Why Ray Romano was ‘tortured’ by the ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ name — and begged to change it

Everybody loves photos. 

“Everybody Loves Raymond” is the latest show to get an exhibit at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan, displaying costumes, props, and around 300 photos from the classic sitcom. 

“Almost all of the behind-the-scenes footage was shot by me. It’s probably the most documented TV show ever,” series writer and exec producer Tom Caltabiano exclusively told The Post.

“I met Ray [Romano] in probably 1989. And I take pictures of everything, so I took a lot of pictures of Ray when we were doing stand-up together on the road. Then, he just happened to become famous… [as] I was writing [on ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’], I started taking more photos, but I was 100% unofficial.” 

“Everybody Loves Raymond” ran for nine seasons on CBS, from 1996 to 2005. The sitcom followed Raymond “Ray” Barone (Romano), a sports writer living with his family in Long Island. Patricia Heaton co-starred as his wife, Debra, Brad Garrett played his brother, Robert, and Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle played his parents. 

By the end of the show’s run, Caltabiano took 30,000 photos, making the 300 on display just a fraction of the total.

He explained that it’s rare for a writer to be on staff “for the entire series from beginning to end,” which is also why the show is so well-documented. 

The exhibit is currently open and runs through Sept. 7. 

Some props include Robert’s police uniform, and the fictional family’s toaster and yellow coffee canister.

Visitors can also pose for photos on the couch from the show, but curator Jason Lynch told The Post that those are recreations to avoid any mishaps.

“We just wanted guests to have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the family’s furniture and take a photo and feel like they are part of the family. Which is also the feeling you get watching the show,” he explained, adding that everything else in the exhibit is original.  

For Caltabiano, tracking down the props and costumes for a show that’s been off the air for 20 years wasn’t too difficult. 

“It was such a tight-knit group that worked on the show. It was so personal to everybody involved, so they did have so many things already. That certainly was a big help in putting this together,” Lynch explained. 

Romano’s manager, Rory Rosegarten, had a lot of props such as the toaster and canister. 

“He had a bunch. And we still have more coming from various places in the country…it’s shocking how dispersed it was,” said Caltabiano. 

Caltabiano himself rescued some papers that are displayed in the exhibit. 

“The wardrobe department takes a Polaroid photo of every single actor of every single wardrobe change from every scene of every episode,” he explained. 

When the show ended, they were going to be tossed into a dumpster. 

“I was like, ‘Oh man, if I could save these from ‘I Love Lucy’ can you imagine how valuable they were?’ At that time, we ended two days ago, so it’s not as much of a nostalgia, but I saved them all. So I store them all in my basement, and when I look at them, I’m like, ‘wow, what a record of every single moment of the show.’”

The exhibit also has a glass display case showing Romano’s list of alternate titles for the show, including, “That Raymond Guy,” “Concerning Raymond” and “Um, Raymond.” 

“Ray was tortured by the name,” Caltabiano explained. 

“Because Ray in real life is a modest guy and he’s like, ‘Everybody loves Ray, what if the show stinks? Every journalist is going to be like, oh really, everyone loves Ray?’”

He quipped, “Thank God it was a hit. He had to make it a hit just to overcome that title!”

Similar to the show, in real life, Romano’s brother was a cop. Romano’s sibling used to joke about saving people and getting shot at during his job, while Romano instead “tells jokes and gets an award…everybody loves Raymond!” 

After they put that in the script, he said series creator Phil Rosenthal’s wife, Monica Horan, who was also in the series, said ‘that would be a great title for the show.’” 

“And then Ray was like ‘Oh no. Are you kidding me?’” he recalled.

“So, he called [David] Letterman, and he called the president of CBS and said ‘Please, can we change the show name?’ So the president said, ‘Look, if it’s a hit, we’ll change it.’ And then it became a hit and the president says, ‘Well, we can’t change it now!’”

When asked if a reboot or revival could ever happen, Caltabiano said, “Well, I believe in the works is a reunion show where Phil and the cast reunite and talk about clips and their favorite moments. Doing a newly scripted reboot – that I don’t know. Honestly, without Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts, it would be a completely different show,” he said, referring to how Boyle died age age 90 in 2016, while Boyle died at age 71 in 2006. 

But, he added, “Never say never.”