[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'224945\' date=\'Sep 4 2009, 12:33 PM\'][quote name=\'TheLastResort\' post=\'224926\' date=\'Sep 4 2009, 11:31 AM\']Anybody know what amount "scale" is/was for an announcer?[/quote]
Randy West could tell you to the penny. But I don't think you'll get much out of him about the issue at hand.
[/quote]
Yes, I must demur from saying much in the way of specifics on this matter in a public forum of this type at this time. Rod was a friend, I have been, happily, cashing Fremantle's checks for many years, and I think a certain amount of decorum and respect is due to those who have earned it.
I CAN say that Johnny's financial arrangement with Goodson-Todman through the decades is documented in the forthcoming book. The information is taken directly from the original, signed contracts for TPiR, MG, Concentration, etc. which Johnny kept and I have, and for which the appropriate parties have granted permission for me to quote from. The book also fully discusses the matter of Johnny's anticipated retirement in 1972, prior to his move to LA for another chapter of his career.
Johnny Olson: A Voice in Time also comments on Rod's financial arrangement, and includes comments on the matter of John's and Rod's compensation from Roger Dobkowitz, Bob Boden, and others who were there. All of this salary-related information is presented to shed further light on Johnny's life, in the context of a character study, from a historical perspective, of a beloved broadcast pioneer, and not to fuel the fires of idle gossip.
This whole TV thing is a business. While talents' contributions are often vital to a show's success, it is always hard to fix a dollar amount to that value. Union scale merely provides a starting point in assessing some value for that intangible. As in any business, production companies, understandably, are always looking to maximize profits. AFTRA's and SAG's annual audits show continuing salary compression, which the union defines as a diminishing "middle class" among performers. That is, superstar salaries continue to climb, and other members of the working talent pool are more and more being paid compensation closer to scale. I guess it mirrors the overall diminishing middle-class in our society.
Five years after you stop hearing my name and voice associated with TV, if we're all still alive, send me an e-mail. I may have more to say on the matter ;-)
Peace
Randy
tvrandywest.com
