Column Chronicles: Outrageous celebrity salaries denied

Outrageous celebrity salaries denied

Frank Cotolo
February 9, 2017

Success often means giant paychecks, so when a bankable movie or TV star is considered for a part, the actor is bound to ask for a huge paycheck, as well as formidable perks.

But producers don't always agree to pay an actor what he or she asks to be paid, sometimes even after negotiations reduce the asking price. The refusals never make the headlines so we talked to a bunch of producers to find out some of the stars who didn't get parts because they asked for too much money.

"When I invested in the movie 'Ben Hur'," said a producer who helped finance the fifteen million dollar film for MGM in the late 1950s, "I offered Jack Lemmon the title role. Lemmon's agent told me that Jack wanted fifteen million. When I offered two million, Jack's agent laughed so hard he almost coughed up a lung, so that was it for Lemmon."

"The star-studded cast of 'The Longest Day' cost a bundle but some actors worked for less just to be included," said a financer of the movie from 1962. "It was all confidential because we didn't want Richard Burton to know he was making less than John Wayne. But we originally asked Clark Gable to play one of the generals and he said he would only do it for twenty-one million dollars. We thought about it for a while and then said yes. It was such a shock it contributed to the heart attack that killed him."

"I wanted Marilyn Monroe so badly to play the part of Ernest Borgnine's homely girlfriend in the movie 'Marty,'" said an investor in the movie from 1955. "Even though screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky said it would choke me to death after he poked both of my eyes out if I got her for the part. I thought he was kidding, so I approached her agent, who I knew was looking for serious roles Marilyn wanted to play. He liked the idea but Marilyn asked for sixteen million dollars. We negotiated and got that price down to two million but only if she was not made to come within ten feet of Borgnine in any one scene. I asked Chayefsky if he could re-write scenes to accommodate Marilyn. That's when I found out he was not kidding about getting violent with me. I spent two months in the hospital and tried to sue Chayefsky for all he was worth, which at the time was too little for any lawyer to take the case."

Although we could not confirm the following list, some producers told us that Marlon Brando asked for $43 million to play in a remake of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," Frank Sinatra asked for $16 million to play the movie version of the hit TV show "My Three Sons," Desi Arnez requested $9 million to portray Fidel Castro in "Che," the story of Che Guavara, a part that went to Omar Sharif, and Sharif asked for $3 million not to be in that movie but took the part anyway for a lot less when he looked at his checking account.

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.