- List of Everybody Loves Raymond characters
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This is a list of fictional characters from Everybody Loves Raymond, an American sitcom, originally broadcast on CBS from September 13, 1996 to May 16, 2005.
The show revolves around the life of Italian-American Ray Barone, a sportswriter from Long Island, and his wife, Debra Barone. Other main characters include Ray's parents, Frank and Marie, Ray's children Ally, Michael and Geoffrey and his brother Robert, wife Amy.
Contents
Main characters
Ray Barone
Raymond Albert Barone First appearance "Pilot" Last appearance Final Everybody Loves Raymond appearance: "The Finale"
Character appearance: "Raygin' Bulls"
FinalCreated by Ray Romano & Philip Rosenthal Information Occupation Sportswriter/Head of Sports Features Spouse(s) Debra Barone (1988-present) Raymond Albert "Ray" Barone, (Ray Romano) is the protagonist of the sitcom. Most of the series’ storylines revolve around him, hence the title of the show.
He lives in New York, Lynbrook, Long Island with his wife Debra and their three children Ally and twin boys, Michael and Geoffrey Barone. Ray is well-known through the community due to his profession as a writer for a sports column. In some episodes, he is seen reviewing a famous sportsperson. However, this is shown to have subsided in the later seasons. Due to the nature of his work, Ray is often seen on the couch watching sports rather than assisting Debra with household duties and the children.
Raymond is also shown to have a rather weak/timid and neurotic personality. He is often heard complaining in a nasally whiny voice that he has a serious illness; in one particular incident Debra had to put up with Ray when he faked an illness to avoid responsibility. His fears include not being liked by everyone and confronting his parents, particularly Marie. Ray often gets annoyed because he and Debra rarely have sex, which causes him to occasionally flirt with other women, though would never cheat on his wife.
Parts of backstory have explained Raymond’s attitude and personality as an adult. During their childhoods, Raymond and Robert were raised in a dysfunctional family, with their mom spoiling them and being over-nurturing (at least with Raymond) and their father showing no love or affection for either boy and cutting them both out of picture, which Ray has ironically mimicked with his own reluctance to participate with his children.
Ray attended St. Johns University (New York) in Queens, New York.
He has a habit of saying "shut up" whenever frustrated or irritated at anyone, particularly Robert. He's also a liar for his own selfishness.
Note- In 2004, TV Guide ranked Ray Barone number 10 on it's '50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time' list.[1]
Debra Barone
Debra Louise Barone First appearance "Pilot" Last appearance "The Finale" Information Occupation none Family Warren Whelan (father)
Lois Whelan (mother)
Jennifer Whelan (sister)Spouse(s) Raymond Barone (1988-present) Debra Louise Barone (Patricia Heaton), is the deuteragonist of the sitcom and the wife of Ray.
Debra was raised by wealthy parents- Lois and Warren Whalen- and grew up in an upper-class background, unlike the other major characters in the sitcom. She has a sister, Jennifer Whalen, who is seen only once in the entire series. Following her graduation from high school, Debra travelled a lot and dated many famous sportspeople. Before marrying Ray, she worked in public relations for the New York Rangers hockey team.
Debra is emotional and very sensitive. She is stressed out as a housewife, because she has to put up not only with Ray’s corny jokes and unwillingness to help, but also with his obnoxious, intrusive family members, who often barge in uninvited and harass the couple, leaving emotional havoc in their wake.
She is frequently at odds with her mother-in-law, Marie, who shows a large amount of distaste with Debra as a mother and as Raymond's wife. Throughout the series, Debra often finds Robert the most understanding of the Barones, which tightens their relationship. At times, she is also shown to get along well with Frank, who thinks of her as a daughter and understands her attitude toward Marie. Debra’s hairstyles and wardrobe constantly changed throughout the course of the series.
Marie Barone
Marie Janella Barone First appearance "Pilot" Last appearance "Finale" Information Occupation Housewife Spouse(s) Frank Barone (1957-) Marie Janella Barone (Doris Roberts) is the main antagonist of the sitcom, wife of Frank, and matriarch of the Barone family.
