Holy crud!" over "Holy crap!" — and affinity for Ray over Robert.
Ray later sees an opportunity to keep Frank and Marie from barging into their house by brokering a friendship with the Stipes in Season 4's "Marie and Frank's New Friends," though this fails in spectacular fashion, as the Stipes decide to make regular and unwanted house calls on Ray and Debra as well.
Harry Stipe was played by character actor David Byrd, whose deadpan delivery made him a natural fit on sitcoms like "Seinfeld" (he played a pharmacist in the final episode) and comedy features like the Coen Brothers' "Hudsucker Proxy" (with Charles Durning). His second turn on "Raymond" was also his final screen appearance prior to his death on January 26, 2001 at the age of 68. Stage actress Anna Berger, who played the very Marie-like Rita Stipe, died on May 26, 2014, at the age of 91.
Max Rosenthal was exec producer Phil Rosenthal's dad
Series creator Phil Rosenthal not only drew on his father, Max Rosenthal, to help inspire Frank Barone, but he also cast his dad as Max, a friend of Frank's who often joined him, along with Stan (Victor Raider-Wexler) and Garvin (Len Lesser), at the lodge. The senior Rosenthal also appeared as himself in his son's series "Somebody Feed Phil," which won him and wife Helen a legion of fans for their humorous observations on Phil's culinary adventures.
Born in Germany, Max Rosenthal was a Holocaust survivor who escaped Berlin shortly after Kristallnacht, which saw Jewish residents incarcerated and homes destroyed by the Nazi Party in 1938. He settled in New York and there met Rosenthal's mother, Helen, a fellow German émigré who had been held with her mother in a concentration camp in France before moving to Cuba and the United States.
Max Rosenthal appeared in five episodes of "Raymond" between Seasons 6 and 9, often alongside Ray Romano's father, Albert Romano, who also played one of Frank's lodge friends. The elder Rosenthals were later featured on their son's series "I'll Have What Phil's Having" and "Somebody Feed Phil," where they weighed in via Zoom call on his pursuit of the best things in the world to eat. Helen Rosenthal died in 2019 at the age of 86, and Max Rosenthal died two years later on June 26, 2021, at the age of 95.
Ray's dad, Albert Romano, turned up in four episodes
Several of Ray Romano's real-life family appeared on "Everybody Loves Raymond," including his daughter, Alexandra, who played Ally's best friend; Molly Ardolino, among other characters, in four episodes; Greg and Matt Romano, who also made brief appearances; Ray's wife, Anna; and brothers Richard (on whom Robert Barone was based) and Robert. Their father, Albert Romano, also got a chance in the spotlight in four separate episodes.
A former engineer and real estate salesman, Albert Romano appeared in four episodes as Albert, a friend of Frank Barone who often joined him at the lodge along with Max, played by series co-creator Phil Rosenthal's father, Max Rosenthal. Though Frank and Marie Barone are based in part on Rosenthal's parents, Albert Romano provided a key component that helped to formulate the series' well-loved take on family dynamics.
In a 2005 profile of the series in Entertainment Weekly, Ray explained that his father found a way to record his own message on Ray's home answering machine. He relayed that story to Phil Rosenthal when the two met to discuss ideas for a potential television series. That bit of family mischief led to longer talks about Romano's family, which in turn, helped inspire the series itself.
Albert Romano died at the age of 84 on March 11, 2010. His wife and Ray's mother, piano teacher Lucie Romano, passed away in 2021.
Character actor Fred Orenstein played Frank's lodge frenemy
Actor Fred Ornstein enjoyed small but memorable roles on three episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond" between Seasons 3 and 6. He was a reluctant member of the lodge pressed by Ray and Robert into recording a video for their dad in "Frank's Tribute" and later played Artie, a friend of Marie's whom she dragged over to Ray's house to see the twins tell a joke. The "Raymond" roles came during a busy period for Ornstein, who also logged appearances on "Scrubs," "The King of Queens," and "The West Wing" during this time frame.
Ornstein came to acting late in life after a long career in construction. A civil engineer for the City of New York, Ornstein was also actively involved in the civil rights movement and marched to Washington, D.C. with Dr. Martin Luther King in 1965. But he also longed to be an actor, and made his first on-screen appearance in the 1985 feature "The Mean Season" with Kurt Russell. He worked steadily throughout the 1990s and 2000s, often as a supporting or minor character on TV series like "Sisters" and "Everybody Hates Chris," though he also amassed a number of feature film credits, including "So I Married an Axe Murderer" and "Gang Related." Ornstein continued to work well into the 2000s, and logged his final TV turn on a 2015 episode of "Cougar Town." He died of cancer at the age of 85 on January 28, 2016.
Anna Berger was Marie's near-double, Rita Stipe
Robert finally moves out of his parents' house in Season 3's aptly titled "Moving Out," but his new living arrangements come to feel very familiar to him. That's because the Stipes—the elderly couple from whom he's renting a room—are almost exact duplicates of Frank and Marie. The Stipes returned the following season in "Marie and Frank's New Friends," in which Ray and Debra pair them up with his parents in order to keep them out of their hair. Unfortunately, this leads to not one but two sets of cranky seniors dropping by unannounced at Ray's house.
In both episodes, Harry Stipe was played by David Byrd, while screen and stage veteran Anna Berger played his wife, Rita. Berger began her career in New York during the 1950s and appeared on Broadway on numerous occasions; she moved into television during the same period and became a regular on live television dramas. In the 1970s, Berger became a familiar face to both moviegoers and television audiences. Often cast as mothers or grandmothers, she appeared as a hostage in "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" and a nurse in "Endless Love," and enjoyed guest roles on "Kojak," "Rhoda," and "Barney Miller."
Active well into the '90s and 2000s, Berger continued to play older women with forceful opinions: she was a senior socialist in Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors," a congresswoman in "Deep Cover," and Steve Buscemi's mother in "Ghost World." TV roles outside of "Raymond" during this period included "The Sopranos" (as Cookie Cirillo, who unfriended Paulie Walnuts' mother at a retirement home) and episodes of "NYPD Blue" and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Berger capped her career with a small role in the French film "Chinese Puzzle" before her death on May 26, 2014, at the age of 91.
Pierro Mascarino played Giorgio, the Italian Frank Barone
The Season 5 two-parter "Italy" proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that annoying behavior is hereditary by introducing audiences to Marie's second cousin, Coletta, who invites the Barones to stay with her during their visit to Italy. Coletta shows her connection to Marie by bathing Ray, while her husband, Giorgio, forged a connection with Frank when they teamed up to poke fun at their respective wives.
Silvana de Santis played Colettta in "Italy," while husband Giorgio was played by actor Pierrino Mascarino. Though his performance on "Raymond" painted him as a true Son of Italy, Mascarino was born in Illinois and began working on television in the late 1950s. He played character parts on television and the occasional feature throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most often as a streetwise or ethnic type on series like "Starsky and Hutch," "Barney Miller," and "The Gangster Chronicles," which cast him as mobster Paul Ricca.
Mascarino's schedule picked up considerably in the '80s and '90s with guest shots on "Murder, She Wrote," "Seinfeld," and "Mad About You." Shortly after his two "Raymond" appearances, Mascarino landed a rare lead in the independent comedy "Uncle Nino," which cast him as an elderly Italian man who brought Old World customs to his American relatives. His final screen appearance came with an episode of "Baskets" in 2016. Mascarino died the following year on June 2, 2017, at the age of 77.