Romano (seen above alongside Patricia Heaton) starred in Everybody Loves Raymond for nine seasons, from 1996 to 2005.
During the show’s final season, Romano reportedly set a Guinness World Record as the highest-paid TV actor per episode, earning nearly $2 million per episode.
His record-breaking salary later sparked behind-the-scenes tension, as co-star Brad Garrett led negotiations for pay raises after learning how much more Romano was earning compared to the rest of the cast, including Patricia Heaton, Doris Roberts, and Peter Boyle.
“It was inevitable,” Romano told the Daily News in 2003. “When my salary came out in the papers, I knew stuff would happen.”
The Emmy-winning actor added that he would have likely done “the same thing” as his co-stars, who ultimately secured salary increases for the show’s final season.