As a housewife, she excels in household duties, including cooking, cleaning, and generally keeping and maintaining a good household. Marie is shown to be very narcissistic, arrogant, self-centered, conceited, and snobbish throughout the series, particularly towards her daughter-in-law Debra, and others as well, including her friends Lee and Stan, Robert’s dates, and people with whom Ray works. She has very high self-esteem and believes herself as a positive example of what every wife, mother and woman should be. She takes special pride in her Italian background and even arranges a tour of Italy for the whole family out of her own savings.
Throughout the sitcom, Marie is shown to have favorites with certain people, with her son Raymond being the first and Debra being possibly the last. Other than Frank, everyone has a hard time standing up to Marie, although Debra does finally take a stand. Marie is well aware of her son Raymond’s reluctance to stand up to her, and in some situations takes advantage of this to achieve her own interests.
As her boys were growing up, Marie smothered her youngest son while completely cutting Robert out of the picture. However, in a later episode, she claimed that this was because Robert was able to take care of himself and was independent, in contrast to Ray who was a soft, weak, needy little boy. In some cases, however, Marie is shown to care and be overprotective for her other son Robert. This includes when he had nightmares growing up, when he was gored by a bull in the line of duty, when he was up for an FBI promotion, and her frequent attempts to get Robert out of the police force in effort to keep him safe.
Marie is also seen constantly arguing with her husband Frank in nearly every episode of the sitcom. However, in some situations, there have been times when they do devote their love for one another, despite their reluctance to be open with it.
The final episode reveals that Marie's birthday is December 9, 1929 (this was one of Frank's classic "one-liners"), which would explain her inability to grasp with change and her technophobia.
Frank Barone
Frank Oscar Barone First appearance "Pilot" Last appearance "Finale" Information Occupation Bookkeeper (retired) Spouse(s) Marie Barone (1957-) Francis Oscar "Frank" Barone (Peter Boyle) is the secondary antagonist of the sitcom, husband of Marie, and a retired bookkeeper.
During the course of the series, Frank is seen as stubborn, hungry, outspoken, and rigidly masculine. Although it is briefly mentioned that he has a soft side, Frank refuses to accept it. In episodes like "Pet the Bunny" and "Christmas Present" he indicates that, though capable of kindness and sensitivity, he deliberately cultivates a tough guy image.
He is always seen at Ray and Debra’s house on the black armchair with his pants unbuttoned and zipper open watching sports or at home ordering Marie to prepare his meals while sitting and reading the paper. During his sons’ childhood, Frank was virtually absent and had refused to show any sign of affection and love to either boy. He was constantly at odds with his wife Marie to how the boys were to be raised. He is very opinionated, outspoken, and has no problem insulting family members and strangers out in the open (this applies in particular to his wife, Marie). He calls men names like “Nancy”, “Shirley”, "Peaches", and "Mary" who don’t live up to his standards to what it takes to be a man. His main catchphrase on the show is "Holy Crap".
Throughout the sitcom, Frank is shown to have socially conservative values, particularly regarding minority groups such as hippies, gays and lesbians, and ethnic groups such as the Koreans and Japanese to which he occasionally mutters “Japanese crap”. He doesn’t follow or accept anything outside the social norms, to which his wife proclaims “Frank lives in blissful ignorance”. Despite his wife’s constant self-regard, she is accepting of these minority groups. Much to other characters' dismay, he's not above engaging in illegal or dubious activities such as gambling or stealing cable from Ray.
In his spare time, Frank is a skilled handyman and a history buff, with a particular interest in the American Civil War. He's frequently seen making repairs in Ray and Debra's house, and in "Frank Goes Downstairs" is injured while fixing their staircase. His regular get-away activity is having naked pool bath with his elderly friends at a community centre referred to as "the lodge". On every other Saturday, he takes Raymond's children to The Happy Zone.
He is a troublesome driver and the family is concerned about the way he passes remarks to other people on the road.
