Everybody Loves Raymond is one of the most successful sitcoms of all time.
It was a ratings juggernaut for CBS, has generated six international spinoffs, and catapulted
the careers of several members of the cast.
But as with any Hollywood success story, there's always a darker side to the glitz and glamour.
These are the secrets that one of America's favorite sitcom families tried to hide.
Salary Standoff
In 2003, Ray Romano negotiated a one-year deal that made him the highest paid actor
on television, earning $1.8 million dollars per episode.
As the star of the show, Romano had always been paid much more than the rest of the cast,
but in light of his record-breaking season eight raise, the rest of the cast, particularly
Brad Garrett, seized on an opportunity to renegotiate their own contracts.
What happened was Garrett refused to show up for the taping of the first episode of
the season and demanded a raise, according to The Washington Post.
Patricia Heaton, who played Ray's wife, quote, "called out sick," and both Doris Roberts
and Peter Boyle, Romano's TV mom and dad followed her lead.
The message was clear, but Garrett also made it a point to say that there was no ill will
toward Romano from the rest of the cast.
"My wallet is so big, I forgot to pay the rest of the cast!
Ahh!"
The network quickly came to the bargaining table and offered raises to the cast, as well
as lucrative back-end deals that cut them in on syndication profits worth an estimated
$20 million dollars per actor.
Unpaid wages
Even though she played the perpetually overworked and underappreciated matriarch of the Barone
household, Patricia Heaton apparently didn't see the irony in allegedly requiring her part-time
assistant to work more hours than she was supposed to.
"I work very hard to the keep the house up and running.
I guess I feel, you know, kind of unappreciated…"
According to TMZ, Heaton's ex-assistant, Jennifer Lee, filed a lawsuit in 2009 seeking unpaid
wages in the amount of $7,425, plus "overtime and additional expenses."
Lee claims Heaton fired her after inquiring about the unpaid wages, and also alleges that
she was told by Heaton that her child was "'becoming a problem' because of the work
schedule."
It's unclear what ultimately happened with the lawsuit, but if any of Lee's claims are
even remotely true, it would be pretty bad considering that $20 million syndication bonus
the actress was earning.
Loss of a cast member
In a shock to both his real family and TV family alike, Sawyer Sweeten, who played Geoffrey
Barone on the show, killed himself while visiting family in Texas in April of 2015.
In a statement given to People, Sawyer's parents stressed that their son did not suffer from
"textbook depression" and that he was "happy, upbeat and loving."
His mother, Elizabeth, elaborated in an interview with Larry King:
"Over the course of those eight days, you know, if he felt, you know suicidal, and he
both times, you know his dad had asked him and I had ask him, and both times he said
'no.'"
But during a later appearance on The Dr. Oz Show, both Sawyer's twin brother, Sullivan,
and his mother shed some additional light on Sawyer's struggles.
"We both definitely enjoyed being on the show.
I think it was afterwards when we realized how much school we missed and how little we
got to socialize with other kids."
The toxicology screening revealed that Sawyer had marijuana in his system at the time of
his death.
And his cousin, Jacklyn Stines, came forward to speculate that the teen likely suffered
from depression.
Stines told Radar Online, "There is a history of depression in the family, all through.
Many of them are on medication for depression."
The secret divorce
In Brad Garrett's memoir, When The Balls Drop, he couldn't be more candid about his divorce,
particularly the alimony payments, which he likens to "paying for the lease on a car after
turning it in, while someone else is driving it."
But while he and his wife's legal separation was going down, neither one uttered a word
about it in public.
"It's all for the best, I'm much happier now than I used to be."
According to USA Today, Garrett and his ex-wife, Jill Diven, even kept the secret from their
own families until just days before the news of their split hit the press.
Managing to completely avoid any tabloid interference, Garrett and Diven each maintain that there
is no ill will between them.
Garrett said, "Our No. 1 focus is our kids and parenting.
We will always be friends because we will never be single parents.
We will always be two parents."
That's a nice sentiment, especially for the kids, although Garrett almost never stops
joking how much money the divorce cost him.
"I lost a house, a couple cars.
Uh, yeah.
Been divorced."
Improper Theater Conduct
Though comedy veteran Fred Willard didn't have a huge part on the show, he made his
role as Robert Barone"s father-in-law memorable, racking up three Emmy awards in only 14 total
appearances.
And that's why his arrest at an adult theater in 2012, makes seeing him in Raymond reruns
that much more embarrassing.
"Hey, what happened?"
According to TMZ, Willard was caught touching himself inappropriately when the LAPD entered
The Tiki Theater for a routine anti-prostitution enforcement check.
And although both Willard and the theater manager continually maintained the actor's
innocence, Willard eventually entered and completed a "diversion program" so that he
could avoid a public lewdness trial, according to CBS News.
The comedy legend took the whole incident in stride, and he even seemed like he was
willing to talk about it publicly, like during his appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
"It's the last time I'm gonna listen to my wife when she says, 'Why don't you go out
and see a movie?'"
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