Raymond loved Phil and Phil loved Raymond: the bond between two ordinary men made the CBS sitcom an American favorite.(Phil Rosenthal, Raymond Romano)

Broadcasting & Cable, May, 2005 by Seibel, Deborah Starr

Phil Rosenthal is allowed bragging rights for one of his favorite memories: Five years ago, the creator and executive producer of CBS' mega-hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond was called in by President Clinton's speechwriting team to write and direct a six-minute, roast-worthy goodbye film for the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. "I was awestruck at first," he says. "I told my wife, 'If you tell the most important, powerful person in the world what to do and he does it, doesn't that make you the most important, powerful person in the world?

"And my wife said, 'Pick up your socks.'"

That, in a nutshell, is the kind of charming, simple, honest humor--real people hashing out the minutia of a marriage--that has fueled Raymond for...

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