Frank is also a war veteran. He fought in the Korean War and he uses this as a reference for recounting stories of survival and how he came to be a “man”. In one particular incident, where all three Barone men were pretending to go to counselling sessions it was revealed that Ray and Robert had a long line of physically disciplinarian grandparents. However, Frank vowed never to be physically abusive towards his sons.
Robert Barone
Robert Charles Barone Information Gender Male Occupation Police Officer (NYPD) Spouse(s) Joanne Glotz (1994–1996,divorced)
Amy MacDougall-Barone (2003-present)Robert Charles Barone (Brad Garrett) is the tertiary antagonist. He is Ray's older brother and the first born son of Frank and Marie, conceived out of wedlock. Standing at 6' 8½", he is the tallest Barone, and has several quirks, the biggest being a nervous habit of touching food to his chin before eating it, commonly known as the "Crazy Chin", which he developed to cope with stress which started when Raymond was born and all of Marie's attention turned to Raymond. Robert is a caring uncle and still deeply cares for little brother Raymond. Robert has been a Police Officer with the New York City Police Department for 27 years, eventually attaining the rank of Sergeant and then, by the end of the series, Lieutenant. His height, appearance and demeanor are the source of much humor, but despite his huge size, Robert is a very skilled dancer.
After divorcing his first wife Joanne, Robert moved back in with his parents, became a workaholic and was acknowledged by the NYPD for never being absent one day of his career. Robert's diverse skills as a police officer even got him an interview with the FBI, but his mother intentionally interfered in the interview process. Robert was passed over but simply because the other candidates were more qualified. He was injured on the job when he was gored in the bottom by a bull. When he returned, he left the police force out of fear, and became a telemarketer. Later he took a side job as an alarm salesman for a brief time (one episode) but returned to the NYPD, mainly with Raymond's help.
Robert dated Debra's best friend Amy MacDougall for several years, despite a number of breakups. After a bad date with yet another woman, Robert ran into Amy in a bar and they soon got back together and married in 2003. In 2004, they purchased Frank and Marie's home for $26,000, but they had to welcome them back in when they were kicked out of a retirement community in New Jersey in the episode "Not so Fast".
Robert is very jealous of his brother Raymond, who was favored by their mother, and though Robert is four years older than Ray and much taller, he constantly feels as if he's stuck in Ray's shadow. Despite the obvious favoring of Ray, Marie has claimed that there was never any favoritism. He has a very cruel sense of humor and will make fun of Raymond to no end to get a little belated revenge. He is also known for being very passive-aggressive. While not averse to picking on Ray himself, Robert does seem, however, to be protective of his younger brother; in one episode, he overhears a journalist insulting Ray at length and angrily tells him off. He also respects Ray as a well-intentioned, if generally absent, father, in the pattern of Frank. Robert serves as the moral conscience in the family, as the most virtuous of the characters, and often pleads with others when they are considering doing something questionable.
Amy MacDougall-Barone
Amy Louise MacDougall-Barone Information Gender Female Family Hank MacDougall (father)
Pat MacDougall (mother)
Peter MacDougall (brother)Spouse(s) Robert Barone (2003-present) Amy Louise MacDougall (Monica Horan) is Robert's on-and-off girlfriend, and eventual wife. They met because Amy is Debra's best friend. She and Debra share the same middle name. Although Amy marries Robert in Season 7, Episode 24: "Robert's Wedding", she also appears in the previous seasons. Many issues have caused Amy and Robert to break up in the first six seasons, with one being caused by Raymond and another being that Robert had sex with another woman. Quite often, Amy apologizes to someone even if she didn't do anything wrong.
She is a bubbly girl who was raised in a family of devout Protestants, who live in Pennsylvania. She describes her parents as "people who wouldn't yell if they were on fire". Amy was a virgin when she met Robert, which Ray had a hard time believing, as Amy was 33 at the time. She eventually lost her virginity to Robert before they were married, but they were spotted having sex by their neighbors, causing Robert's neighbors to sign a sheet mandating bedroom curtains in the apartment building.
