Profit From Reruns: $25-30 Million a Year
Matt Stone and Trey Parker have brought in half a billion dollars each since 1997 thanks to “South Park”.
“South Park” is still going strong on Comedy Central. While the show isn’t what you would call kid-friendly, it attracts plenty of teenage viewers, as well as those in their twenties and thirties. Stone and Parker are certainly doing something right if their revenue has anything to say about their success.
Betty White: The Golden Girls
Profit From Reruns: $3 Million a Year
During the nineties, The late Betty White, along with Beatrice Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, shined as gals in their golden years. They discussed everything, from singleness and dating to marriage, motherhood, and more.
The show ended in 1992 after seven seasons, but the witty writing has kept it on television even decades after it ended. Betty White's presence was definitely one of the biggest draws to the show.
David Hasselhoff: Baywatch
Profit From Reruns: $4 Million a Year
With eleven seasons of slow-motion beach running to play and plenty of tanned bodies to show, "Baywatch" got plenty of eyes on it. "Baywatch" got Pamela Anderson into the public consciousness – and she still hasn't left, somehow – but Hasselhoff earned the most.
Thanks to syndication, David's shirtless physique, and the kind of episodes that anybody can watch without worrying about continuity or plot, Hasselhoff brought in four million dollars a month while the show was still playing, despite relatively low demand for reruns. It became the kind of show that was playing somewhere – you just had to find it.
Jackie Gleason: "The Honeymooners"
Profit From Reruns: Nothing
One season. That's how long "The Honeymooners" ran. It totaled in thirty-nine episodes but it people these days still remember it, even if it's because of the "Back to the Future" reference.
While Jackie Gleason was the lead character, he didn't get any residuals – in fact, only Audrey Meadows got money once the show ended. Reruns weren't big yet, and though Gleason earned seventy thousand dollars per aired episode, there were no details in his contract about residuals. Meadows, on the other hand, might have been a fortune teller.
Alan Alda: M*A*S*H
Profit From Reruns: $1 Million a Year
Alan Alda has been on screens pretty much nonstop since the sixties, mostly thanks to this darkly comedic show set during the Korean War. Though always presented with a comedic slant, the show maintained an emotional connection. It was set in the Korean War but aired during periods of the Vietnam War.
Alan Alda as “Hawkeye” ended up netting the actor $235,000 per episode – a pretty penny when the show ended after eleven seasons in 1983. Alda has done plenty more to bolster his career, and though he doesn't make as much as some stars, he still gets around a million dollars a year.