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mg/hs hour question

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pyrfan:
Thinking about celebrities' fees for appearing on game shows, this occurred to me: Is it possible that they had a different pay structure on "Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour" because not all celebrities had the same amount of airtime?

As an example, on the final week of the show, Charles Nelson Reilly played MG all five days; Fannie Flagg played MG four times; Phyllis Diller, Roger E. Mosley, Constance McCashin, and Leonard Frey each played MG three times; and Barry Gordon and Roxie Roker played MG only two times. Would Fannie get more pay than Roxie and Barry because she had twice as much "work" as they did? Or does the fee assume you're paying for the time the celebrity has to be in the studio?


Brendan

Matt Ottinger:
Randy West is definitely da' man when it comes to this question, but I'm reasonably sure that they'd all be paid the same.  

I assume all the performers were being paid scale, so union rules would apply.  If what little I know about the system is right, there is a break point for the minimum amount of "work" one does in order to get paid for "performing", but that's designed to differentiate between a featured performer and an extra.  All the celebrities would be considered featured players, even though some of them might be a little more featured than others.

tvrandywest:
It's not about the money, it about spreading joy, fun and laughter.
     (sfx: crickets)
OK, it's about the money!

The short answer to your question (have I ever posted a short answer?) requires only one assumption, and it's a very safe one: that each of these celebs was working for scale (the minimum payment the union allows for the very specific type of job).

Step 1
The right contract and type of program:
Under AFTRA's "Network Code" (the applicable contract, as opposed to the Commercials, Phono or Non-Broadcast contracts to name just a few) game show pay rates are different from some other types of programs, such as dramatic shows.

Step 2
The correct rate:
The program in question is a 1 hour show (as opposed to 30 minutes or 2 hours, etc.), and each celeb falls under the category of "on-camera principal" performer. Other categories include "off-camera", "singer-solo", "singer-group", "dancer", "puppeteer", "extra", etc., etc.

Step 3
The stuff the agent is supposed to check up on:
Scheduled hours vs hours worked (possible overtime), wardrobe (bring your own and sometimes there's extra money), possible meal penalties (money if the taping runs long and a meal is skipped or late), what kind of booze is being served, and can the agent's girlfriend (or is it niece) sit on the announcer's lap   ;-)

And you thought the only thing an Associate Producer and the network's business affairs people did was lunch!


So your MG/HS celebs all were paid the same, no matter how many times their square was picked or how funny they were   ;-)


Randy
tvrandywest.com

Jimmy Owen:
What would it have done to the timing of the show if they had had all nine stars play Match Game?  Then again we wouldn't have had the cool set transition between the MG and HS portions.

Footix:
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Nov 5 2003, 07:27 PM\']What would it have done to the timing of the show if they had had all nine stars play Match Game?  Then again we wouldn't have had the cool set transition between the MG and HS portions.[/quote]
"It's time for the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour-and-a-quarter!!"

Nah, just doesn't have the sime ring to it...

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