Just like most other comedians, Ray Ramano spent years cracking jokes about himself and the people in his life on comedy stages. As a result, many of his fans became interested in who the comedian is as a person including wanting to know fascinating facts about Ramano’s personal life. However, no matter how willing Ramano was to talk about his personal life, his fans were never going to get to see footage of what he is like at home.
Instead of starring in a “reality” show, Ray Ramano allowed his fans to watch a fictionalized version of his life by starring in the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. An extremely successful show, nine seasons of Everybody Loves Raymond aired and were watched by millions of devoted fans. With that in mind, it is amazing to learn that on one occasion, almost all of Everybody Loves Raymond’s stars protested the show.
Ray Ramano Made A Fortune From Everybody Loves Raymond
Before Everybody Loves Raymond became a massive hit, the show’s titular star had already enjoyed a great deal of success. Despite that, however, Ray Ramano definitely wasn’t a famous actor before he became a TV star. With that in mind, it has been amazing to see Ramano become a highly respected dramatic actor over the last several years. After all, Ramano landed a role in the TV drama Parenthood and he starred in movies like The Big Sick and The Irishman.
Even though Ray Ramano has enjoyed a great deal of career success since Everybody Loves Raymond ended, there still is no doubt that staring in that sitcom is his biggest claim to fame. On top of that, it is very clear that Ramano has accumulated most of his estimated $200 million fortune as a result of starring in Everybody Loves Raymond. After all, Ramano was able to negotiate an amazing deal to star in and executive produce the hit sitcom.
In between Everybody Loves Raymond’s seventh and eighth seasons, Ray Ramano negotiated a new deal with CBS. According to the terms of that deal, Ramano got a chunk of the profits from Everybody Loves Raymond’s syndication rights which is something he continues to cash in on today. On top of that, Ramano was paid roughly $1.8 million per episode for the show’s last two seasons which meant he made $50 million a year.
Why Most Of Everybody Loves Raymond’s Stars Protested The Show
When looking back at Everybody Loves Raymond’s time on television, it makes sense that Ray Ramano was paid so much money to star in and executive produce the show. However, even though Ramano was the biggest key to the show’s success, it also is clear that other actors played a huge role in the sitcom’s popularity as well. After all, Everybody Loves Raymond’s popularity would have disappeared overnight if all of the show’s stars aside from Ramano left the show.
On top of the show’s fans realizing that all of Everybody Loves Raymond's main stars played a role in the show’s popularity, the sitcom’s lead actors clearly realized that was the case as well. As a result, when Brad Garrett realized that Ray Ramano was being paid roughly $1.8 million per episode and he was receiving only $160,000, he was not okay with that. As a result, Garrett opted to not show up to work for two weeks in a ploy to get a pay raise.
While Brad Garrett initially was the only one to not show up to film Everybody Loves Raymond, it has been reported that most of the show’s other stars then followed suit. For example, Patricia Heaton called out sick and while her representatives claimed she really was ill, nobody actually buys that.
In the end, everything worked out as Everybody Loves Raymond’s production resumed after the show’s stars aside from Ray Ramano were given a raise. On top of that, Garrett’s ploy also resulted in the series’ stars aside from Ramano also getting to share in the show’s profits from syndication which is a much bigger deal than getting a per episode raise. Thanks in large part to the deal they got after the walkout, all of Everybody Loves Raymond’s stars became very wealthy by the time the show ended.
As Everybody Loves Raymond’s star and executive producer, Ray Ramano had a lot to lose from the show’s production being put in question. When he spoke to People about that in 2003, however, Ramano made it clear that he had no problem with what his co-stars did to get their pay raise. “It was inevitable. When my salary came out in the papers, I knew stuff would happen.” “I’d do exactly the same thing as this cast did,” Romano said. “I don’t hold anything against anyone, not the cast or CBS. I’m loyal to both of them … I wanted it to get resolved, but I knew it had to play its course.” It also is worth noting that Everybody Loves Raymond’s stars continue to get along during reunions to this day.