Join FunTrivia for Free: Hourly trivia games, quizzes, community, and more!
Fun Trivia
Ask FunTrivia: Questions and Answers
Answers to 100,000 Fascinating Questions
Welcome to FunTrivia's Question & Answer forum!

Search All Questions


Please cite any factual claims with citation links or references from authoritative sources. Editors continuously recheck submissions and claims.

Archived Questions

Goto Qn #


Who was the highest paid star in TV history, making $100,000 per episode while his show was on the air?

Question #88689. Asked by derrick7.
Last updated Sep 28 2021.

mingogal
Answer has 2 votes
mingogal

Answer has 2 votes.
Jerry Seinfeld No link I just happen to remember reading it in "parade" (sunday suppliment) several years ago

Nov 18 2007, 12:22 PM
MonkeyOnALeash star
Answer has 4 votes
Currently Best Answer
MonkeyOnALeash star

Answer has 4 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
Bill Cosby once had the record at $40,000 per episode while on The Cosby Show. But that changed.

Friends characters made $1,000,000 per episode for a while. But that changed as well.

link https://www.businessinsider.com/how-friends-cast-got-1-million-per-episode-salary-2016-10


" Some reports have set Mr. Seinfeld's salary at $1 million an episode, but the executive said Mr. Seinfeld was at that figure three years ago. Mr. Seinfeld also profits from the syndication of his series. Forbes magazine put his income for last year at $94 million. "

link http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07EED81E3EF935A15751C1A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print



Response last updated by CmdrK on Sep 28 2021.
Nov 18 2007, 12:55 PM
avatar
Baloo55th
Answer has 2 votes
Baloo55th
22 year member
4545 replies avatar

Answer has 2 votes.
Are they worth it? I doubt it.

Nov 18 2007, 12:58 PM
avatar
zbeckabee star
Answer has 4 votes
zbeckabee star
Moderator
19 year member
11752 replies avatar

Answer has 4 votes.
As of December, 2006 -- Simon Cowell. His latest deal to judge American Idol in the States - the spin-off of our own Pop Idol - is worth £60million over the next four years - the biggest deal in American TV history.


link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=424518&in_page_id=1773

Nov 18 2007, 2:01 PM
queproblema
Answer has 3 votes
queproblema
19 year member
2119 replies

Answer has 3 votes.
Look at +1996, +2002, +2003, and +2004 on this page.
It names the stars of Friends, Jane Kaczmarek, James Gandolfini, Brad Garrett, Ray Romano, George Eads, and Jorga Fox as all making that much or much more.

link https://ew.com/article/2007/03/23/headline-making-salary-feuds/

Adjusted for inflation, what do you think Lawrence Welk and Ed Sullivan made? (This is a rhetorical question, McGruff, not a new one.)

Response last updated by CmdrK on Sep 28 2021.
Nov 18 2007, 6:14 PM
queproblema
Answer has 3 votes
queproblema
19 year member
2119 replies

Answer has 3 votes.
"Roseanne and Seinfeld each received an estimated $1 million per episode for their hit series."

[from 2007 history.com article, no longer online]

Don't forget Jackie Gleason, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, and many more.

Bottomline: why don't we leave off the "making $100,000 per episode while his show was on the air?" part and just go with "Who was the highest paid star in TV history?" Zbeckabee might have that figure, though I haven't done the math to break down 60,000,000 lbs. over 4 years.

Response last updated by CmdrK on Sep 28 2021.
Nov 18 2007, 6:25 PM
MonkeyOnALeash star
Answer has 2 votes
MonkeyOnALeash star

Answer has 2 votes.
The World may never know.

Nov 18 2007, 6:28 PM
avatar
star_gazer star
Answer has 3 votes
star_gazer star
23 year member
5236 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
Bob Denever who played Gilligan on the smash TV hit "Gilligan's Island".

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilligan_(fictional_character)

Nov 18 2007, 8:05 PM
MonkeyOnALeash star
Answer has 3 votes
MonkeyOnALeash star

Answer has 3 votes.
I remember from my Childhood and my one time photographic recall of the stats contained within The Guinness Book of World records, that Perry Como once held this distinction.

" Como became the highest-paid performer in the history of television to that date, earning mention in the Guinness Book of World Records. "

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Como#Television

Nov 18 2007, 9:02 PM
free email trivia FREE! Get a new mixed Fun Trivia quiz each day in your email. It's a fun way to start your day!


arrow Your Email Address:

Sign in or Create Free User ID to participate in the discussion