SITCOM STAR GARRETT PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIS TV FOREBEARS.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

WHEN TV LAND looked for a host for its second annual nostalgic ``TV Land Awards,'' it was fitting that the network settled on Brad Garrett, who played Jackie Gleason in a TV movie and co-stars on CBS' hit sitcom - and probable future classic - ``Everybody Loves Raymond.''

Garrett, a veteran comic before he found stardom as the understated baritone brother Robert Barone opposite Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton, said sharing the stage of the Palladium in Hollywood with so many stars from his youth was a pleasure.

Here's a star of TV's No. 2 comedy, now wrapping its eighth season and apparently headed for a ninth, star-struck over encountering Mary Tyler Moore during a tribute on the network where old series go to live again.

``Just to see all these people in one room was - I did it for selfish reasons. I did it because I'm really a fan of these people,'' he said in an interview about the pretaped special that airs at 9 tonight. ``I did a symposium at the Museum of Television & Radio a few months back with CBS and I sat next to Carol Burnett and it was just such a hoot for me, because these are people that really got our juices going, especially for me in comedy.

``When you weren't popular - like me coming up - you watched Carol Burnett on Saturday nights. That's where I was. I wasn't at the vice-versa dance. I was at home watching that.''

Garrett, 43, recalled a childhood fondness for ``All in the Family,'' as well as ``The Munsters,'' identifying with the tall, deep-voiced and goofy Herman Munster role created by Fred Gwynne. He also remembers watching ``Love American Style'' with his baby-sitter, Maureen.

``I loved the fireworks in the beginning,'' he said. ``Of course, I was a kid and shiny objects and sparkly things - anything that looked like a sparkler, I was off to the races.''

As Garrett notes in his introduction tonight, a television series is classic if it has interesting characters, solid writing and acting, and an underlying truth. He says when ``The Dick Van Dyke Show'' showed Rob and Laura sleeping in separate beds, the network intended to avoid any suggestion that married people have sex. That's the element of truth, Garrett says: ``Married people don't have sex.''

``The 2004 TV Land Awards'' is a where-are-they-now showcase for talent of the '60s and '70s. Andy Griffith and Don Knotts claim the Legend Award for ``The Andy Griffith Show,'' the ensemble of ``The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' collects the Groundbreaking Award for a show that changed the course of television history, and the survivors of ``Gilligan's Island'' pick up the Pop Culture Award from some individuals who know that field well themselves: the ``Survivor'' All-Stars.

Fox's quirky comedy ``Arrested Development'' takes home the Future Classic Award, which it is hoped would give the show a much-needed boost. It has been a favorite of critics, but if it doesn't soon catch on with viewers, it is more likely to show up on a future installment of Trio's ``Brilliant but Canceled'' than stripped five nights a week on Nick at Night or TV Land.

``Raymond'' is set for repeats in syndication through 2013, which should make it a classic in terms of revenue generation. But will its stories about a husband and wife living next door to his parents stand the test of time?

``I hope it fits in the pantheon one day,'' Garrett said, praising co-creator and head writer Phil Rosenthal's gift for capturing family dynamics. ``Early on, I heard (Rosenthal) do an interview, and he says, 'I gotta tell you, I'm writing for Nick at Night, I'm writing for TV Land. I want it to be something that plays 10, 15 years down the line.' ''

Garrett said working on ``Raymond'' has become even more fun with the addition of Robert's new in-laws played by Fred Willard and Georgia Engel. Whenever Romano decides to end his involvement, there has been significant speculation that Garrett's character could be spun off into a series involving the McDougals, whom he describes as ``weirder than the Barones but more subtle.''

Sounds like another future classic.

Valerie Kuklenski, [phone]

valerie.kuklenski(at)dailynews.com

2004 TV LAND AWARDS

What: The network that's all reruns, all the time gives a pat on the back to stars of '60s and '70s hit shows.

Where: TV Land.

When: 9 tonight.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Brad Garrett, who stars in the probable future classic ``Everybody Loves Raymond,'' hosts an awards show that honors seminal television at 9 tonight on TV Land.