ICYMI: Long Island Welcomes Ray Romano Home At Opening Party For 'Everybody Loves Raymond' Exhibit

STONY BROOK, NY — "Welcome home!" a crowd cheered as Ray Romano stepped through the door of the Long Island Music And Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook Tuesday night.

The day after the "Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion" debuted on CBS and Paramount Plus, guests were invited to the "Everybody Loves Raymond — Celebrating 30 Years" exhibit kick off party.

The exhibit opens to the public on November 28 at 11 a.m. at the Stony Brook location, at 97 Main Street.

The exhibit features the 70-foot-wide set from the show’s 30th anniversary TV special; the set has never been on display in public. And the details are exact — longtime fans will get to see iconic props, such as the big fork and spoon and the well-loved couch, up close and personal.

Speaking with Patch at the event, Romano gazed at the set, so lovingly recreated. "To see it here, it's time travel. It's surreal because it feels like so long ago, but then you stand here for a few minutes and it. feels like you never left. And they got it down to a T," he said. "It's amazing."

Romano reflected on how it felt to be standing in the space, brought back to life with attention to detail so exact it was clearly a labor of the deepest kind of love. "It is emotional. It's exhilarating but it's also bittersweet because you wish you could go back and do it all over again."

The exhibit speaks to the heart of Long Island's true hometown boy: Romano was born in Queens; his character Ray Barone lived in Lynbrook, Long Island and worked as a sports writer for Newsday.

"I am thrilled that we can follow up the incredible success of the 'Billy Joel: My Life' exhibit with another blockbuster exhibition," said LIMEHOF Chairman Ernie Canadeo. "'Everybody Loves Raymond' was based on Long Island, and Ray Romano — who is enthusiastically supporting this exhibit — is a native Long Islander. It is a fitting tribute to Long Island that we can create and showcase 30 years of this beloved show to be enjoyed by its legions of Long Island fans. It is truly the ultimate 'Everybody Loves Raymond' fan exhibition."

"Everybody Loves Raymond" aired on CBS from 1996 to 2005, spanning nine seasons. Today, it continues to charm fans across generations, LIMEHOF said.

Cast members included Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Madylin Sweeten, and Monica Horan. The popular family comedy series was nominated for 69 Emmy Awards and won 15. This show was ranked the 60th "Best All-Time Series" by TV Guide, the eleventh "Best Sitcom Starring A Stand-Up Comedian," and the 35th "Best Sitcom of All Time" by Rolling Stone.

The exhibit has the support of comedian and show star Romano, show creator Philip Rosenthal, also of Queens, and producer Rory Rosegarten, of Queens/Great Neck. The show also prominently featured Long Island comedian Kevin James, from Mineola.

Rosegarten spoke about the show and his memories in a previous Patch interview.

Speaking at the kickoff party, Canadeo said it was an "unbelievable day. It's amazing that two years ago we stood right here and launched the Billy Joel exhibit with Billy Joel. That ran for two years. And I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to launch the 'Everybody Loves Raymond exhibit with Ray Romano."

"But I only get one year," Romano joked.

Rosegarten, Romano's personal manager and one of the executive producers of the show, also spoke. "We're thrilled to be here," he said. "The Barones are from Lynbrook. Ray wrote for Newsday. This is a no-brainer." Reflecting on his lifetime bond with Romano, he said, "Ray and I have been together forever. And it's just an amazing thing."

Tom Caltabiano, a stand-up comedian and writer on "Everybody Loves Raymond" who met Romano at the original Improv in New York City, said he's been friends with him for years.

"While I was a writer on the shoow, I took 30,000 behind-the-scenes photos," he said. "It's the most photographed TV show in history because I was a writer so I was there every day and there with my camera."

He laughed, noting that Romano, who is "not an egomaniac," was not a fan of the constant photos.

Romano said it wasn't the photos on the set that he minded. "It was when you followed me to the restaurant; everyone thought I had my own paparazzi," he joked.

Caltabiano reminded Romano that they were "eating together" at those restaurants; the bond the two share was clearly evident and marked by laughter and shared memories.

Caltabiano said The Paley Center for Media in New York City also did an exhibit, "30 Years of 'Everybody Loves Raymond': A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute". Rosegarten said that LIMEHOF was interested in putting together an exhibit, too.

With the TV reunion first "in the works" five years earlier, and postponed a number of times before finally taking shape, the exhibit was the perfect complement to Monday's reunion show. "The timing was perfect," he said.

After the reunion taping wrapped, Caltabiano said LIMEHOF creative director and renowned designer Kevin O'Callaghan, who designed the exhibit, asked, "'Do you think we can get the set on a truck to Long Island?' It seemed impossible, but I loaded that truck and it ended up here — and this is the first time I'm seeing it here."

O'Callaghan also traveled to see the reunion special taped.