Supporting characters
Hank and Pat MacDougall
Henry "Hank" and Patricia "Pat" MacDougall (Fred Willard and Georgia Engel) are Amy's parents and they first appear in Season 7, Episode 14: "Just a Formality". Devout conservative Protestants, they oppose their daughter's marriage because of Robert's previous marital status and Catholic faith. These matters are not helped as they soon learn that the MacDougalls and the Barones are not the most compatible of families; the two sides still do not like each other after many tries at truce, although the Barones have always loved Amy, and the MacDougalls come to accept Robert. Hank refers to his wife as "mother." A running gag is the continuity of which arm Pat's purse is on, often changing several times in one scene.
Peter MacDougall
Peter MacDougall (Chris Elliott) is Amy's older brother. He has a strange, psychologically unstable personality - Robert has stated that "There are squirrels juggling knives in his head" - and a sneaky, clever mind. Also opposed to his sister's marriage, he insists that he will keep trying to break it up, which explains during Robert's wedding that Robert and Ray looked at him when the pastor asked if anyone objected to Robert and Amy's marriage. Peter is single but lives with his pet house cat, Miss Puss. At first, Peter and Robert do not get along very well, but in "Peter on the Couch," the two find common ground in the fact that they both suffered from being the overshadowed older sibling and living with their parents. He is also fond of Ray, although the feeling isn't mutual.
Peter was originally introduced as "Russell", the owner of a comic book shop, and was played by comedian Paul Reubens in a one-time appearance. Russell abruptly became Peter because in Season 7, Episode 14: "Just a Formality", Peter (Chris Elliott) mentions meeting Ray at the comic book store (which was Russell).
Barone children
- Alexandra "Ally" Barone (Madylin Sweeten) – Ray and Debra's only daughter. She is five years old at the beginning of the series, and is fourteen by the series finale. She was named for Romano's real-life daughter. In the beginning, she is somewhat mischievous and naughty much like her brothers, but becomes loyal and helpful by the end. However, she still occasionally fibs and answers back to her parents if she doesn't get what she wants, for example, a $250 silk dress which was only going to be worn once.
- Geoffrey and Michael Barone (Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten) – Ray and Debra's identical twin sons. They are one-year-olds at the beginning of the series and are ten by the series finale. A running joke is Frank's insistence that Geoffrey may have homosexual tendencies, such as when he walks into the two boys training to be fairies in a school play. The two are stereotypically playful, energetic, and are prone to causing chaos even without trying but in general are very well behaved. (In the pilot episode, Ray's twin boys were not played by Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten, but by a different set of twins and a set of triplets. In addition, his sons were named "Gregory" and "Matthew", after Romano's real-life twin sons).
Recurring characters
- Lois Whelan (Katherine Helmond) – Debra's mother, who is gentle and sweet but easily insulted.
- Warren Whelan (Robert Culp) – Debra's father, who has a love of collecting antiques, and, in a running joke on the show, is often referred to as having a problem with alcohol.
- Uncle Mel Barone (Phil Leeds) – Frank's older brother who makes several appearances. A running gag is since he was never married, he mentions at least once in every episode he is in fact, not gay.
- Gerard (Fred Stoller) – Ray and Robert's annoying, unintelligent and hypochondriacal cousin who makes several appearances. He plays the accordion.
- Joanne Glotz (Suzie Plakson) - Robert's first wife, who is depicted very negatively. She and Robert divorced before the beginning of the series. She formerly worked as a stripper.
- Bernie and Linda Gruenfelder (Tom McGowan and Maggie Wheeler) – Married couple, friends of Ray & Debra.
- Claude Gianni (Jon Manfrellotti) – Simply known as Gianni. A contractor, ex-futon repairman, and friend of Raymond. He briefly dated Amy, much to Robert's consternation, and is disliked by Debra as immature. He was also on The King of Queens. Jon Manfrellotti first appeared as a cable guy from Lynbrook cable in Season 1, Episode 17: "The Game".
- Andy (Andy Kindler) – A fellow sportswriter and friend of Raymond.
- Doug Heffernan (Kevin James) – A friend and golf buddy of Raymond's and an IPS deliveryman (a takeoff on UPS). Before 1998 James appeared as Kevin Daniels, the announcer for the Mets. He also hosted "Sports Talk with Roy Firestone" in Season 2, Episode 1: "Ray's on TV".
