TV - Movies
The Real Reason
Richie Was
Written Off Of
King Of Queens
By VICTORIA MILLER
"The King of Queens" featured a mostly consistent cast during its nine-season run on CBS, but by Season 3, Doug Heffernan's (Kevin James) inner circle became smaller with the absence of Richie (Larry Romano), the womanizing New York firefighter and Doug’s former roommate. The character's departure was never addressed on the show, but fans definitely noticed.
A Reddit thread questioned why "they never mentioned why Richie left the show," and some commenters put the character in the same category as Chuck Cunningham, the missing older brother from "Happy Days." According to Romano's IMDb page, his final "King of Queens" episode was "Paint Misbehavin'" in 2001, one of the most famous episodes of the series' run.
That same year, he filmed 13 episodes of the comedy series "Kristin," playing Aldo Bonnadonna. Allegedly, Romano asked "King of Queens" producers to let him out of his contract so he could join the cast of the NBC sitcom that starred Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth — but unfortunately, "Kristin" was canceled after just six episodes.