I came across yesterday that Don Knotts made (only?) $35,000 a year playing Barney Fife on TAGS. Which equals to $306,580 dollars today ($35,000 in 1960 money). I don’t know if Knotts got a pay raise since he became and the show so popular but this was his salary.

$306,000 a year is good even now, which makes you wonder why the Dollar gets so devalued over time. But $300,000 is sort of small depending on what players of popular sitcoms make today. One really cannot live independently in America on $35,000 a year today, even in the South.

Andy Griffith himself must have made a killing on the series considering he owned a part of the show, and the show has been on syndication for 55 years since the show ended. Griffith should have been a billionaire when he died unless he sold his share of the show.

I just thought this was interesting.

Back then, TV performers were being well compensated relative to the average Joe, but they were not earning the outrageous amounts of today's performers.

MeTV on Jim Nabors.

I came across yesterday that Don Knotts made (only?) $35,000 a year playing Barney Fife on TAGS. Which equals to $306,580 dollars today ($35,000 in 1960 money). I don’t know if Knotts got a pay raise since he became and the show so popular but this was his salary.

$306,000 a year is good even now, which makes you wonder why the Dollar gets so devalued over time. But $300,000 is sort of small depending on what players of popular sitcoms make today. One really cannot live independently in America on $35,000 a year today, even in the South.

Andy Griffith himself must have made a killing on the series considering he owned a part of the show, and the show has been on syndication for 55 years since the show ended. Griffith should have been a billionaire when he died unless he sold his share of the show.

I just thought this was interesting.


Griffith while being set for life in owning the share of the company had several debts that prevented him from being a billionaire and led to him selling his stake in TAGS in the late 90s. Among them:

An unfinished Universal Deal for three movies he signed after he left TAGS in 68. Only one movie was made Angel in my Pocket which bombed at the box officers and made Griffith refuse to honor it which meant he had to pay the fine for the deal until it was repaid.

ASG Enterprises (Griffith's production Company.) making bombed pilot after bombed pilot and dreck like Headmaster, Adams of Eagles Lake and the disastrous Salvage One

Health problems like Guillean-Barre Syndrome in the eighties that required Griffith to miss out on paying jobs as he had to learn to walk again

Alimony to Barbara Edwards and Solica Cassuto (Griffith's second wife). Solica reportedly made sure to take him to the cleaners because of her growing fed up with him and the fact that nothing is known about her.

Real Estate Related to the above Griffith and Solica got married at their home where Bing Crosby lived.

Griffith's love for Classic Cars that he didn't capitalize on to make money. If he had done shows about the cars he restored he might've gotten some more success but if i had to guess it probably would've resulted in him needing to have Jim Nabors or George Lindsey make an apperance.

So these are way Griffith ended up moving to Dare county North Carolina after leaving Hollywood and why he didn't die a billionaire.

Sorts of begs the question, if Andy owned what, 25 percent of the show he should have been that much more wealthier than he was. Should have been like Jerry Seinfeld. Andy should not have to worry about work the rest of his life unless he enjoyed it (which he obviously did):

Even in the 2020’s the show is shown on cable networks, decades after most of these people have died.