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TV Guide (January 8, 1954)

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upped to $191.00—and the producers would be entitled to 20 hours of work. About 6p percent of TV performers are in the “minimum” category. The rule of thumb on this is simple. First, any “name” performer is always well above AFTRA scale. Also, seasoned journeymen actors, known more in the trade than by the public, draw figures somewhat over the minimum. The remainder draw “scale.” The Godfrey Scale Certainly the most notable excep¬ tion to this handy theory is the God¬ frey Gang. All members in good standing of AFTRA, most of the Lit¬ tle Godfreys—despite being “names” in their own right—draw the rock bottom minimum that the ol’ Redhead can pay them. Only Janette Davis (who reportedly draws about $100 per week over scale), Marion Marlowe and Frank Parker (both of whom pull down “considerably more” than the minimum) work for more than the figures set down by the union. Julius Lav Rosa, before his ouster by Godfrey, was a scale performer. Of course, “scale” for a member of the Godfrey menage doesn’t exactly constitute slave wages. Working six different shows a week, with a radio- TV simulcast for the morning pro¬ grams, each Little Minimum Godfrey cashes a weekly stipend that, before taxes, approximates 900 bucks—or a fat yearly gross of about $45,000. Since La Rosa left the fold, however, he figures to pay somewhat more than $45,000 in taxes alone. With God¬ frey’s Wednesday night Friends show, Julie earned $191.00—minimum. Now with Ed Sullivan on Toast of the Town he collects $5000. Those Minimum Blues Harry Bellaver: he averages about $250 an hour, but needs some outside work. he turned it down. It seems principle stepped into the picture: $225 is the very least the sponsor could offer the veteran announcer under union rules. For the work they do, panel mem¬ bers are surely the highest paid chunks of talent in the business. With no need for rehearsal, these glib game players ad-lib sparkling dialogue for a half hour and harvest between $300 and $500 for their trip to the studio each week. Rate of pay ranges from a budget-minded program like Twenty Questions (which reportedly pays Herb Polesie about $250 for his wit¬ ticisms) up to What’s My Line (which features TV’s highest paid panelist, Arlene Francis). Arlene is said to earn $1000 per show, with her running mate, Doro¬ thy Kilgallen, drawing about half that. Along with Faye Emerson, who gets $500, these femme panelists con¬ stitute the upper bracket of panel folk in the exchequer department. A successful TV actor around New York will average from 12 to 18 live drama shows a year. He will get from $250 to $350 for each role he lands. He must inevitably supplement his salary with other work. Sportscaster Red Barber ran into the Minimum Blues last fall when a sponsor offered him $225 per game to cover the World Series. Although that figures to about $75 an hour,