Delaware County native Monica Horan, mother of two, will lose her virginity Monday night.
More specifically, Horan, who plays the on-again, off-again chaste girlfriend of Robert (Brad Garrett) on CBS’s hit “Everybody Loves Raymond,” says the couple “takes things a step further” on Monday’s episode.
It won’t exactly be heavy lifting for Horan, 36, a 1980 Archbishop Prendergast grad from Aldan. Despite the fact that Garrett stands 6-foot-9 and she’s 5-7.
“I have such a huge crush on Brad,” laughs Horan, making her seventh appearance as the recurring Amy. “He’s a fabulous kisser. Very romantic. On a scale of 1 to 10, he’s an 11.”
For the record, Horan happens to be happily married to “Raymond”‘s creator/exec producer, Phil Rosenthal, 39, with whom she has a 4-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter. And Garrett’s getting hitched Tuesday.
Ironically, Horan had ditched acting for full-time motherhood when Rosenthal asked her to guest-star in a “Raymond” episode late in its first season (’96-97).
“I had given up on the business,” says Horan, a veteran stage actor (“Vampire Lesbians of Sodom”) whose TV resume includes shots on ABC soap “General Hospital,” Fox’s short-lived “Down the Shore” and ABC’s hit “Coach,” the latter two created by her husband.
“I had just fired my agent. Plus, I was the boss’ wife, and I was really nervous about that. At the table reading, I put out a namecard that said ‘Mrs. Rosenthal,’ so everybody would know. The episode was such a blast that Phil decided to continue the character, because he liked Robert and me together.”
Writing for your wife “can get you in trouble,” Rosenthal admits, “but we’re lucky that Monica’s talented.” Besides, “I’d force my wife into whatever show I was doing; whatever wife I was married to.”
Let’s ask the wife he’s married to. Is it fair that someone who had chosen to leave showbiz should be handed a gift-wrapped part — without auditioning, no less — on one of TV’s most popular shows?
“It’s fair because I spent 15 years schlepping,” says Horan. “This is payback. This is business.” (By the way, Horan says she works for scale. “This is an act of love.” She’s available “whenever they need me.”)
Though Horan and Rosenthal both attended Hofstra, they didn’t meet until the New York-based actors did summer stock in Upper Darby. When Rosenthal moved to L.A. to become a writer, Horan followed. They married in 1990.
Much of Rosenthal’s material for “Raymond” comes from his own family life, a practice that doesn’t always score points with the wife.
“Sometimes I get mad at him. He seems to understand things on the show, but not in real life. We’ll fight about something, and he won’t admit he’s wrong. Then Ray will do the same thing on the show and apologize.”
“On the surface level, I admit it freely,” says Rosenthal, 39. “It’s much easier to write a show about problems than to deal with them in real life.”