Patricia Heaton could tell you some stories about the late Doris Roberts.
Roberts played Heaton’s overbearing mother-in-law on Everybody Loves Raymond for nine seasons, from 1995 to 2006, and her presence was definitely missed at the recent reunion of the surviving cast members to mark the show’s 30th anniversary.
“Doris could drink everybody under the table,” Heaton recalled with a laugh. “Champagne, that was her drink.”
Creator Phil Rosenthal has acknowledged that the character of Marie Barone, which Roberts played, was loosely based on his own mom, while Frank Barone, portrayed by the late Peter Boyle, was inspired by Ray Romano‘s real-life dad.
“No one came close to Doris Roberts. No one,” Rosenthal said. “She was what was in my head and in my life. And was so beyond even. My real mother used to say, ‘You know, it is a little exaggerated.’ But you never saw that with Doris, because she was always spot on. She was always a hundred percent believable. Peter too.”
Romano, who played Roberts’ onscreen son, noted said Roberts “never stopped working” and was “taking acting classes until she was 90.”
Heaton added that Roberts used hiatuses for projects such as directing plays.
In addition to Raymond, Roberts — who started working in the ’50s — had appeared on TV shows including Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; Soap; Angie; St. Elsewhere; and Remington Steele. Her list of credits also included movies such as Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star; Grandma’s Boy; and, in 1989, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, in which she proved that she could play an annoying mother-in-law. The perennial favorite features her as Frances, the mother of Beverly D’Angelo’s Ellen Griswold. Her character’s son-in-law is Chevy Chase’s Clark.
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Roberts earned four Emmys for her work as a supporting actress on Everybody Loves Raymond — in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005.
She was 90 years old when she died in 2016.
Heaton paid tribute to her costar then, too.
“Truly the end of an era,” Heaton wrote on social media. “My wonderful TV mother-in-law and ELR nemesis Doris Roberts was a consummate professional from whom I learned so much. She was funny and tough and loved life, living it to the fullest. Nothing gave her greater joy that her three wonderful grandchildren, of whom she was so proud. It truly was a privilege Doris. I love you and miss you.”
The Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion is streaming on Paramount+.