- Dave (Dave Attell) - A friend of Raymond and a member of the Nemo's sponsored basketball team in Season 1, Episode 11: "Captain Nemo".
- Judy Potter (Sherri Shepherd) – Robert's NYPD patrol partner.
- Lee and Stan – Friends of Marie and Frank.
- Harriet Lichtman – Marie's bridge partner, and Frank's fantasy woman. Often talked about but only appears in Season 7, Episode 20: "Who's Next".
- Garvin (Len Lesser) – A friend of Frank's. A running gag is that when he sees Raymond, he shouts, "Hey, Ray's here! Ha-ha-ha!" while shaking his arms in the air. Lesser used the same phrase, except it's "Hey, Jerry's here! Ha-ha-ha!" when he portrayed Uncle Leo on Seinfeld everytime he sees his nephew Jerry.
- Albert (Ray Romano's real-life father, Albert Romano) – A lodge friend of Frank, seen in various lodge-related episodes.
- Max (Phil Rosenthal's real-life father, Max Rosenthal) - A lodge friend of Frank, seen in various lodge-related episodes.
- Abe Warchiser aka Bullethead (John David Conti) - Frank's worst enemy at his lodge, seen in various lodge-related episodes. He proved he hated Frank in the episode "Franks Tribute" by telling Robert and Raymond "I dont like Frank Barone!"
- Father Hubley (Charles Durning) - The local parish priest. He loves Marie's lasagna. Very wary of the Barones, his long-time parishioners, but usually has helpful advice to offer.
- Nemo (Joseph V. Perry, Robert Ruth) – Pizza restaurant owner. Disappears when Marco takes over his pizzeria and calls it Marco's.
- Angelina (Tina Arning) - a very attractive waitress from Nemo's. Ray often goes to the restaurant just to fantasize about her beauty. Appears in 4 episodes.
- Bill Parker (David Hunt) – Ray's nemesis neighbor. Parker is often seen showing-up Ray as a father, and Ray often makes jokes that Debra wishes she had married him instead, which is amusing because he is played by Patricia Heaton's real-life husband. Ray's character has said lines that has him thinking out loud that his kids are possibly Bill Parker's doing, because all the kids playing his children on the show are blond, like Bill Parker.
- Peggy Ardolino (Amy Aquino) – Single mother of Ally's best friend who has bullied Ray and later becomes Peter's girlfriend. Referred to as "The Cookie Lady" and "Peggy Hitler" by Ray. Whenever they see each other, Peggy says, "hello, Ally's dad," while he just says "hello.. Peggy," in a very intimidating way. Debra ending up scaring Peggy off so she would leave Ray alone saying- "nobody beats up my husband." Her characteristics are similar to Hitler, according to Ray.
- Molly Ardolino (Ray Romano's actual daughter, Alexandra Romano) – Daughter of Peggy Ardolino (Ray's archenemy and Debra's friend) and Ally's best friend. However, she was first seen as a flower girl in a flashback of Ray and Debra's wedding.
- Stefania Fogagnolo (Alex Meneses) – Robert's hot and jilted Italian ex-girlfriend he met while vacationing with the Barone clan in Italy. He had a fling with her in Italy while he was still with Amy, which later causes breakups with both girlfriends.
- Marco Fogagnolo (David Proval) – The intimidating and threatening Italian father of Stefania, who takes over Nemo's Pizza after the family moves to America, jokingly implying that he "did away with" Nemo. Although he dislikes Robert, he befriends Frank and Marie but the two end up fighting for his friendship.
- Brian Trenberth (Dan Castellaneta) - Was the T-ball "healthy snacks" overseer that Debra tangled with and Ray finally blew up on. Episode# 42, Season 2, "T-Ball." He was also Coach Brian in Season 6, Episode 8: "It's Supposed To Be Fun."
- Shamsky - Robert's dog he gets in season 1, episode 19, "The Dog". Makes brief cameos in other episodes.
References
Categories:- Lists of television characters
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