ACTOR ON STRIKE
Brad Garrett, who plays the idiot older brother on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” is refusing to show up to work for the eighth season even though he’s under contract.
A source close to the production told Reuters that Garrett earns $4 million per year, which comes to about $166,000 an episode and is said to be the lowest of the supporting cast.
It’s also a fraction of Romano’s salary, reportedly valued at nearly $2 million per episode under a renewal deal he struck in May that made him the highest-paid actor on U.S. television.
Now, I’m all for capitalism. The guy is a talented actor and, even though $166,000 an episode is an insane amount of money, it’s not enormous by Hollywood standards. But he’s under contract and should report for work.
However, in my opinion, the series would tank without him. His deadpan looks are the perfect compliment for Ray Romano’s style of humor. I suspect he holds an ace card. But then, many thought Bonanza would tank after Pernell Roberts, and see who got the wrong end of that deal.
Actually, I believe it is Parnell. Hit send too quickly.
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