With whom is your soap's money invested?

[lmfan]

Yeah, I agreed with most of the choices but Bloom and Engen would be on the last tier. They are in their first contract cycle and are not names. Rikaart already won an emmy and has been nominated every year and he has also been through one or two contract cycles. No way would they be paying Bloom and Engen more than Rikaart. I wouldn't be suprised if Graziadei sacrifices a bit of pay in his contract to allow himself outs to do other projects. Every year he seems to take off quite a bit of time to do outside projects.

[bandbfan]

Should it be assumed that an Emmy win would mean a paycheck increase? I would assume so, but just wondering. I don't know about nominations. Some seem to be nominated a bunch and never win (other than Lucci).

[DavidEvanSmith]

I'm not sure if it would directly relate to a pay increase, but at least it would make the actor more "notable" and "sought after" to TPTB of competing soaps at the very least. It might be that which would translate to a pay increase to encourage cast loyalty. I would think it gives the actor more of a leg up in contract negotiations if they can say they secured an Emmy as a cast member. Shows that the actor can spin the show's material into gold. I don't think Jeff Branson would have been as attractive to Guiding Light if not for his Emmy nomination (did he win?)

[y&r_fan]

1. Cooper, Scott, Braeden, Bergman, Walton, Stafford

2. Morrow, Case, Davidson, Davidson, LeBlanc, St. John, Bregman

3. Heinle, Luckinbill, Rikaart, Frantz, Graziadei, Goddard, Khalil, Chapman, Peeples, Linder

4. Hendrickson, Marcille, Sursok, Bryton, Weaver, Shackelford, Miller, Schmidt, O'Brien, Engen, Bloom, Marano

[DaytimeFan]

Graziadei makes less money but has 'outs' in his contract. Rikaart took a pay cut last year and so did Emily O'Brian. His Emmy win is worthless, his Nielsen scores came back...less than perfect.

Engen and Bloom both make more money than Rikaart, don't ask me how I know, I just do. They both have a higher guarantee as well.

[lmfan]

Wow, that's shocking. I guess talent doesn't mean much. Chris Egan is a decent actor but has not shown the range or ability of Greg Rikaart and Bloom while getting better is so far from the league of Greg Rikaart. I figured that was true for Graziadei.

I always wondered how they handle Tracey Bregman's recurring status. I know she probably has no guarantees and is pay for play, but I can't see her getting treated just like any other recurring actor. I assume that she has some special deal with the show, especially since it seems like she is fairly popular and has received emmy nominations in the past few years.

Do you have any idea how her status is handled?

[Adam]

That is very interesting. I also notice you listed Ted Shackleford in the lowest tier. I find that very surprising.

[DaytimeFan]

Chris Engen's Q scores are fabulous. The focus groups love him. Vail Bloom just had a good agent who got her a good deal. Rikaart's acting isn't everyone's taste and his character is not as necessary as Engen or Bloom's are. He's more dispensable.

Tracey is only pay for play, that's how recurring works. She just gets paid what she would if she was on contract, same pay per episode, just no guarantee which she's fine with, it's her choice. Same deal with Tonya Lee Williams. No special deal per say, other than that they make the same money they would on contract, except that with no guarantee they do save the show money...I shouldn't say there isn't a guarantee, there just isn't technically one in writing. There's an 'understanding' that they'll both get work.

Ted is the lowest Tier because everyone at Y&R knows that he isn't really necessary. Also, Ted does Y&R for sh*ts and giggles, he doesn't need the money, he just likes to work.

[baller]

Most actors now don't have a per week guarantee in their contract, at least those starting out. What some (at least in this thread) would consider the first and second tier may have a guarantee of shows for the year but not a weekly one. I think many would be surprised the actors that have the yearly guarantee and how low it is. More common for someone who has signed a contract in the last 5 years is the "pay when play" that is you do have a contract to be around, but the real money comes in when you are working. Pretty much a guaranteed recurring almost, though some will have some sort of small guarantee in there.

[DaytimeFan]

Y&R and B&B both still operate with guarantees in their cast contracts but like you've pointed out, they're yearly guarantees. Jeanne Cooper did a new deal a month or so ago for 3 years and she did not take a pay cut. Y&R and B&B operate separate from the rest.

But you're absolutely right, guarantees are being phased out and slashed everywhere else. At DAYS Suzanne Rogers hasn't had a guarantee in...well nearly two decades. Instead, her contract is done to pay her a set amount a month, whether she works 1 day or 20. She's hardly a big money maker and with the recent budget cut at DAYS she makes even less...but she still has health insurance, so she's just got to stay on contract till her birthday in July at which point she'll be on Medicare and her SAG and AFTRA pensions/health insurance will finally kick in at that magic age: 65.

[Cheap21]

AMC

Top Tier Salary: Susan Lucci, Michael E Knight, David Canary

Second Tier Salary: Vincent Irrizary, Bobbie Eakes, Thorsten Kaye, Rebecca Budig, Debbie Morgan, Darnell Williams, Cameron Mathison, Walt Willey

Third Tier Salary: Tamara Braun, Eden Riegel, Beth Ehlers, Ricky Paul Goldin, Jacob Young, Melissa Claire Eagan, Alicia Minshew

Fourth Tier Salary: Chrishell Stausse, Brianne Moncrief , Cornelius Smith, Jr. Aidan Turner, Denise Vasi

[rangethatrover]

Good dish Daytimefan.

I am not in the least bit surprised that Rikaart has a low Q rating- he does give off a kind of icky vibe which well suits the character.

And I am not surprised that Chris Engen and Vail Bloom are higher rated in that respect at all.

I remember in the early nineties- the guy with the highest Q rating in daytime was Nathan Purdee who played Nathan! It suprised me when I read the article because I thought Nathan was a bore and I never particularly like him on Y&R or OLTL.

(I know Melody Thomas Scott and James DePaiva from OLTL also had huge Q ratings)

So its a yearly guarantee now... Interesting.

And where Y&R is concerned, it is probably the only show in daytime where the recurring actors like Tracey and Tonya can TRUST the Bell family (and Columbia or whomever) to honor an agreement like that (meaning, "We will give you work"...) Y&R and B&B are the only shows I would want to work on these days I hate to say. There is still a sense of that "family business" in it. And both shows have other sources of income around the world hopefully giving some extra job security. Hell look at Katherine Kelly Lange opening up a chain of spas in Europe. Who doesn't want to be adored in Italy?? Y&R and B&B are still in a class by themselves in how the actors are treated.

[baller]

Interesting and doesn't surprise me that once again, Y&R and B&B have figured out how to make it work, while the rest can't. Especially with actors starting out, since it's not been in contracts on the EC for a long while. For a lot of the east coast shows, it's a lot of actors on a pay when you work contract--it's why they can have so many on contract at any given point, cause it doesn't cost them anything. Or those vets on a show who have a low yearly guarantee, and the show will burn through 2/3's of it and then we don't see the for months because of that.

[DeeeDee]

Really?

[bandbfan]

Definitely with LAD on B&B. Being on contract for months and only working maybe once a month. Obviously she had some big things going on in her personal life, but they didn't drop her.

And pretty much all the 4 vets get their yearly vacations. (Ronn Moss should take more )