# Actors rolling in residuals bucks from long-running roles on TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [September 23, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192 "2021-09-23T13:50:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/41 "2021-09-24T16:14:17Z")
He doesn’t mention that here [https://www.goliath.com/tv/william-shatner-reveals-star-trek-cast-never-received-residuals-from-original-tv-series/](https://www.goliath.com/tv/william-shatner-reveals-star-trek-cast-never-received-residuals-from-original-tv-series/) - just talks about the lack of residuals. Shatner was dead broke in the early 1970s - the residuals would have been helpful to him - if he got them ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/42 "2021-09-24T16:54:41Z")
Both versions are possible. _Star Trek_ TOS was notorious for costing Desilu/Paramount way more than it took in, and the show originally didn’t get very much play in syndication (during the early 70s it mostly played on independent, low-powered UHF stations.) That was the period Gene Roddenberry was selling individual frames from outtakes and copies of scripts. Shatner’s little slice of ownership wouldn’t amount to much back then. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/43 "2021-09-24T17:42:26Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > (during the early 70s it mostly played on independent, low-powered UHF stations.) Five nights a week on WPIX, New York! (not a UHF station - but I do know what you mean). > [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Shatner’s little slice of ownership wouldn’t amount to much back then. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/44 "2021-09-24T18:13:06Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Five nights a week on WPIX, New York! (not a UHF station - but I do know what you mean). At that time, when I was growing up in Green Bay, it ran on what was then the CBS affiliate, but on weekday afternoons (clearly targeted as after-school watching for kids). As such, I imagine it wasn’t bringing in much for Paramount, or for Shatner. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/45 "2021-09-24T18:21:49Z")
Jason Bateman was on _Little House on the Prairie, Silver Spoons, Valerie/The Hogan Family, Arrested Development_ and now _Ozark_. The first two have been syndication staples for decades. I don’t know if _Valerie_ was ever syndicated. _Arrested Development_ is streaming…is that typically more or less than broadcast syndication? ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/46 "2021-09-24T20:28:28Z")
Dawn Wells did. Seems she was married to an agent who specifically had that put in her contract. But she was the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/47 "2021-09-24T20:33:37Z")
Dawn Wells says not > **[Did Actress Dawn Wells Make Millions from 'Gilligan's Island'?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dawn-wells-gilligans-residuals/)** > > Legend has it that the business savvy of "Mary Ann's" husband garnered her a lifetime of royalty payments. > Q: How much money did you make for Gilligan’s Island? > > A: Nothing. I don’t know, maybe I made $700 a week. I understand (the producer) Mr. Schwartz made $90 million on the reruns alone. I think we got paid … maybe we made $50,000, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/48 "2021-09-24T20:52:49Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Richard Belzer: 447 regular appearances – split between two shows – as John Munch. More than that! [The character of Munch has appeared in a total of ten series on five networks since the character’s debut in 1993.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Munch) ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/49 "2021-09-24T21:51:03Z")
Apparently, The Hof and Caruso are still pulling in over $100k/yr each for their roles on _Baywatch_ and _NYPD Blue/CSI: Miami_ ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/50 "2021-09-24T22:13:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Emo Phillips shows his residual checks for UHF sometimes. They are $1 or so sometimes. He was barely in it. vh1 did a behind the music ep on weird al and one of the highlights was Phillips showing a check for 85 cents in the UHF segment ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/51 "2021-09-24T23:12:42Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > The character of Munch has appeared in a total of ten series on five networks since the character’s debut in 1993. Sure, but **Thelma** seems to only want regular characters so the vast majority of those appearances don’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/52 "2021-09-24T23:33:51Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > vh1 did a behind the music ep on weird al and one of the highlights was Phillips showing a check for 85 cents in the UHF segment “The gift that keeps on giving!” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/53 "2021-09-25T00:13:50Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > It depends on the individual contract. Back in the day when it was generally assumed that an episode would be shown once, or at most appear in occasional reruns, actors and agents didn’t worry much about the issue or traded residuals away as a bargaining chip for something that seemed more valuable. I’ve heard Audrey Meadows was a notable exception. When she was negotiating her contract for _The Honeymooners_, she had her brothers negotiate for her. Her brothers were lawyers but they had never worked in the entertainment business. So in their ignorance of how television worked in the fifties, they asked for something that any entertainment lawyer would have known was virtually worthless; perpetual residuals. The result was that Meadows kept getting payments from the studio every time an episode of the show was broadcast; decades after Jackie Gleason and the other people involved in making the series had stopped receiving any money. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/54 "2021-09-25T00:46:33Z")
yeah, i remember the original voice actress for Wilma flintstone saying at the end of the original show they bought out all the voice talent for 10 k a piece only to go on to make millions in reruns and she always felt she was ripped off … So when they wanted her back for the later cartoons she had an agent and made a lot more off the reruns of those I wonder how many people cursed lucy and desi for making reruns popular… ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/55 "2021-09-25T01:43:01Z")
Surely the main Simpsons voice actors must qualify. I think all of the main six have had other endeavors before and after they have all got to be getting _paid_. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/56 "2021-09-25T03:51:05Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Sure, but **Thelma** seems to only want regular characters so the vast majority of those appearances don’t count. Fair enough point. But as an aside, I continue to be astonished at how durable and ubiquitous that particular character is. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/57 "2021-09-25T04:12:18Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Surely the main Simpsons voice actors must qualify. I think all of the main six have had other endeavors before and after they have all got to be getting _paid_ . They were all actors (of varying levels of experience and fame) before _The Simpsons_; of the six, Hank Azaria probably has had the biggest career outside of that show, particularly in movies. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2021, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/58 "2021-09-25T06:08:32Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Hank Azaria probably has had the biggest career outside of that show, particularly in movies. He was also in the brilliant [_Brockmire_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5722190/), which finished its run way too early IMO. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2021, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192/59 "2021-09-26T02:03:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Hank Azaria probably has had the biggest career outside of that show, particularly in movies. I was going to rebut that Azaria has had more high-profile roles, but Harry Shearer has almost certainly had more credited roles (which he does – 195 credits on IMDB versus 99 for Azaria). But Dan Castellaneta has them both beat with an impressive 232 acting credits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-rolling-in-residuals-bucks-from-long-running-roles-on-tv/951192.md?page=2)