Sheen, Hargitay Living Large Thanks to Small Screen
Greg Gayne/CBS
Charlie Sheen earns the salary of more than a dozen men, let alone two and a half.
The sitcom star is the top-earning comedic actor on television right now, with a per-episode payday of $825,000, according to a list of the highest salaries in prime-time compiled by TV Guide.
Joining him in the upper echelons of compensation are CSI's William Petersen, who will be walking away from a $600,000-per-ep salary when he leaves the show in the coming season, and Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay, who may or may not keep copies of her $400,000 checks next to her Emmy.
Also quenching America's thirst for crime-solving, Kyra Sedgwick's $275,000-per-ep salary makes her the highest-paid actress in a cable drama.
But if you're wondering where all the real money goes, read on.
- Billionaire Oprah Winfrey is, of course, the biggest moneymaker in TV land, raking in $385 million a year from her various multimedia ventures.
- Family Guy and American Dad visionary Seth MacFarlane's new $100 million, five-year deal with Fox makes him the highest-paid writer-producer out there creating for the small screen.
- Simon Cowell earns $50 million a season to tell people just how untalented they are on American Idol.
- CBS knows how to open the purse strings for bottom-feeders: David Letterman makes $32 million a year as host of The Late Show, while Katie Couric is getting $15 million for fronting the CBS Evening News. Meanwhile, ABC's Nightline has started to top Letterman in the ratings, and Couric is still anchoring a third-place newscast.
- The cast of The Simpsons is well cared for: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright and Yeardley Smith each earn $400,000 per episode. And we're OK with that.
The full list of prime-time's biggest earners can be found in the Aug. 11 issue of TV Guide.
The Big Picture
Glassy Lassie Flashing some casual cool, Jessica Simpson shows off her big...sunglasses in WeHo
More PhotosMost Commented
- Twilight Rewind: Hot Dish From the Cast Last Year! (798)
- Costars and Suits Give Robsten Their Blessings! (648)
- Blab Blab Blab: Is Twilight Sexist? (551)
- Truth, Lies & Ted: Twilight Special (478)
- Why Won't Sarah Palin Go Away? (429)
- Bitch-Back! What's Brad Got to Do With It? (425)
- Is New Moon Even Good? (418)
- Is Ugly Betty Ending? And Who Gets the Girl? (383)
- Ridiculous Twilight Hookups in an "All Taken" Cast (348)
- Dishy Rob Pattinson: Kristen Stewart Cooks a "Mean Spam" (284)
Top 10 Stories
- New Moon Eclipses Dark Knight!
- Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray & More Continue Singing Oprah's Praises
- Michael Jackson's Doc Shipped Propofol From Vegas to L.A., Records Show
- Unleashed Fangirls Derail Justin Bieber Appearance
- Miley Cyrus' Tour Bus in Deadly Crash
- Good News for Miley: She's Officially Not a Racist
- New Moon's "Absolutely Freakish" Debut
- Snipes Appeals Overly Taxing Prison Sentence
- Carrie Prejean's Biblical Boobs Are A-OK!
- Project Runway: Everybody Cries, One Designer Wins
Fashion Police
Green With Envy?Not quite, but we do give Kristen props for this shot of color during her New Moon press tour
More Photos
Latest Movie Reviews
Get Your E! News Now
13 Comments
-
Show the next 1 - 0 of 13 comments
Now loading...