Everybody Loves Raymond fans are going to get their fix 15 years after the series finale. Patricia Heaton, who won two Emmy Awards for her role as Debra Barone on the show, just took to Twitter to share the news of a cast reunion for a special cause.
‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ cast honors their late co-star
Posting the happy news on Oct. 12, Heaton tweeted a special “save the date” to her followers describing the big event.
“Mark your calendar NOW!” Heaton wrote. “15 years after the series finale, the cast of Everybody Loves Raymond reunites for a reunion table read of six selected scenes!”
Peter Boyle, who portrayed the lovable curmudgeon Frank Barone for nine seasons on the show, died in 2006 from multiple myeloma and heart disease. The Everybody Loves Raymond reunion benefits the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) in honor of their dear friend.
“@IMFmyeloma 14th Annual Comedy Celebration goes virtual this year, and you’re invited http://comedy.myeloma.org,” Heaton tweeted.
Annual tribute to Peter Boyle
With details given on the IMF event page, the Everybody Loves Raymond cast will perform a table read of six selected scenes from the sitcom. Heaton, Ray Romano (Ray Barone), Brad Garrett (Robert Barone), and Monica Horan (Amy Barone) will reprise their roles for the event, along with show creator Phil Rosenthal. Missing from the ensemble is Doris Roberts (Marie Barone), who died in 2016.
Viewers can stream the 90-minute show from IMF’s YouTube channel and Facebook page on Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. ET.
The IMF’s Annual Comedy Celebration began in 2007 in honor of Boyle. Each year, the event features comedy and music from top celebrities. According to their website, IMF has raised nearly $8 million for the Peter Boyle Research Fund thanks to donations from the event.
‘Never say never’
With several iconic series reappearing in reboots over the past few years, fans of Everybody Loves Raymond were hoping they would see the Barone family on the air once again. Rosenthal previously shot down the idea, mainly due to the passing of Boyle, Roberts, and Sawyer Sweeten, who played twin son Geoffrey.
“I’ll never say never, but look, we lost three of our cast members, right?” Rosenthal told CinemaBlend in 2018. “It’s never going to be the same again, it can’t be. Plus these shows usually aren’t the same again anyway. We did the show exactly the way we wanted to. If you love the show and love those characters, they’re still available, thankfully, in syndication. You can always visit your friends.”
Romano echoed Rosenthal’s sentiments, seeing a reboot as a long shot.
“We both agree,” Romano said of himself and Rosenthal, according to UPI. “Both parents are gone and they were SO the show. It’s so not the show, then. We just don’t believe it would do the show justice or be good enough to do it. Not only that, but one of the kids is gone also … I never say never, but I think it’s ‘no.’”
Though the IMF table read isn’t a full-blown reboot, the Everybody Loves Raymond reunion gives loyal followers of the Barones a nostalgic 90 minutes of classic comedy.
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