"To me, knowing that the set would have been struck and then, been thrown into a dumpster — despite the crazy amount of money that it cost; it's the most expensive set Fulwell Entertainment, the production company, had ever done . . ." He shook his head. "Now, the idea that this is preserved for a whole year and maybe longer . . ."

O'Callaghan agreed that the exhibit was a "no-brainer. My wife Susan and I are real fans of the show. Lynbrook, Newsday. Going to that reunion — everybody there loved each other. Behind-the-scenes, the cast, everyone was hugging each other. It was just an amazing thing. There was a small crowd, maybe 120 people, in the audience, from Australia, the Netherlands. And most of them were in their 30s and remembered sitting on the couch with their parents watching the show. It was a cozy, fuzzy moment, being out there." Reflective, he added: "The next day, breaking it down and putting it all in the truck, that wasn't so much fun. Grabbing the table and chairs out of someone's hands and saying, 'You can't have that!'" He laughed.

He added: "Ray was so cordial out there. And Ray is so wonderful here, right now, to everybody. That's why everybody loves Raymond."

For Romano, the show has always been a reflection of his own family, of the moments that make up a lifetime. The tears, the joy, the laughter — the love. He introduced his own brother Richard, the two holding up a photo of themselves as boys.

Caltabiano reminded that on the show, Ray's brother Robert, a New York City police officer, was based on Richard. He remembered when he, Ray, and his brother had a softball team and Ray recruited a bunch of comedians to play. "Richard was so mad," he said. "We were down by two runs and Richard said to Ray, 'All your friends are just making jokes.' And Ray said, 'They're comedians!' I think we won three championships."

His brother Richard, Romano said, "was the one who coined the phrase 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' Wait a minute! He didn't say it the way you think. He was a NYC cop and the story was he came in the house one day. My mother had an award I'd gotten on the table. Richard said to my mother, 'What's this?' And my mother said, 'That's some award that Raymond won.' And Richard said, 'I go to work. People shoot at me, they spit at me — but everybody loves Raymond. And that stuck."

Looking around at the set, Romano was visibly moved. "This is unbelievable," he said. "I want to thank my manager of 35 years. He took a shot on a young comedian who had been doing standup for three, four years at the time."

Next, he got Romano a spot on the David Letterman show and Letterman was so taken with his performance, he "signed me to a deal," Romano said, and went on to produce "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Caltabiano, he said, his friend of 30 years, became a writer on the show.

Although he'd joked with Caltabiano about the thousands of photos, Romano said, looking at the set, rich with details so exact, it was like walking back into a memory: "Thank God you did. I'm old. I'm going to forget some names. But I'm not going to forget this," he said, his eyes welling up with tears.

He added: "This is like time travel for me — but it's the best kind of time travel, because it's to a magic moment in my life and my family's life. To relive this, to be here, and get a sense of it is just so special. Thank you."

Romano joked that his wife hadn't attended "because she's over me." He said she and other family members would be back another time. "I tease her, but she's one of the heroes in this story, also," he said. "And we'll be back, because this is beautiful."

He introduced his own three sons, Frank and Matt — the inspiration for twins Jeffrey and Michael on the show — as well as Joe, a father's pride shining in his eyes.

Because for Romano, the show was built on what mattered most — gathering together around a small table and sharing a mother's food, sitting on a flowered couch in a living room where kids' artwork lines the walls, making memories.

And for Romano, on Tuesday, it was clear that sometimes, you can go home again.

The "Everybody Loves Raymond: Celebrating 30 Years" exhibit is presented by Catholic Health, and marks the first time a complete exhibition of this scale has been assembled for public display.

The exhibit — designed O'Callaghan —will be a completely immersive experience. Visitors can walk into the world of the Barone family and explore their home through original studio sets.

The sets include the living room, the kitchen, and other areas of the house. Visitors will also be able to see a variety of iconic items, including original clothing, the famous fork and spoon, and the Christmas toaster, among other classic items from the series. Multimedia clips — including behind the scenes and rare out-takes and a range of videos related to the show — will play in LIMEHOF’s surround sound theater.

In addition to the new exhibit, LIMEHOF will also feature "The Billy Joel Collection…from the Billy Joel Archives", which will include items on loan from the Billy Joel Archives that have never been on public display.

Tickets are on sale on LIMEHOF’s website and include access to "The Everybody Loves Raymond Exhibition", "Billy Joel – The LIMEHOF Collection", Surround Sound Theater, and The Hall of Fame Room, which features rare memorabilia and info from over 140 inductees and events. This will include "LIMEHOF’s Sunday Concert Series," with Long Island musicians playing original music, and the "Local Filmmaker Series: Selected Saturdays."

Founded in 2004, the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the idea that Long Island’s musical and entertainment heritage is an important resource to be celebrated and preserved for future generations.