2 1/2 MEN SON SAYS "HELLO DAD" GETS $300,000 PAYCHECK

[gregg75]

For what it's worth this is in next weeks TV Guide magazine. Forget the lottery
let's all just head for Hollywood.

The son only said "Hello Dad" in the Sept. 26 episode, but got paid $300,000.
KA CHING

 

[landtuna]

It's really tough to be 17 and already set for life, eh? ;D

Show really fell through the floor humor-wise though.

 

[LKellerIII]

For what it's worth this is in next weeks TV Guide magazine. Forget the lottery
let's all just head for Hollywood.

The son only said "Hello Dad" in the Sept. 26 episode, but got paid $300,000.
KA CHING

Well yeah - that's what "$300,000 per episode" means. It's not piece work. The paycheck is the same - whether you're just seen for second (I don't think you even have to say a word), or have to carry the entire episode.

I will say though- that kid has a good agent.

 

[ihEARDtHAT]

And the writers never told us what happened to Jake after Allen had moved out. We only saw Jake come out from his bedroom and speak, "Hello, Dad?"

 

[Yeziknoradio]

I have to agree. It balances out in the end. Two words in one episode, but an essay's worth of words in another. Those with more to say might only have half an essay per episode. 8)

 

[therealjm12]

The producers are not using the "kid" to give him a break. He's 17 and has another life and they are trying to encourage that.
Good for him. He's worth the $300,000. I'm sure he'll have bigger parts in future episodes.

 

[RicoGregg]

And this is precisely why despite nepotism and cronyism traditionally running rampant in Hollywood, hopefuls come in droves. If you start to get somewhere, the payoffs can be tremendous. Even one small acting job or writing assignment can be the difference between paying the rent for a year or sleeping on someone's couch.

 

[landtuna]

The producers are not using the "kid" to give him a break. He's 17 and has another life and they are trying to encourage that.

Not sure about that. This season's emphasis has been on Kutcher so far.

 

[landtuna]

Want more info on Angus?

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/5-things-dont-know-two-half-mens-angus-194100575.html

 

[quadraphonic]

The producers are not using the "kid" to give him a break. He's 17 and has another life and they are trying to encourage that.

Not sure about that. This season's emphasis has been on Kutcher so far.

Maybe they'll use the kid for some more product placement shots, like filming him when he's not in the script at Carl Jr's, or driving through Jack in the Box or Legoland.

 

[Markxxx]

I wonder if the kid "grew into" his fat or went on a diet? He looks really good now, actually he's thin now.

 

[landtuna]

You see how tall he's grown in the past couple of years? That probably explains much of it.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

...another soon to be washed up child actor, perhaps? ??? 2 1/2 men can't go on forever.

 

[imhomerjay]

Or worse, he could be confined to opining on message boards.

 

[LKellerIII]

...another soon to be washed up child actor, perhaps? ??? 2 1/2 men can't go on forever.

Could be. But if so, Angus will get a soft-landing, financially speaking. Assuming his parents (or whoever has been controlling his money) has not squandered it, he should be set for life.

Some of these kids do go on to successful post TV careers - look how well Joseph Gordon Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun) is doing in films, including 50/50, which has just been released to theaters. Levitt spent a few years doing low budget but critically acclaimed independent films - probably for not much money. He established himself as a versatile talent.

But it's not like the 1960s and 70s, where TV kids were payed poorly, and rarely participated in residuals from reruns. You've all heard the stories - as adults, many of these people ended up broke and emotionally unstable. Though it's no doubt hard to deal with the emotional part, having no money worries has got to help.

 

[Markxxx]

...another soon to be washed up child actor, perhaps? ??? 2 1/2 men can't go on forever.

Could be. But if so, Angus will get a soft-landing, financially speaking. Assuming his parents (or whoever has been controlling his money) has not squandered it, he should be set for life.

Some of these kids do go on to successful post TV careers - look how well Joseph Gordon Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun) is doing in films, including 50/50, which has just been released to theaters. Levitt spent a few years doing low budget but critically acclaimed independent films - probably for not much money. He established himself as a versatile talent.

