Everybody Loves Raymond writer and producer Tom Caltabiano revealed that Ray Romano, the series’ star, was “tortured” by the name of the show.

While speaking to the New York Post at an event dedicated to the series at the Paley Center in New York City on June 16, Caltabiano explained why Romano was not initially a fan of the title.

“Because Ray in real life is a modest guy, and he’s like, ‘Everybody loves Ray, what if the show stinks?’ “ Caltabiano said, recalling that Romano thought it could make the series an easy target for critics.

“Thank God it was a hit,” Caltabiano continued. “He had to make it a hit just to overcome that title!”

The producer went on to say that Romano, 67, so intensely disliked the name of the show that he made multiple calls to high-profile people in the industry in an attempt to get it changed before the premiere in 1996.

“He called [David] Letterman, and he called the president of CBS and said, ‘Please, can we change the show name?’ ” he remembered. “So the president said, ‘Look, if it’s a hit, we’ll change it.’ And then it became a hit and the president says, ‘Well, we can’t change it now!’ “ 

But were there any alternate options? An immersive Paley Center exhibit — "30 Years of Everybody Loves Raymond: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute" open until Sept. 7 — has a glass display case featuring possible alternate show titles scribbled by Romano. Some of the alternatives included, “Guy Named Ray,” “Regarding Raymond” and “Ray.”

The series, which ran from 1996 to 2005, was both a critical and audience success. While speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the Paley Center event, Romano said that he didn’t expect to be on a long-running television series and had even started to think his career had peaked by the time he was offered the opportunity to develop one.

“I was a working standup comic before the show, and I was making a living doing standup — and let me just say this — I love doing standup. I'm passionate about it. I still am. I had three kids at the time, and there was a time where I thought if there's another level, maybe it'll happen now,” he explains.

Romano adds, “It was 11 years into my standup career, and it wasn't really happening, and then I was accepting, you know, that's okay. I'm doing what I love to do. And then I did a David Letterman spot, and when I did my standup on Letterman, they signed me to a deal to develop a show.”

“And here we are, and it changed my life,” he says. “It changed my family's life, you know, I've made such great friends. It changed my career.”

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Caltabiano shared what he would have done differently with Everybody Loves Raymond looking back now.

“I wish we did 10 more years,” Caltabiano says.