STONY BROOK, NY — November 28, 2025.
The Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) has opened Everybody Loves Raymond: Celebrating 30 Years, a comprehensive and deeply nostalgic exhibition honoring the sitcom rooted in Long Island life. The launch began with a press conference featuring the exhibition’s key architects, followed by a VIP celebration where Ray Romano made an emotional return to the world that changed his life.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Ernie Canadeo: “Raymond Belongs Here”
LIMEHOF Chairman Ernie Canadeo opened the press conference by framing the new installation as a natural extension of the Hall’s mission, which has expanded from music to the wider world of entertainment.
“There is no place in the world that has produced as much music and entertainment talent than Long Island,” Canadeo said.
He pointed out that Ray Romano’s roots — born in Queens, writing for Newsday, and basing the Barone family squarely in Long Island life — made the choice obvious.
Canadeo explained that after showing Everybody Loves Raymond executive producer and Ray Romano’s longtime manager Rory Rosegarten the Billy Joel exhibit, the idea took off immediately.
“He was blown away and agreed that a Raymond exhibit belongs on Long Island and at this Hall of Fame.”
Canadeo also acknowledged the Paley Center and the CBS reunion for making artifacts and the recreated set available, setting the foundation for this new exhibit.
Kevin O’Callaghan: Rebuilding the Barone House
Exhibition designer Kevin O’Callaghan, who has created every major LIMEHOF installation, described the enormous effort involved in reconstructing the Barone home.
O’Callaghan flew to Los Angeles for the CBS reunion taping, where he worked to secure the full recreation of the living room, dining room, and kitchen.
“I watched it get loaded on the truck like it was a newborn baby being delivered,” he joked. “It arrived without a scratch.”
But the heart of the work wasn’t just the furniture — it was the clutter.
The toys, photos, baskets, books, kitchen items, and chaotic charm that defined the Barone household had to be rebuilt piece by piece.
“We took photographs that existed, and the hunt was on to fill the room and reproduce it as close as we could.”
The reaction from those who know the set best confirmed they succeeded:
“Rory came in today and said, ‘Looks great. Looks like the Barone House.’”
O’Callaghan noted that the show continues to resonate with a new generation, including the young fans he met at the reunion taping.
Rory Rosegarten: Why the Show Still Works
Executive producer and Ray Romano’s manager Rory Rosegarten spoke next, seeing the exhibition for the first time that morning.
“I just can’t believe how fantastic it is,” he said.
Rosegarten attributed the show’s enduring appeal to its honesty and relatability.
“Raymond works because it’s your family — your mother, your father, your brother. As we live in difficult times, it’s like a pair of slippers. It was funny then, it’s funny now.”
He also highlighted how fitting it was that the exhibit is now on Long Island:
“Ray Barone is from Lynbrook. He wrote for Newsday. It only is fitting that it’s here.”
A TREASURE TROVE FOR RAYMOND FANS
During the press conference, O’Callaghan outlined what fans can expect — calling it:
“The holy grail of Everybody Loves Raymond.”
The exhibit features:
- Seven original costumes, including Ray’s mustard suit and one of Debra’s standout outfits
- Original props: the Christmas toaster, the canister, Shamsky’s dog collar, Debra’s To Kill a Mockingbird
- Original set items: the living room couch, Frank’s recliner, coffee table, and fully recreated kitchen and dining room
- Casting Polaroids, pilot and finale scripts
- 30,000+ behind-the-scenes photographs by writer/photographer Tom Caltabiano
Visitors can sit on Ray and Debra’s couch, relax in Frank’s chair, and pose in Marie’s kitchen in front of the iconic giant fork and spoon.
VIP PARTY & SPEECHES
The VIP preview event on November 27 brought an emotional, humorous, and heartfelt reunion between Romano, his longtime collaborators, and the recreated world of the Barone family.
Ray Romano Becomes Emotional
When Ray Romano took the microphone, he surprised the room by getting choked up. After thanking Rory Rosegarten, exhibition designer Kevin O’Callaghan, and the whole LIMEHOF staff, Ray’s voice broke for a moment, and continued.
“This is like time travel for me,” he said. “The best kind of time travel… I’m never going to forget this.”
He shared stories from the early days of the show — including how his brother Richard coined the title Everybody Loves Raymond — and cracked the self-deprecating humor fans love:
“My wife didn’t come tonight… she’s over me.”
The sense of family behind the show became even more apparent as Romano, Rory, Tom Caltabiano, and O’Callaghan traded memories about the reunion taping, preserving the set, and the chaotic process of making sure props didn’t end up in a dumpster.
INTERVIEW: RAY ROMANO ON WHY THE SHOW STILL LASTS
At the VIP event, I asked Ray Romano about the show’s longevity and what it meant to see its world restored so faithfully.
Did you ever expect the show to still resonate 30 years later?
“I didn’t even think it would impact them the next day. You have so many doubts.”
He said the audience reactions — often deeply personal — were what showed him the show had tapped into something universal.
“People would say, ‘That’s my mother, that’s my father. Were you outside our house listening to us?’ Families stay the same. Time changes… but underneath it all, the love and the relationship stay the same. That’s the trick. That’s why it lasts.”
Is there a piece in the exhibit that hits you hardest emotionally?
“The couch. I took the real couch home with me — I had that in my house. It’s the centerpiece of it all. I have an emotional attachment to it… and being the lazy husband, I just want to lie down on it all the time.”
How much of your real family ended up in the show?
“Everything that happened to us, we brought it to work and made episodes out of it. Most everything you see happened to one of us.”
For Romano, seeing the living room, kitchen, and all the props again wasn’t just nostalgic — it was returning to the period of his life where everything changed.
IF YOU GO
Everybody Loves Raymond: Celebrating 30 Years
Venue: Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame
Address: 97 Main Street, Stony Brook, NY
Opened: November 28, 2025
Interactive: Sit on the Barone couch, Frank’s chair, and pose in Marie’s kitchen
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