Profit From Reruns: $5,000 a Year
As an actress, singer, and dancer on various shows, it was no surprise when Tracey Ullman got her own show on Fox. Opening with the George Clinton song “You’re Thinking Right,” the show ran for four years, ending in 1990.
Thanks to reruns on Fox, Ullman earns a maximum of $5,000 per year. And this was even only after fighting a long legal battle with the producers of “The Simpsons” after voicing a number of characters (“The Simpsons” first appeared on “The Tracey Ullman Show” as animated shorts), all for a mere five grand a year.
Carol Burnett: The Carol Burnett Show
Profit From Reruns: One Penny Per DVD
"The Carol Burnett Show" broke new ground when it came to television. Carol Burnett was a female comedian who ran a sketch show with thousands of small segments that still get plenty of laughs today.
With eleven seasons and plenty of reruns to show, you'd think Carol would be sitting pretty, but it wasn't to be. Reruns had to cut out music due to copyrights, which reduced the amount she got for each show. Her most recent contract grants her a single penny for each DVD sold. Thankfully, Burnett is getting a little help from her recent Netflix show, "A Little Help".
Tim Allen: Home Improvement
Profit From Reruns: $18 Million So Far
Tim the Toolman Taylor appeared in over two hundred episodes of "Home Improvement" as he helped viewers of his in-show series improve their homes and he improved his relationship with his family.
This sitcom was a big hit for the Disney channel. Allen still gets money from the show to the tune of eighteen million dollars in total, and there have even been rumblings of a reunion, which would certainly bump that number even higher. One way or the other, Tim Allen has plenty of projects to keep himself busy, such as his show "Last Man Standing", and voicing Buzz Lightyear in the "Toy Story" series.
Charlie Sheen: Two and a Half Men
Profit From Reruns: $20 Million So Far
"Two and a Half Men" was a sitcom with a twist – two single guys try to raise a child. Charlie Sheen's erratic and dangerous behavior led to him being replaced by Ashton Kutcher – a cruel fate to be sure – but it was one of the most popular shows on television during the 2000s and 2010s.
Sheen has still earned a total of twenty million in residuals. Sheen has expressed interest in a revival, but unfortunately, his character has perished in the show.
David Caruso: CSI Miami
Profit From Reruns: $100,000 a Year
Cop and investigation shows have been long-runners for decades, and the CSI series outperformed the genre. Since the CSI extended universe has generated something like six billion dollars in total, any lead actor is going to be set for life.
After ten seasons of "CSI Miami" David Caruso decided he had been in the industry long enough. When the show called it quits, so did he, after working as an actor or director since 1975. Though a bit less than some of the other actors on this list, he still brings in about a hundred thousand dollars per year.