Being a TV star is a pretty sweet gig… at least SOME of the time. For many stars,
the money they rake in is beyond their wildest dreams. But beyond all the money you make from
each episode of your show, and beyond all the perks of being famous, there’s the serious bank
you can make from royalties. Hit shows that end up in syndication can be a major windfall for the
stars featured in them, sometimes even more than they made on their original acting work. Yet there
are other stars, particularly in the early days of Hollywood, who got totally screwed
by their contracts and didn’t see much, if any money from their years of reruns. In this video,
we’re focusing on some of the top female TV stars over the years, and taking a look at the residual
deals they have. Some of these numbers are great, while others are pretty sad. So stick around,
as Facts Verse presents: Today She Lives Off Reruns, But the Number is Depressing!
Betty White Betty White was one of the
all-time great talents in Hollywood. She appeared on various TV shows for more than 80 years and is
considered one of the top comedic talents in the history of the medium. She likely made residuals
from many shows, but in this video, we’ll focus on her earnings from the classic sitcom,
The Golden Girls. The show first aired on May 9, 1992, and then ran for 7 glorious seasons.
It revolved around three widows and a divorcee rooming together in Miami, trying to navigate
the worlds of dating and aging gracefully. It was a beloved show and won a slew of awards
over the course of its 180 episodes. Betty White played the inimitable Rose Nylund, where she was
able to utilize her impeccable comedic timing and chops to play the ‘dumb’ character to a
tee. And while The Golden Girls wasn’t the first big hit for Betty, it was definitely her famous
show. And it was quite a lucrative one. Once the show was over, White continued receiving
$3 million bucks a year in rerun residuals. And, in our opinion, she earned every penny!
Lucille Ball Lucille Ball is another of
the incandescent stars who left an impressive mark on the history of Television. Like Betty White,
she was notable not only for her legendary performances in front of the camera but also
for her many contributions to the industry behind it as well. Together with her costar and husband,
Desi Arnaz, she founded and ran Desilu Productions. In doing so, she became
the first-ever woman to run a major TV studio. Desilu put out many popular shows of the time,
including Mission: Impossible, and Star Trek. But of course, most people remember her best for
her on screen performances, where she shined as an incredible comedic actress for decades. She racked
up 13 nominations for Emmys, with five wins, as well as stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,
the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award, and more. Her most famous TV show was,
of course, I Love Lucy. She starred, along with husband Desi, as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo,
a hilarious husband and wife combo. The show began on May 6, 1957, and rand for 6 seasons. Amazingly,
it was the number-one show in the country for four of those seasons. And even when it came to an end,
it was the most popular show on television. She continued to play the role of Lucy Ricardo on
several other shows after that, but none of those eclipsed the popularity of the original show. For
her efforts, she ended up raking in $17 million every year for rerun royalties. Not too shabby!
The Ladies of The Brady Bunch Ok, on the other end of the spectrum,
as far as residuals, are the ladies of the Brady Bunch. The Brady Bunch was a classic early sitcom
and has retained its place as a cultural icon to this day. And while it only got so-so ratings when
it originally aired, it ended up finding its real footing once it went into syndication. It began
on March 8th, 1974, and ran for 5 seasons. It’s been airing for more than 50 years now, and new
fans find the show every year. As such, you’d expect the female stars (and all of the stars,
for that matter) to be raking in the dough from rerun residual payments. But sadly,
this couldn’t be further from the truth. Despite being a part of an iconic family sitcom that has
stood the test of time, the actresses of the Brady Bunch apparently do not receive
ANY royalties from the many, many re-runnings of their beloved show. It’s a sad example of people
who were taken advantage of in the early days of TV. These days, that kind of contract wouldn’t
hold up. Though it should be noted that the nature of residual payments has potentially shifted again
in the era of streaming. But no longer are there contracts that allow for ZERO residual payments.
We should also note that this extended to all of the Brady Bunch actors, not just the women.
Alex Borstein Alex Borstein,
who has been the voice of Lois Griffin on the long-running animated hit, Family Guy,
definitely doesn’t have the same issues as the ladies of the Brady Bunch. She’s man a ton of
money for her work and continues to be paid handsomely in residuals every year. For many
years, people knew her much more for her voice than her live performances, but the success of
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has meant that more and more people recognize her for that as well. But
her most successful show is still Family Guy. Her stellar job voicing the matriarch of the Griffin
family has meant years of steady work. And since the show has been going for more than two decades,
it’s safe to say she’s earned a TON of money simply from first airings. But she also
continues to be paid a lot in residuals, racking in roughly $10 million every year just for that.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus You might consider Julia Louis-Dreyfus
to be the reigning queen of modern sitcoms. She’s managed to be one of the leads in 3 hit shows,
with two going down as all-time greats. Most people know her as Elaine from Seinfeld,
where she starred for 9 seasons alongside the gang of Jerry, George, and Kramer. She was a beacon of
comedic acting, bringing nuance and taste to her work as the hilarious Elaine Benes. Then
she parlayed the success of the show to star in “The New Adventures of Old Christine.” And
while it didn’t come close to matching the uber-success of Seinfeld, it still ran for
5 seasons and 88 episodes. Then she led the show Veep, for HBO, as the bumbling and self-centered
Vice President. That show was a giant hit as well, cementing Julia’s status as a true comedy icon.
But it seems that her most lucrative show is, not surprisingly, Seinfeld. Since the end of the show,
she has reportedly raked in more than $400 million in residual payments.
Edie Falco
Edie Falco’s turn as Carmela Soprano in HBO’s legendary The Sopranos firmly established her
as one of the top actresses of her generation. The show, which began on June 10, 2007, and ran for 6
acclaimed seasons, followed the ups and downs of a mob family in New Jersey, and Edie garnered praise
and acclaim for her work opposite the inimitable James Gandolfini. She was nominated seven times
for Emmys for playing Carmela and won two of them. She managed to parlay her success in that show to
star in another popular offering, Nurse Jackie. And while she was likely paid handsomely for
that role, it seems as if her biggest payouts are still from her residuals from The Sopranos. She
reportedly has pulled in more than $26 million in residual payments since the show ended.
The Ladies of Gilligan’s Island The actors on Gilligan’s Island
suffered a similar fate as the ones from The Brady Bunch. Clearly, back in the day, actors were not
given the kind of back end royalty deals that eventually they started getting. And the cast
of Gilligan’s Island didn’t even get paid much in salary at the time either. In an interview with
the Vancouver Sun, Dawn Welles revealed that they all made roughly $5000 a week, and maybe a total
of $50 for the whole season. Not exactly what you’d assume for a show that had stood the test
of time as a classic sitcom. Gilligan’s Island, which told the tale of a shipwreck that left a
boatful of tourists stranded on an island, began in 1964, and last for three seasons. It wasn’t an
overwhelming hit when it was originally on the air, which perhaps was a reason why the cast
was paid so little. But you’d expect that a show that then gained a huge amount of traction when
it got syndicated, to the point where it became a cultural touchstone, that the cast would have
reaped the benefits. But sadly, that wasn’t the case. There was, however,
an odd rumor that Dawn Wells was somehow the only cast member to get residual payments.
She later debunked this rumor, and in fact, ended up completely broke in her later years.
The actress was forced to do a GoFundMe campaign at age 80, to help pay for her
many medical bills. 5000 of her fans chipped in, and they were able to raise nearly $200K for her.
Now it’s time to hear from you. Were any of these
numbers surprising to you? Let us know in the comments section below!