‘King of Queens’: What Happened to Doug Heffernan’s Friend, Richie?

King of Queens focused on Carrie and Doug Heffernan as they navigated married life after Carrie’s father, Arthur Spooner, moved into their basement. While the series, at its core, was about marriage and family, several important supporting characters rounded out the cast. Doug, in particular, had several friends deeply involved in his daily life. One of those friends, Richie Iannucci, was a regular at the Heffernan house until he suddenly wasn’t. Richie disappeared and was never spoken about again. So, what exactly happened? Larry Romano, the actor who took on the role, asked to be let out of his contract to pursue another part. It didn’t turn into anything big, though. 

Larry Romano portrayed Richie Iannucci on ‘King of Queens’ before the character disappeared. 

Richie made his first appearance in the pilot episode of King of Queens. Over three seasons, fans learned a fair bit about Richie. He was a firefighter who, initially a lady’s man, settled down with his wife, Marie. Later, Carrie revealed that Marie was cheating on Richie. While the character of Richie was a bit dim, he was overall a likable character that fans enjoyed seeing in the series. 

Richie appeared in 43 episodes through seasons 1 and 2 before his character disappeared in season 3. Richie’s departure was never mentioned in King of Queens. According to Fandom, he can be spotted briefly in the show’s final episode. He was not credited for appearing in the finale, though. 

Why was Richie written out of ‘Kings of Queens’? 

While many fans believe Richie was written out of the series. The character’s departure was never mentioned, so technically, he wasn’t written out; instead, he just disappeared. The beloved character vanished from the series after Romano asked to be released from his contract to pursue another role. 

Romano had been cast in a pilot for the show Kristin and likely believed the role would be more robust than the role of Richie. CBS obliged, and Romano left the series to take the part of Aldo Bonnadonna in Kristin, a short-lived, fish-out-of-water sitcom on NBC. 

‘Kristin’ was canceled before season 1 ended

While Romano left King of Queens for another sitcom, it wasn’t the big break he likely thought it would be. Kristin is a largely forgotten sitcom. 13 episodes of the series were filmed, and only six of those episodes ever made it to air before NBC canceled the series. 

The show’s premise showed initial promise. The series focused on Kristin Yancey, a woman who moved from Oklahoma to New York City, hoping to make it big on Broadway. To make ends meet, she works as a receptionist for a man named Tommy Ballantine, whose goal is to repair his tarnished image by hiring the wholesome and perky Kristin. Jon Tenney played Tommy. Romano portrayed Tommy’s confidant, Aldo Bonnadonna. NBC canceled the show because, despite a strong cast, it wasn’t very good. A 2001 article in Variety described the series as a dud: the article called Romano’s character, Aldo, a caricature without much to do. 

After the end of Kristin, Romano appeared in several movies and TV shows. He last appeared in The Irishman. Romano is also an animal activist.