Phil Rosenthal bikes with a ham in Barcelona in “I’ll Have What Phil’s Having.” (Courtesy WGBH)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cFood is a huge part of who we are. It\u2019s celebratory. It\u2019s family time. It\u2019s maybe also celebrating abundance. In or history, there was time food was in short supply. The fact that we can eat is a symbol of personal freedom and calls for celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, no matter what your religion or ethnicity, good food leads to a kind of bonhomie that fosters conviviality and creativity. Rosenthal has said, only half-jokingly, that he owes the success of \u201cEverybody Loves Raymond\u201d in large measure to good craft services \u2014 the food that\u2019s put out for the people working on set.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s just crap out, you\u2019ll grab it and go on with your day,\u201d he says. \u201cBut if the table is suddenly filled with nice things, you\u2019ll grab a bite and turn to the person next to you, and right away you\u2019re talking and you\u2019re friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the things I care about: food, family, friends, laughs and travel,\u201d Rosenthal says. \u201cAnd they are all included in this show. That\u2019s why \u2014 and don\u2019t tell PBS \u2014 I would pay them to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all combined with my love of show business. I love every aspect: writing, directing, producing, performing. I love every aspect of the business \u2014 except the business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosenthal had ample time to test the limits of that love during the nine highly successful seasons of \u201cRaymond.\u201d Still,\u00a0in the midst of the show\u2019s success, Rosenthal admits he always feared the other shoe was going to drop at any moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can always find the downside,\u201d he sighs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I\u2019m experiencing this wonderful success, this wonderful camaraderie, [but] as a Jew I\u2019m thinking, \u2018You\u2019ll never have this again.\u2019 But in a way, that\u2019s good to know, so you can appreciate the moment while it\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not as if Rosenthal has been a recluse since the show ended. He won a Peabody Award (and earned an Emmy nomination) for co-writing \u201cAmerica: A Tribute to Heroes,\u201d a benefit concert and fundraiser for victims of the 9\/11 attacks that was broadcast simultaneously on 35 TV channels.<\/p>\n
He also traveled to Russia to help produce a local version of \u201cRaymond\u201d that was eventually called \u201cThe Voronins.\u201d That became the subject of a hilarious documentary, \u201cExporting Raymond,\u201d which had a 2010 theatrical release and debuted on Netflix this month.<\/p>\n
The film \u2014 which he wrote, directed and starred in \u2014 deals with Rosenthal\u2019s frustration when he discovered that comedy doesn\u2019t always translate well. A highlight of the documentary\u00a0is when Rosenthal drinks and dines with an extended\u00a0Russian\u00a0family. The camaraderie he experienced there is a\u00a0theme that comes up again and again in conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re attracted to people with a similar sense of humor and by eating with them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
In fact, it’s how Rosenthal met his wife, Monica Horan — she played Amy MacDougall Barone in \u201cRaymond.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw her in a play and thought she was really funny,\u201d he says. \u201cThe next time I saw her was by accident at a street-food fair. I was eating a giant rib with the juice dripping on my T-shirt and she was approaching with a mutual friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were introduced, I told her I was a big fan of hers and she said she was a big fan of mine, which was not true. She had no idea who I was. I\u2019ve since reminded her that our entire relationship is based on a lie. I think she liked the look of the rib in my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosenthal arranged to cast her in a play he was in and the rest is history.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what happens when you\u2019re in a play together,\u201d he quips. \u201cBefore you know it, she took advantage of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll Have What Phil\u2019s Having\u201d debuts on PBS on Sept. 28; check local listings.<\/em><\/p>\n
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