Salaries Questions

[Gothamite]

Here are the regular cast salaries...

Batman $4000.00 per two part show ($2000.00 per half hour)
Robin $700.00 per two part show ($350.00 per half hour)
Alfred $1000.00 per two part show ($500.00 per half hour)
Gordon $900.00 per two part show ($450.00 per half hour)
O’Hara $900.00 per two part show ($450.00 per half hour)
Harriet $1000.00 per two part show ($500.00 per half hour)
Guest Villain $2500.00 per two part show (1250.00 per half hour)

Hmm, Why Gordon, O'Hara or even Aunt Harriet got more than Robin ?
I think this is not fair, the part of Robin is much more important than any of them...

[Gothamite]

Here are the regular cast salaries...

Batman $4000.00 per two part show ($2000.00 per half hour)
Robin $700.00 per two part show ($350.00 per half hour)
Alfred $1000.00 per two part show ($500.00 per half hour)
Gordon $900.00 per two part show ($450.00 per half hour)
O’Hara $900.00 per two part show ($450.00 per half hour)
Harriet $1000.00 per two part show ($500.00 per half hour)
Guest Villain $2500.00 per two part show (1250.00 per half hour)

Hmm, Why Gordon, O'Hara or even Aunt Harriet got more than Robin ?
I think this is not fair, the part of Robin is much more important than any of them...

And do you know what was the salaries of the Special Guest Henchmen or Special Guest Molls ?

[Mark Racop]

Gothamite wrote: I think this is not fair, the part of Robin is much more important than any of them...

While Robin's part was larger, Burt Ward had never acted before. If he was an experienced actor, he certainly would have made more.

[Dr. Shimel]

Multiply by seven to get what the salaries would be in 2012 dollars. Even doing that, it's obvious that, given the fact that most stars of current shows make six figures per show, Adam and Burt were woefully underpaid.

[Buffalo]

Multiply by seven to get what the salaries would be in 2012 dollars. Even doing that, it's obvious that, given the fact that most stars of current shows make six figures per show, Adam and Burt were woefully underpaid.

Today's standards aren't really applicable though. Everyone and their dog thinks they are owed a living these days. Back then, effort and experience were the only real guides for payscale.

I would be interested to see how they fared against the cast of other shows of the era, say LIS, Get Smart, the Addams Family, Bewitched and I dream of Jeannie, etc. (even just listing those shows in a sentence reminds me of how good the sixties were for TV) .

[High C]

I posted this on the old board. Here are the season 3 weekly salaries

Adam West--$2250
Yvonne Craig--1500
Neil Hamilton--750
Stafford Repp--750
Alan Napier--650
Burt Ward--450

[Dr. Shimel]

I posted this on the old board. Here are the season 3 weekly salaries

Adam West--$2250
Yvonne Craig--1500
Neil Hamilton--750
Stafford Repp--750
Alan Napier--650
Burt Ward--450

All the success the show enjoyed over the previous 18 months, yet the best they can do is give Adam a $250 per show raise and Burt just $100.

[Lounge lizard]

There was a similar thing going on in the Green Hornet series. Bruce Lee was the lowest paid by some distance. Van Williams held out for a very good deal and his estate receives residuals to this day. Correct me if I'm wrong but the Batman cast only received residuals from re-runs for a limited period. Hopefully they got a better deal when the Dvd/Blu-Rays finally got resolved.

[BiffPow]

I don’t know if it’s true for every series made back then, but it is my understanding that television shows made long before streaming platforms and other digital media do not pay residuals because they were never contemplated in the contracts.

I suppose it’s possible that some attorney was farsighted enough to word the contract in such a way as to include means of distribution outside of what was then known, or that lawsuits may have settled these issues. But, at least originally, owners of the shows were saying the actors get nothing because the platforms were not covered in the contracts.

[TheBlueHombre]

Sherwood Schwartz discussed this issue in his book about either Gilligan Island or the Brady Bunch. He was looking for residuals from Gilligans Island and he was told by the studio that it was not making money. Because the Brady Bunch was so successful, while it was running, he as able to afford to hire an attorney to go after the studio for the residuals that he should’ve been getting. He ended up getting a lot of money because of it. The problem is most actors and actresses cannot afford to hire an attorney to get those kind of residuals. Adam West and Burt Ward definitely should’ve been compensated for all of the work and money for a series that has lasted almost 60 years.