# Do actors get extra pay for toys?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-get-extra-pay-for-toys/740852>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 19, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-get-extra-pay-for-toys/740852 "2015-12-19T15:49:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**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:** [December 21, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-get-extra-pay-for-toys/740852/21 "2015-12-21T04:26:00Z")

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> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> Actors get their cut of the pie. Not a huge check but a nice amount to keep them going between jobs.
> 
> [Cite](http://www.backstage.com/news/merchandising-clauses-for-actors/)

Not all of them and not by default. It says so right in your “cite” - it takes negotiation by the talent’s representation to get the royalties.

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**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\
**Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-get-extra-pay-for-toys/740852/22 "2015-12-21T22:38:55Z")

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The TV union standard for actor royalties during the 60s was to be paid thru a small number of reruns. I recall the number being 2, others seem to think it was 4.

In any case, once syndicated, the money was soon stopped unless you had a deal.

The web is a mess regarding stuff like this. It’s commonly cited that Dawn Welles was the only actor on _Gilligan’s Island_ to get residuals, but there are articles with direct quotes where she denies this.

Slot machines are a great way to make some cash licensing your image for older actors. Note that both the actor and the production company have to make deals. If you are proactive and seen as open to offers for such things, it helps.

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**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-get-extra-pay-for-toys/740852/23 "2015-12-22T02:54:40Z")

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> [@Bijou\_Drains](#):
>
> I remember Ernest Borgnine talking about how he never got residual money for McHale’s Navy. Residuals did not become a standard thing until the late 60s from what he said .

There is one notable exception to this; Audrey Meadows got a fee for repeats of _The Honeymooners_ put into her contract, which paid off big time when the show went into syndication in the 1970s.

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