‘Everybody Loves Raymond’: Brad Garrett Revealed His Main Topic of Conversation With Ray Romano Post-Sitcom

Brad Garrett and Ray Romano continued their friendship after Everybody Loves Raymond ended their nine-season run in 2005. The pair of comedians would sometimes embark on a standup tour together or meet up for an event, where they discussed a subject that had nothing to do with show business.

Brad Garrett and Ray Romano compared ailments post-‘Everybody Loves Raymond’

In his 2015 book, When the Balls Drop: How I Learned to Get Real and Embrace Life’s Second Half, Garrett wrote of seeing the Everybody Loves Raymond star occasionally after the series wrapped and what would be their common ground of conversing.

“On the rare occasions when Ray and I get together to do a stand-up tour, gold, or play poker, we compare ailments and the amount of stiffness we feel in the morning,” Garrett explained, adding, “Unfortunately that stiffness is in the wrong area.”

Garrett noted how their financial brackets still differed, with Romano being in an upper tier.

“We find ourselves bombarded with thoughts of what will truly like on the other side of this hill,” the sitcom star shared. “He’s a lot richer than I am, so at least he can buy the cure for almost anything or purchase the moon if the earth gets too crowded. Me? I’m gonna keep up with the Icy Hot, hide that quick-dissolving aspirin next to the alarm clock, and pray the hip gives out before the ticker.”

Brad Garrett revealed his first impression of Ray Romano

When Garrett heard they were testing comics for the role of Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, his interest was peaked. Despite traveling in the same standup circles, Romano and Garret had never been introduced.

“Ironically, with all my years on the comedy circuit, I had never met Ray,” Garrett wrote. “I knew of him as a really solid and talented standup, but our paths had never crossed.”

When casting for Everybody Loves Raymond began, Garrett was the first actor chosen as part of the ensemble. Romano was unable to attend Garrett’s audition, but the two soon met.

“A few weeks later, I met Raymond and promptly felt that we were doomed,” Garrett remarked. “How could this guy lead a show? He looked like the teenager you would see at Whole Foods spraying down the produce. … He had a nasal quality to his voice that I prayed was seasonal. And he took hypochondria to a new level.”

‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ cast was ‘like a family’

After getting to know Romano, Garrett realized the comedian was up to the challenge of leading the sitcom.

“How could this guy be so completely unnatural, lovable, and real all at the same time?” the Emmy winner wrote. “And then my T. Rex brain put it together… This was exactly who Raymond needed to be. And lucky for us, he had a sh*tload of talent as a writer, as well as the acting chops to play himself authentically. He was truly the every man whom the nation would soon fall in love with.”

The actor spoke fondly of his time on the show, and expressed his gratitude for being a part of Everybody Loves Raymond.

“In the nine years I worked on Raymond, we had a lot of laughs, and as cliché as it may sound, we really were like a family,” Garrett said. “We were surrounded by brilliant writers, and a commitment to do the best work that we could. I was one lucky bastard to be allowed on the bus.”