Brad Garrett Movies

The weekly Fox sitcom 'Til Death was fashioned as a vehicle for towering (6'8") comic actor Brad Garrett, who had just come off a long and successful run as a supporting player on Everybody Loves Raymond. Garrett was cast as Eddie Stamm, a cynical, know-it-all schoolteacher who had been married for 25 turbulent years to wife Joy (Joely Fisher). The humor arose from the contrast between the combative Stamms and their young neighbors, billing-and-cooing newlyweds Jeff and Steph Woodcock (Eddie Kaye Thomas, Kat Foster), who at the outset of the series had been married a whole 12 days. In some cases, the marital crisis of the week was augmented with interviews showing real-life couples discussing love and marriage. Created by the husband-and-wife team of Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, both alumni of the Everybody Loves Raymond lookalike The King of Queens, 'Til Death joined the Fox lineup on September 7, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alan Alda stars in this period drama as Willie Walters, a talent agent booking acts into nightclubs in the 1940s. Willie would like his son Stuey (Steven Webber) to join him in his business, but Stuey isn't so sure that's the path he wants to take in life, and his uncertainty starts to drive father and son apart. Club Land also stars Louise Lasser and Robert Weil, and was directed by noted actor Saul Rubinek. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The first season of Everybody Loves Raymond drew heavily upon the standup routines of comedian Ray Romano, who depicted himself as a loving but befuddled husband and father of three children, bedeviled by his own overbearing Italian-American parents and a jealous older brother who happened to be a policeman. In the series proper, Romano played Ray Barone, Long Island-based sportswriter for New York Newsday. Ray, his wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), and their three children lived next door to Ray's parents, bombastic Frank (Peter Boyle) and snoopy Marie (Doris Roberts). Frank and Marie in turn lived with Ray's older brother, a divorced cop named Robert (Brad Garrett), who still harbored a childhood jealousy for his younger sibling. In the pilot episode, Ray's three children were played by the Ferreira children: Amber, Drew, and Justin. The youngest kids, twin boys, were named Matthew and Gregory (after Romano's real-life children), while the six-year-old daughter was not identified by name. Thereafter, the children were known as Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey, and were played by members of the Sweeten family: Madylin, Sullivan, and Sawyer. During season one, a handful of semi-regulars were introduced, among them Ray's friend Andy (Andy Kindler), a sports statistician; Nemo (Joseph V. Perry), the owner of the pizza parlor; and Amy MacDougall (Monica Horan), Robert's off-and-on girlfriend. Also firmly established was the intensely combative relationship between Ray's parents, who also had a cute habit (cute to everyone but Ray's long-suffering spouse Debra) of dropping into their son's house unannounced and poking their noses into everyone else's business. More welcome drop-ins occurred whenever Ray's sports-world friends -- usually celebrity athletes and famous TV commentators -- opted to pay a visit to the series. Despite languishing in a low-rated Friday-night slot, Everybody Loves Raymond quickly became a critical favorite, encouraging CBS to move the series to a more advantageous Monday-night berth in mid-season. Though the ratings didn't exactly go through the roof, the series garnered enough of a fan following to warrant a second season. ~ All Movie Guide

Season three of Everybody Loves Raymond finds sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano), his wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), and kids, Ally (Madylin Sweeten), Geoffery (Sawyer Sweeten), and Michael (Sullivan Sweeten), still living next door to Ray's overbearing father, Frank (Peter Boyle), and snoopy mom, Marie (Doris Roberts), in the same Long Island neighborhood. As for Raymond's brother, divorced cop Robert (Brad Garrett), his romance with Amy (Monica Horan) is now a thing of the past, due to Robert's inability to make a commitment. As the season progresses, Robert finally moves out of his parents' house and into an apartment of his own, but can't deal with independence any more than he could with a relationship, and is soon back where he started. Meanwhile, Debra decides to re-enter the workplace, taking a PR job. By season's end, Ray and Debra are still commuting to work, and Robert is still camping with his folks -- after a tentative effort to rekindle the flames of passion with Amy has failed, and for the very same reason as before (this guy's in a rut!). Even with all this going on, the writers haven't forgotten that, after all, Ray Romano is the star of the show. Thus, there are plenty of episodes revolving around the tribulations of Ray and his family, beginning with a lively season opener involving an infestation of termites in the Barone household, and ending with the season finale, in which Ray and Debra recall their first meeting way back in 1984. Having ranked as the 30th most popular TV program in America during its second season, Everybody Loves Raymond zoomed up to 11th in the ratings for season three -- making a renewal for season four a foregone conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

