moofomoo
12-12-2001, 03:13 PM
Here is the story!
On television, they belong to the same wine-tasting club. Now "Frasier" co-star David Hyde Pierce may join on-air older brother Kelsey Grammer in TV's exclusive million-dollar league.
Pierce, who plays Dr. Niles Crane, the fussy younger brother of Grammer's title character on the hit NBC comedy, is renewing his contract with the show in a deal that could pay him as much as $1 million per episode, entertainment trade paper Daily Variety reported Monday.
According to Variety, Pierce has clinched a fee of at least $750,000 per episode and may end up reaching the seven-figure sum by the time the deal is completed with Paramount Network Television, which produces the show for NBC.
A spokeswoman for Paramount - which, along with CBS News, is part of the Viacom corporate family - declined to comment on the negotiations, other than to say the deal is expected to keep Pierce on the show through the spring of 2004. That's when NBC's current license agreement for "Frasier" expires.
Pierce's publicist did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
News of Pierce's renewal comes several months after Grammer reportedly became the highest-paid sitcom star ever by renewing his contract for $1.6 million an episode in a two-year deal whose overall value was placed at $75 million.
If Pierce were to land a seven-figure salary, he would join an exclusive group of TV sitcom stars - among them Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt - who reportedly earned at least $1 million an episode in the final seasons of their series.
But Pierce would stand alone as the only sitcom personality known to reach the $1 million mark while playing second banana to the star.
By comparison, each of the six "Friends" co-stars earns $750,000 per episode, as does Drew Carey, while Ray Romano's total salary package gives him about $800,000 per segment, Variety said.
NBC, a unit of General Electric Corp., currently pays about $5.2 million per episode to license "Frasier" from Paramount Television.
All I gotta say is WHOA MOMMA! :lol:
**Gracie**
On television, they belong to the same wine-tasting club. Now "Frasier" co-star David Hyde Pierce may join on-air older brother Kelsey Grammer in TV's exclusive million-dollar league.
Pierce, who plays Dr. Niles Crane, the fussy younger brother of Grammer's title character on the hit NBC comedy, is renewing his contract with the show in a deal that could pay him as much as $1 million per episode, entertainment trade paper Daily Variety reported Monday.
According to Variety, Pierce has clinched a fee of at least $750,000 per episode and may end up reaching the seven-figure sum by the time the deal is completed with Paramount Network Television, which produces the show for NBC.
A spokeswoman for Paramount - which, along with CBS News, is part of the Viacom corporate family - declined to comment on the negotiations, other than to say the deal is expected to keep Pierce on the show through the spring of 2004. That's when NBC's current license agreement for "Frasier" expires.
Pierce's publicist did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
News of Pierce's renewal comes several months after Grammer reportedly became the highest-paid sitcom star ever by renewing his contract for $1.6 million an episode in a two-year deal whose overall value was placed at $75 million.
If Pierce were to land a seven-figure salary, he would join an exclusive group of TV sitcom stars - among them Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt - who reportedly earned at least $1 million an episode in the final seasons of their series.
But Pierce would stand alone as the only sitcom personality known to reach the $1 million mark while playing second banana to the star.
By comparison, each of the six "Friends" co-stars earns $750,000 per episode, as does Drew Carey, while Ray Romano's total salary package gives him about $800,000 per segment, Variety said.
NBC, a unit of General Electric Corp., currently pays about $5.2 million per episode to license "Frasier" from Paramount Television.
All I gotta say is WHOA MOMMA! :lol:
**Gracie**