Only Ray Romano played Raymond

Question: HELP! My mother insists that when the TV show "Everyone Loves Raymond" first began, Brad Garrett (the man who played Ray's brother, just in case I have the wrong name) was Raymond. Is she right? I keep telling her the show is centered on the actual character created by Ray Romano. But she still keeps going around asking everyone she meets if they remember the big guy as Raymond. It's getting embarrassing. So I would appreciate it if you could settle this argument once and for all.

Answer: Ray Romano was the only person to play Raymond on "Everybody Loves Raymond," a show named for his character, but also for him, Ray Romano, because the show was based on his life, that being the life of Ray Romano, comic, creator of "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Question: I can't help noticing a similarity between Raven, star of "That's So Raven" on the Disney Channel, and the little girl who played Cliff Huxtable's granddaughter on "The Cosby Show." Is this the same girl?

Answer: Yep. Raven-Symone played Olivia Kendall on "The Cosby Show" from 1989 until 1992. Then she played Nicole on the ABC sitcom "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper" from 1993 until 1997. She also provides the voice of Monique on the Disney series "Kim Possible" and has been in several TV movies on the Disney Channel. Disney has her in a new movie coming out in March. In "College Road Trip" she plays Martin Lawrence's daughter.

Question: I can't imagine where you find all your info about old TV shows, but I have an old jingle going through my head, and I hope you can help. It started out, "Letters, we get letters ... " and then I suppose a bunch of fan letters were read. I vaguely remember some people dancing around with letters on trays. Not much to go on, I know. Any clues? Thanks.

Answer: That was a regular segment on "The Perry Como Show," which ran weekly on NBC from 1956 until 1963. People would write letters to Perry asking questions or requesting songs, and he would answer their questions or fulfill their requests.

Kids, Perry Como was a popular singer whose career began in the 1940s and extended into the mid-1990s with occasional TV specials.

Question: My friend is looking for a movie about football coach Vince Lombardi. I think it was called "I Am Not a Legend." Is it available on video? Who portrays Lombardi?

Answer: Actually, the title is "Legend in Granite," and it's a 1973 TV movie. Ernest Borgnine played Lombardi. It's not yet on video.

Question: I'm trying to find the name of a song that played on the Jan. 10 episode of ABC's "Big Shots." It was a scene in which Katie was sitting at her desk listening to music on her computer.

Answer: The song is "We Will Not Grow Old," by Lenka.

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Write David Inman's in care of The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal, 525 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, KY 40201-7431; or e-mail him at mail@askinman.com. Questions of general interest will be answered; personal replies are not possible.