So here's how things stand as Everybody Loves Raymond enters its fifth season on CBS. Sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano), his PR-rep wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), and their three kids are still living in Long Island, still next door to Ray's obstreperous parents, Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts). And after experimenting with independence by moving into his own apartment, Frank's brother, divorced cop Robert (Brad Garrett), has returned to his parents' home -- minus his off-and-on girlfriend Amy (Monica Horan), who has apparently given up on Robert because of his inability to make a commitment. But things aren't entirely bleak romantically for Robert this season. While vacationing in Rome with his family (in an episode shot on-location in Italy), the neurotic policeman falls head over heels in love with Stefania (Alex Meneses). Inasmuch as Robert has proclaimed her "the girl of my dreams," Stefania shows up in New York later in the season, certain that their relationship will soon become both permanent and legal. Alas, Robert is still constitutionally incapable of committing himself to any woman, and the couple breaks up -- but not before Stefania's strict, "old world" father, Marco (David Proval), who is now a friend and kindred spirit of Ray and Robert's prickly dad, Frank, has decided to remain in the Big Apple, going so far as to purchase the Barones' favorite restaurant, Nemo's.

With all this going on, one would think that series star Ray Romano had taken a back seat to his supporting cast -- but one would be wrong. During season five, Ray Barone has many a misadventure of his own, beginning with the emotional fallout attending his decision to finally tell his parents that they are far too much a part of his and Debra's lives. Later on, Ray accidentally commits "petslaughter" on his daughter Ally's (Sawyer Sweeten) beloved hamster; receives a serious ego drubbing when his book on sports is rejected by the publisher; goes into "hamana-hamana-hamana" mode upon meeting a girl he'd dated 25 years earlier (an evening that he messed up with his untoward advances!); and tries to mediate a battle between his parents and his in-laws (Robert Culp, Katherine Helmond) during Thanksgiving dinner. The season closer is likewise devoted to Raymond, as he recalls the day that wife Debra gave birth to daughter Ally. For the second year in a row, Patricia Heaton won an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the end of Everybody Loves Raymond's fifth season. Likewise honored was Doris Roberts, for Outstanding Supporting Actress. The series itself continued to be the shining jewel of CBS' Monday-night schedule, moving up again in the overall TV ratings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite industry rumors that the series would soon voluntarily end its run and the cast members would go their separate ways, Everybody Loves Raymond confidently breezes into its seventh season with most of its previous "status" still "quo." Ray Barone (Ray Romano) remains a sportswriter; his wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), continues to hold down a public-relations job; their three kids are getting older and more wisecracky; and the Barones are still living next door to Ray's insufferable parents, Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts), who in turn continue to provide a home for Ray's neurotic policeman brother, Robert (Brad Garrett). This is the season in which the vacillating Robert finally proposes to his longtime -- and long-suffering -- sweetheart Amy (Monica Horan). She accepts, but Robert isn't quite out of the woods yet: he still has to win the approval of Amy's uptight parents, Hank (Fred Willard) and Pat (Georgia Engel) -- to say nothing of her loopy brother, Peter (Chris Elliott). Ultimately, however, most of the personality problems are ironed out, and the season ends with the much-anticipated wedding of Robert and Amy. Which, of course, is not to say that Ray Romano has suddenly taken a leave of absence from his own series. Among the many "Ray-related" episodes is the one in which Ray takes a dare to write a eulogy for his still-living dad, Frank; the one in which Ray has to rescue his dad from a shoplifting charge; the one where Ray is put out because his sportscaster pal Andy (Andy Kindler) won't book him on his new radio show; and the one which proves that Ray knows nothing about hosting bachelor parties -- at least not any more. Though Everybody Loves Raymond took a slight dip in the ratings during its seventh season, it still closed out the year as one of the nation's most-watched TV programs -- and the most popular sitcom on the air. And as in previous seasons, the series took home a number of Emmy awards, for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor (Brad Garrett's second win), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Doris Roberts' third!), Outstanding Writing (Tucker Cawley), and a technical award for