October 22, 2020
'Everybody Loves Raymond' stars reflect ahead of reunion: 'We were very lucky'
The stars of Everybody Loves Raymond are looking back on the show ahead of their reunion this week.
Cast members Ray Romano (Ray Barone), Patricia Heaton (Debra Barone) and Brad Garrett (Robert Barone) discussed the series during Tuesday's episode of Today.
Everybody Loves Raymond had a nine-season run on CBS from 1996 to 2005. The show centered on Ray (Romano), a sportswriter living with his family in Long Island, N.Y.
Romano, Heaton, Garrett, Monica Horan (Amy MacDougall-Barone) and series creator Phil Rosenthal will reunite Friday for a table read for charity. The event is part of the International Myeloma Foundation's annual Comedy Celebration.
On Today, Garrett said revisiting the scripts for the reunion reminded him how "amazing" the writing was for the show.
"That's what really has always stood out," the actor said. "We were very lucky to get a cast like this. We had a chemistry early on that you can't predict and you can't plan, but it was really how all the writing just stood out."
Romano agreed, saying reviewing the scripts allowed him "to see the show like a viewer."
"I appreciated it so much more now, looking back at the scripts now, because I had forgotten what it was like. I'm reading it on the page and I'm like, 'Man, this was good,'" he said.
Romano credited Everybody Loves Raymond's casting with a big part of the show's success. He said 200 actresses read for the role of Debra before Heaton auditioned.
"She was the anchor, in my opinion," Garrett added. "It was so easy to fall into this woe is me victimhood, and she played this strong woman who wouldn't take anyone's crap."
Everybody Loves Raymond co-starred Doris Roberts (Marie Barone) and Peter Boyle (Frank Barone), who died in 2016 and 2006, respectively. Romano said Roberts and Boyle's deaths make a reboot or revival unlikely.
"We've kind of agreed that that probably will never, not probably, it won't happen with us," he said. "We're missing Peter, we're missing Doris, we're missing the crux of the show. This is kind of as close as it'll get to us performing again, the show."
The Everybody Loves Raymond reunion will air Friday at 9 p.m. EDT on the IMF website, YouTube channel and Facebook page.
Rush Limbaugh says lung cancer has reached 'terminal' stage
 Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh says his lung cancer has progressed to a terminal stage, months after he first received his diagnosis.
In a message posted to his website on Monday, Limbaugh said doctors have downgraded his diagnosis to stage four.
"And stage 4 is, as they say, terminal," he wrote.
"So we have some recent progression. It's not dramatic, but it is the wrong direction."
The 69-year-old radio personality told listeners to The Rush Limbaugh Show in February that his diagnosis was confirmed and that he would begin treatment, causing him to miss some shows.
"In a nutshell, there are lots of ups and downs in this particular illness," he wrote Monday. "And it can feel like a roller coaster at times that you can't get off of."
Limbaugh's radio career began in the 1970s and he's hosted his program in national syndication for 31 years. His radio contract was set to end later this year, but he renewed with syndication company Premiere Radio Networks in January.
A month after announcing his diagnosis, President Donald Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his State of the Union address in February.
Considered a major conservative influence in the United States, Limbaugh is credited with inspiring a generation of followers and opening the media landscape to right wing viewpoints. Critics have condemned what they consider to be hate speech and point to his radio show as a major contributor to today's polarized political climate.
'The Mandalorian' reunites with friends in new Season 2 trailer
 Pedro Pascal's bounty hunter seeks out help from his former allies in the latest trailer for Season 2 of Star Wars series The Mandalorian.
The Mandalorian (Pascal) reunites with Cara Dune (Gina Carano) and Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) from Season 1 as he needs assistance in bringing The Child, also known as Baby Yoda, back to its kind.
Cara fights off Stormtroopers while being chased inside a desolate canyon before the trio enter into a base with guns drawn.
The Mandalorian is also searching for fellow Mandalorians as they can help guide him on his new journey.
The Mandalorian Season 2 will premiere Oct. 30 on Disney+.
Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Weathers, Peyton Reed and Robert Rodriguez are serving as directors for the second season.
British musician Spencer Davis dies at 81
British musician Spencer Davis has died at age 81.
TMZ reported Tuesday that Davis died Monday at a California hospital.
The Birmingham Mail said Davis died of a heart attack. Davis' agent, Bob Birk, told the BBC Davis was being treated in the hospital for pneumonia.
"He was a very good friend," Birk said of Davis. "He was a highly ethical, very talented, good-hearted, extremely intelligent, generous man. He will be missed."
Davis co-founded the 1960s beat band The Spencer Davis Group, which bore his name but featured vocals by Steve Winwood. The group released its first No. 1 single, a cover of "Keep On Running," in 1965.
The Spencer Davis Group was also known for the songs "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man." The group disbanded in 1969 but reunited and released two more albums in the 1970s.
In more recent years, Davis performed as The Spencer Davis Group with new lineups.
Davis is survived by his longtime partner, June, and three children.
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