Added May 9th, 2008

Lizette D. from Manalapan, NJ

Q: Are many of the Raymond stories based on true-life events? Or are they more or less made up by writers?

Phil Answers: I would say that 90% of every story you’ve seen on the show actually happened to me, Ray, or one of the other writers. I had read that the great Carl Reiner ran “The Dick Van Dyke Show” by asking his writers: “What happened at your house this week?” And I thought this would be a good way to write this show about a family today. One of the best compliments we would get was, “You were listening outside our window last night.” We didn’t have to—it just turned out that what was happening in your house was happening in ours too. ( Although Ray still enjoys listening outside peoples’ windows).

Added April 17th, 2008

Frank O. from Philadelphia, PA

Q: In the episode where Ray catches the kitchen on fire, was that real fire or some kind of special effects? It looks very real, and I was wondering if it was more dangerous than a regular show.

Phil Answers: Real fire. Real fear on Ray’s face

Added April 3rd, 2008

Cheryl from Santa Monica, CA

Q: I was very sorry to hear about the loss of Peter Boyle. Frank is my favorite character. Was Peter Boyle a funny man off stage? Or was he more serious like in a lot of his movies?

Phil Answers: Peter Boyle was an absolute joy on and offstage. Nothing like Frank Barone—a true liberal in fact. We all still miss him terribly, but we’re grateful for the reruns—we can always visit him that way.