sound mixing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the tradition of such past sitcom classics as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Seinfeld, the producers of the popular, multi-Emmy-winning CBS comedy series Everybody Loves Raymond decided to quit while they were ahead, bringing the series to an end during its ninth season on the air. Thus, with its 209th episode, telecast May 16, 2005, Raymond shuffled off its mortal coil and ascended to syndicated-rerun heaven. In place during the series' valedictory season are its by-now familiar regulars: sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano), his PR-exec wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), their ever-growing three children, Ray's overbearing parents (and next-door neighbors), Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts), and Ray's neurotic policeman brother, Robert (Brad Garrett), who somewhat incredibly has managed to stay married to his second wife, Amy (Monica Horan), for two whole years. As for the plot developments, things get off to a roaring start when Frank and Marie move out of their home and into a retirement condo -- only to be booted out by the condo's owners due to their obstreperous behavior. Magnanimously, Robert and Amy invite Frank and Marie to move in with them, thus neatly reversing the living arrangements that existed during the series' past eight seasons. As for Raymond, he continues to deal with such matters as Debra's mercurial temper, the academic travails of his daughter, Ally (Madylin Sweeten), and the unwelcome intrusions of his divorced in-laws, Warren (Robert Culp) and Lois (Katherine Helmond). In other words, it's the mixture as before, with few surprises but lots of laughs. And in an unusual move (especially for 21st century sitcoms), the Everybody Loves Raymond finale does not run a "very special" 60 minutes, but instead remains a neat, precise, and economical half-hour of hilarity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Everybody Loves Raymond co-star Brad Garrett brings "The Great One" to life in this made-for-TV biography of video icon Jackie Gleason. The product of a fractious Brooklyn childhood, capped by the abrupt desertion of his ne'er-do-well father, Gleason launches his show business career with the motto "Never depend on anyone." Yet because of his multitude of insecurities, he demands total loyalty and 100-percent devotion from everyone around him. Trouble is, he has no loyalty or devotion to give in return: Dedicated to his career, his drinking, and his womanizing (not always in that order), Jackie neglects his wife Gen (Gretchen Egolf) and his children, tyrannizes his associates in general and his faithful agent George "Bullets" Durgom (Saul Rubinek) in particular, and shamelessly steals other people's ideas and comedy material, claiming it exclusively as his own. For all his bluster and bullying, Gleason remains likable and arguably even lovable -- just like his most famous TV character, Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden (indeed, the script suggests that Gleason was Kramden and Kramden was Gleason -- and that Jackie was envious of Ralph's ability to "make things up" to his long-suffering wife Alice at the end of each Honeymooners sketch). The film is at its best in its re-creations of Gleason's stage and TV triumphs, though one could nitpick about the hazy and often downright inaccurate chronology of events. As the title character, Brad Garrett offers an uncannily on-target portrayal, despite the fact that the 6'8" actor was nearly a foot taller than the real Gleason (this discrepancy was amply compensated for by the clever camera angles of cinematographer Neil Roach, not to mention the elevator shoes worn by practically every other member of the cast). Of the supporting players, Gretchen Egolf and Terry Farrell are superb as Jackie's first and second wives respectively, while Michael Chieffo's portrayal of Art Carney is eerily perfect. Co-written by Michael Preminger and Rick Podell, the same team responsible for Jackie Gleason's final theatrical feature Nothing in Common, Gleason made its CBS network debut on October 13, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Superman apparently sacrifices himself for the sake of his fellow Justice Leaguers. Can it be that The Man of Steel is gone from the scene for good? And how will mankind be able to survive without Superman's benevolent protection? Originally intended to be telecast near the end of Justice League's second season, "Hereafter" was bumped forward to an earlier playdate due to its high suspense quotient. ~ All Movie Guide

Can it be that Paul (Paul Reiser) is the reason that Jamie (Helen Hunt) can't get pregnant? To find out once and for all, Paul donates a sperm sample in the obligatory jar. A simple act, to be sure, but one that has far-from-simple consequences involving a stolen car, an unscheduled visit from the New York City Bomb Squad, and the "Betty Boop" song. ~ All Movie Guide