An Encounter with Everybody Loves Raymond Star Doris Roberts

A few months ago I was visiting New York City and had the opportunity to meet Doris Roberts from Everybody Loves Raymond. Doris Roberts played the overbearing mother-in-law on the long running television series Everybody Loves Raymond. Those of us who have watched Everybody Loves Raymond, know Marie is a tough cookie to get along with and after meeting her, I think that is probably the case in her real life, as well.

She and I had both attended a Broadway performance of Chicago, my husband and I were waiting outside the theater for a taxi, she was waiting for her limousine. Doris Roberts was dressed very much like Marie Barrone would have been on Everybody Loves Raymond, in black pants and a silky red and black flowered blouse, with gold jewelry and sensible shoes. Being fans of the Everybody loves Raymond show we were ecstatic to be in the presence of a star of the show, and excited at the opportunity to take a picture to show to all our friends and family back in Small Town USA.

Though Doris Roberts did speak curtly, she declined to take a picture with us, much to our dismay. She certainly did not behave like she was glad to have fans but rather she would be glad when the fans left her alone. Yet, would it have hurt anything for her to pose briefly for a picture? There was no one else around that cared who she was, so she wouldn't have had to sign autographs or pose numerous times. No, I've come to the conclusion that perhaps she is just like the character she played on television, rude!

While my meeting with Doris Roberts was something I will remember for a long time to come, I wish it had been a better experience. Certainly celebrities grow tired of being pleasant and smiling or carrying on a polite conversation with their fans, but celebrities need to remember their fans are the reason they are in the position they are in. The money, the fame, it comes with a price, and that price is the inability to walk down the street without being recognized.

Doris Roberts and other celebrities should just be glad that people recognize them, and gracious that their fans enjoy watching them perform. Without fans celebrities like Doris Roberts would just be another granny at the bingo parlor waiting for G34 to be called, but then Debra could have told us we shouldn't expect much more from her lovely mother in law, Marie. Perhaps my next celebrity encounter will be more exciting, but until then all I have is my memory of Doris Roberts, and no picture to accompany it.