Submitted by: kirkland on Thursday December 14th, 2006 at 05:16 PM EST

Peter Boyle, who capped a long career as the hilariously grouchy and always politically incorrect father on "Everybody Loves Raymond," has died. He was 71.

Boyle died Tuesday evening at New York Presbyterian Hospital after a long battle with multiple myeloma and heart disease.

"I am deeply saddened by the passing of Peter Boyle," Ray Romano said, adding that Boyle was a mentor to him from the early days of "Everybody Loves Raymond."

"He could play this guy who seems scary but really underneath it has this heart you know? And get a laugh doing it," said Romano. "To get the audience to hate your character... but love you is unique."

» Full story @ The ShowBuzz