The big fork and spoon are still hanging on the kitchen wall, both bygone icons of an “Everybody Loves Raymond” episode. The original stove and refrigerator are here too. That stuffed couch in the living room looks authentic enough except it’s far too immaculate to be (yup, a replica).<\/p>\n
But the famed “Toastmaster” is the real deal.<\/p>\n
You’ll see that just as you walk past the entrance of the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame’s<\/a> tribute to the show (“Celebrating 30 Years: Everybody Loves Raymond”)\u00a0starting Friday. It sits suspended in a glass case, like some precious heirloom from a long-ago civilization. (“Raymond”<\/a> ended its\u00a0nine-season run 20\u00a0years ago, so in TV terms, this is\u00a0<\/em>from a long-ago civilization.)<\/p>\n The original “Raymond” set has been reconstructed at LIMEHOF’s Stony Brook headquarters \u2014 the headliner of\u00a0this “immersive” tribute which wraps next fall when the actual 30th anniversary arrives. The feng shui of this spread \u2014 the clutter, the comfort, the whole ur-’90s-faux-Lynbrook vibe \u2014 looks just about right, and well it should: This is the exact same set that appeared on Monday’s “Everybody Loves Raymond” CBS tribute special, and which also appeared on 210 episodes from 1996 to 2005.<\/p>\n WHAT<\/strong>\u00a0Celebrating 30 Years:\u00a0“Everybody Loves Raymond.”<\/p>\n WHERE<\/strong>\u00a0Long Island Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame; 97 Main St, Stony Brook.\u00a0(631) 689-5888<\/p>\n WHEN<\/strong>\u00a0Starting Nov. 28<\/p>\n COST\u00a0<\/strong>$36; members and\u00a0children under 6 free.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ray Romano and showrunner Phil Rosenthal “wanted to do a show that was real, about real people and real things,” says Rory Rosegarten, an executive producer of “Raymond” and Romano’s longtime manager who now lives in Manhasset and helped organize the exhibit. The set was also designed to be “average, in the best possible way.”<\/p>\n Sets and the props that\u00a0comprise them are the unsung, uncredited and (for the most part) unnoticed stars of any sitcom. You don’t really think about them unless you imagine the show without<\/em> them \u2014 Archie Bunker’s arm chair, for example, or Jerry’s Superman statue and cereal boxes. They’re an extension of a show’s personality, or inevitably part of the story too. Put another way, they put the “sit” in “sitcom.”<\/p>\n “Raymond” held to a “one-story, one-set” approach throughout its run, which meant one story would unfold per episode, most typically in the kitchen. As such, the set and assorted bric-a-brac were often part of the story, or sometimes the whole story, like those spoons (season 6, episode 11) and that hallowed toaster (season 3, episode 12).<\/p>\n The idea for LIMEHOF’s first-ever entertainment exhibit came from Ernie Canadeo, the center’s founder and longtime executive director, who was inspired by the Paley Center’s recent “Raymond” exhibit (which did not have the set). He recalls telling the show’s producers, “it would be a sin if this disappeared. It can’t disappear.”<\/p>\n “I really feel this is going to be bigger” here, he says, because “this was a Long Island show” \u2014 set at fictional 319 Fowler Ave, Lynbrook<\/a> (although exteriors were shot on Margaret Blvd. in Merrick).<\/p>\n The cast of “Raymond”: Brad Garrett (seated, left), Peter Boyle, Doris Roberts, Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton. Credit: CBS\/ROBERT VOETS<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Authenticity for this project fell to LIMEHOF’S design director, Kevin O\u2019Callaghan, who last Friday led an impromptu\u00a0tour through the still not-quite-complete set. “We’ve gone to great lengths to get the details right,” he says, “because fans notice everything.”<\/em><\/p>\n O’Callaghan has surrounded the reconstructed set with a series of micro-exhibits, devoted to costumes, the co-stars (Peter Boyle, Doris Roberts), to [New York] Newsday (where Romano’s Ray Barone<\/a> was a sports columnist), and even to Robert Barone’s (Brad Garrett) ventriloquist dummy, Traffic Cop Timmy (season 2, episode 21).<\/p>\n Creative Director Kevin O’Callaghan, left, and Museum Chairman Ernie Canadeo hang out on the Barones’ staircase. Credit: Morgan Campbell<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Earlier this fall, after the CBS special was taped, the St. James native (also longtime professor at Manhattan’s School for Visual Arts, and designer of the MTV Movie Awards) traveled to CBS Television City to pack the entire set which had been donated to LIMEHOF.<\/p>\n \u00a0“I’m still waiting for the [kitchen] telephone,” he says, “because it’s one of those cordless things with an antenna. Try to find one!” (CBS rented its own phone, he adds.)<\/p>\n Reminded that\u00a0the famous turkey that Debra (Patricia Heaton) wrestled with (episode 5, season 9) is also missing, O’Callaghan happily replies, “We’ve got a fake turkey coming.”<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Creative](\"https:\/\/www.newsday.com\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AOGFmMDkxMGUtMmQxMi00%3AYzRjMDlkMTQtMWIzZC00%2Fcopy-of-etraymond251125_photos.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D768%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80\"\/)