Rory Rosegarten fairly bubbles with enthusiasm when talking about executive producing Everybody Loves Raymond which aired on CBS for nine seasons, 210 episodes from 1996 to 2005 and remains extremely popular in reruns.
The show is celebrating 30 years with an exhibit at the Paley Museum in New York City that ran from June through September 2025, a prime time CBS reunion special that aired Nov. 24, 2025 and now the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) in Stony Brook invites the public into the Barone family Lynbrook home featured in this beloved sitcom with an exciting interactive exhibit Everybody Loves Raymond: Celebrating 30 Years opening Nov. 28.
Rosegarten, who was part of the show since its inception, is a loyal Long Islander, who grew up in Great Neck and currently resides with his family in Manhasset. Of the years spent flying back and forth between New York to LA for the show, he said, “I’m a Long Island guy through and through. When I did Raymond, I commuted Wednesday to Friday about 28 weeks of the year for nine years. I wasn’t gonna move!”
Rosegarten is credited with bringing this exhibit to LIMEHOF. “I’ve been friends with the Chairman of LIMEHOF, Ernie Canadeo, for a long time and he asked me if the exhibit could be brought to Stony Brook after the Paley Center. I made it so that the folks at the Paley exhibit, Ernie and company would speak. I put all the elements together and here we are!”
When asked what fans should expect when they come to the exhibit, Rosegarten said, “It’s fantastic! LIMEHOF took the set so it’s there. If you heard about Raymond and never saw an episode, you’ll love the exhibit and if you were a fan of the show you’ll be in heaven. I donated a lot of props to the exhibit because when we were making Raymond after every episode I would ask the set designers could I have the props and everybody made fun of me. They said what do you need that stuff for? Then sure enough 30 years later I’m the guy who’s got everything! They had to come to me and I was more than happy to give it to them.”
About the enduring popularity of Everybody Loves Raymond in reruns, Rosegarten said, “The amazing thing is it’s a very simple show about a family and nothing is crazy. They’re the same as your family and my family. We all have brothers or sisters or mother-in-laws or father-in-laws or friends. The show creator was Phil Rosenthal. When he and Ray got together to work on this project, Phil was like the Jewish Ray. Ray is Italian and Phil is Jewish but their families were the same. They created a show based on real life situations that are relatable. We ended every day by 6:00 PM, so the writers would go home and get into a fight with their wife so the next day they could write about it. The writers were wizards — all of them. Everything is very real and not contrived and I think that is the secret to what makes this show last as long as it does. People love it. They laugh at it, cry at it. Everything about it works.”
For years, a reboot has been circulating but on that Rosegarten said, “Some things are better left alone and this is one of them. It’s a big piece of work and it’s one of those rare times where something is perfect and when it’s perfect you don’t touch it. We had an incredible ensemble cast with Ray, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, the twins Sawyer and Sullivan Sweeten and their real life sister Madylin. Doris was the grounding force on the show. She could say more without saying anything. She could throw a look and make the audience go into hysterics. It’s a rare ability and she was fantastic! Peter was brilliant! We lost Doris, Peter and one of the kids. Some things are better left alone and this is one of them.”
Rosegarten is a talent manager and created The Conversation Company long ago in addition to being a producer. He has been Ray Romano’s manager since their early days of trying to navigate through the entertainment business. “I’m the only manager he ever had and I’ve been with him virtually from day one. Ray was a standup comedian and I was a young manager. We were trying to make our way through the world and to learn of opportunities. This sitcom idea just presented itself. Ray had been on the David Letterman Show and he was superb. The following Saturday Rob Burnett from Dave’s company, a subdivision of Worldwide Pants, called Ray at home and offered him a deal. They were producing some shows and that’s how the whole thing started and then we built it from the ground up. We were fortunate enough to meet Phil Rosenthal and the rest is TV history.”
Rosegarten earned two Primetime Emmy Awards for the show which he keeps in his office. “I look at the Emmys every day. I don’t mean that in a trite way. I can’t believe even to this day that I was part of the team that won them. When I look at those Emmys, time stands still. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
These days Rosegarten is producing a number of projects including a biopic for Netflix starring Pete Davidson called I Slept With Joey Ramone. “The book was written by Joey’s brother Mickey about his relationship with his brother in the early days of the band. Mickey’s been a friend of mine for about 45 years and we’re in the midst of it now but nothing has been shot yet. I’m also producing an animated movie and we’re working on producing a special with John Daly the golfer. I’m doing that with someone that I manage and also a dear friend of mine, Gary Valentine, who’s Kevin James’ brother. We’re working on a sitcom that is very exciting.”
As a final thought on Everybody Loves Raymond, Rosegarten said, “The thing that’s very important is everybody was nice from the cast to the crew to the office folk and the writers. It really was a group effort. Ray is such a good-natured guy and he set a tone with Phil on the show. Everybody loved being there. It was a great experience in my life and it is something that I hold very near and dear, because I realize how rare it is. I was fortunate enough to be a small part of it and I’m really happy my life played out that way.”