But it's not like the 1960s and 70s, where TV kids were payed poorly, and rarely participated in residuals from reruns. You've all heard the stories - as adults, many of these people ended up broke and emotionally unstable. Though it's no doubt hard to deal with the emotional part, having no money worries has got to help.

I think a lot of it depends on the person. If they get into the drug scene or have a large entourage it can hurt you. I always recall Nell "Gimme A Break" Carter saying (when asked how she could be broke), "Sure I was making $20,000 a week, but I was spending $25,000 a week on coke."

If you read Maureen "Marcia Brady" McCormick's book, she says that she never had any trouble getting acting jobs after she left "the Brady Bunch," but she got into drugs, and that became her priority instead of acting. So she'd take bit jobs to earn her money to get her coke and other drugs. She says she came out of "the Brady Bunch," with half a million dollars and, as she says, "put half a million dollars up her nose."

MC Hammer said he was broke because his entourage was costly. He was employing almost 200 people. C'mon now, he wasn't a big enough star to really NEED that many people on staff.

So you can make lots of stupid decisions, and if only need to look to Michael Jackson to see how he surrounded himself with greedy people who told him what he wanted to hear, instead of what he needed to hear, and were only too willing to suck up to him and live on his money. And he gladly paid them to do it.

And while I agree the residuals are much better now, it's still possible to blow through them quickly if you're into drugs or have an inflated ego.

I have "the Family Affairs," DVDs and Kathy "Cissy" Garver has a discussion with other child stars. Basically they agreed that the difference was between child stars who had parents with full time jobs and those without them. She points out how her parents had full times jobs and never once had to take her earnings. This as opposed to Johnny "Jodie" Whitaker who's parents used his money to support the family. Whitaker says he should've come out with two million dollars when he came of age, and only had $800,000. And his parents explained they used the rest to pay for moving the family to California and to pay for his siblings college educations. And it was all done with the judges OK.

Another example is Buddy "Mayberry RFD" Foster. He states his mother used all his money and his sister, Jodie's money and tied it up. For instance, she had the judge OK a buy in to a house for his older sister (not Jodie who was younger). So basically the older sister bought a house and the mother "Invested" a portion of Buddy's money into that house.

Now when Buddy came of age, he was stuck with being in the situation that the only way he could get his money out was to tell his sister, to buy him out. If she refused, which she did, then he was in the position of having to sue her to force a sale to get his money. Which he felt he couldn't do.

Jodie Foster says she never saw any of her money she earned as a child. Buddy Foster says his mother did put enough liquid money aside so he and Jodie got their college paid for, and by that time, Jody was a star as an adult.

So a lot of factors seem to go into the money.

 

[LKellerIII]

A very informative and interesting response, Mark. I agree with all of it - except Nell Carter's statement. She may have been engaging in a bit of hyperbole - or was exaggerating, in any case. As somebody who (sadly) spent some time around the drug culture in the early 1980s, I can tell you that $5,000 worth of cocaine per week (at "retail" prices) is enough to keep you high constantly, and probably kill you after a year or two of abuse. And nobody who does a lot of coke pays retail...which is to say, they buy at quantity discounts.

Now if you're treating your entire entourage to drugs 24/7, or buying a lot of other useless luxury items because you're high all the time and your judgment is impaired - that's different. I knew one affluent coke-head who liked to buy and collect diamonds (cut, but not set in jewelry), just so he could look at them. He kept them in paper bindles, just like his coke. He didn't care what he paid for them, and was no jewelry expert - I doubt he knew a high quality diamond from a poor one, and probably paid too much for them. He kidded himself that this was his "investment strategy."

 

[therealjm12]

It seems like all the kids from Leave It To Beaver turned out OK and are relatively normal except for Whitey. He had the typical child actor horror story. His family took all his money and he became a druggie and died young.
Rusty Hammer -Make Room For Daddy was another sad story. He was one of the most talented child actors ever. He was cute and a little wise guy. A very good actor. He career went no where after puberty. He ended up a drunk and died young, too.

 

[Silkie]

Ain't it grand NOT to be at the airport when your ship comes in?

 

[firepoint525]

Or worse, he could be confined to opining on message boards.

You mean like you?