Sounds like he was in better financial shape in 1939 than when he passed away in 1999. I've heard from more than one source that he was in hock to the IRS for quite some time. He supposedly made an investment in a wall-covering company (ZBrick? Abitibi?) which went south on him. What helped him out many years later were the MG residuals from GSN. They started out quite low but were negotiated upwards. I don't know whether his estate had a positive or negative net worth when he passed away.
When the classic GT shows contracted with performers there were no provisions in the AFTRA contract terms for the subsequent cable reruns we came to see on GSN. When Sony launched GSN, AFTRA had the challenge of categorizing and calculating the moneys due. GSN plays were certainly not like network broadcast reruns. Should they be considered along the lines of DVD sales? Do they fit as exhibition in "supplemental markets," a category more applicable to the realm of in-flight play? Obviously, Sony's attorneys advocated for paying the least.
A lovely lady at AFTRA, Joan Halperin Weise, was the point person in the categorization and formulas ultimately adopted, and her staff did the math. Because talent had never signed for these kind of replays, new agreements had to be drafted for each and every AFTRA member who appeared on and off-camera in the hundreds if not thousands of episodes. It was a Herculean task, and it set an important precedent.
When the agreements were sent to surviving talent and the next-of-kin for those who had passed, some saw it as an unexpected minor windfall and signed off on the deal. Others chose to contact their friends who had also received these agreements, wondering what to make of it all. Word spread that there was an agent who was prepared to negotiate for higher fees. With the channel about to launch, it was not difficult to get higher compensation than the pennies-per-episode that had been offered. Talent can always negotiate above scale - scale is never more than a mandatory minimum compensation. Gene was in the group of folks who were paid significantly higher fees.
Gene had been in debt to the IRS for many years. With penalties, fees and the interest clock ticking anyone beholden to the IRS can quickly get buried. The deal with GSN cleared Gene's entire debt and left him in the black. From decades of his high earnings through his union-covered work, Gene's pension was very significant. In his later years he lived conservatively in the Encino area, and comported himself with class and grace despite the fact that he could not be considered wealthy in the manner we would consider appropriate for someone who had spent a huge portion of his life as a daily fixture on TV. He was charming, funny, hung out with Bob Noah, and spoke honestly about his career - both his proud accomplishments and his disappointments. Despite having a fair share of regrets, Gene didn't dwell on the negative. I found that inspirational.
To respond to Chris' conjecture, Gene's estate was in the black upon his death.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
