RIP Spinal Tap...?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by TheLazenby, Mar 5, 2015.

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  1. mrgroove01

    mrgroove01 Still looking through bent-backed tulips

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Yeah. You have to have the talent first and then the wherewithall and connections to break into the relatively small pool of voice-over talent selected for use by the industry. That's the hard part. But when you're in, the work is light on your schedule and pretty substantial paying. The Simpsons cast have to be among the highest paid voice talent in the industry and probably work maybe 2-4 weeks a year on the show? It's like a super high paying retirement plan for Harry Shearer et. al.
     
  2. Purple Jim

    Purple Jim Senior Member

    Location:
    Bretagne
    Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Van Halen are still out there. Spinal Tap therefore... lives!
     
  3. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    The salary numbers were on imdb.com

    I've heard him call himself "the turd in the punch bowl"

    He has burnt bridges all over. Saturday night live didn't work out, he quit/got fired mid season and they airbrushed him out of the photos. He admits to having very strained relations at the Simpson's and has said they would love to fire him. And from the first post, he isn't on speaking terms with guys he has worked with 40 years.
     
  4. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    The couple of times I met Harry Shearer (in the mid-2000s), he was laid-back, pleasant, and happy to talk about Tap. Of course, he could be very different in his business dealings, but I have never heard evidence of that, and I had friends in New Orleans who knew Shearer and his wife personally.

    I only met Michael McKean once -- he attended a Richard Thompson gig with Shearer -- but he was also pleasant and outgoing.

    I've never met Christopher Guest, but I've heard that he is dour company and reluctant to leave Los Angeles. If there is a spanner in the works with regards to Tap, my money would be on Guest.
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2015
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  5. ubiknik

    ubiknik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    They need to get their lawyers to patch things up[​IMG]
     
  6. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Except the show's never going to end, so they'll never be able to retire! :D

    I'd have to believe the main cast of "The Simpsons" is the highest-paid group of voice actors out there. Of course, I'm sure Seth MacFarlane makes a lot more per year, and Parker/Stone make precisely 87 kajillion dollars a year, but most of their income comes from other streams.

    Of pure voice actors, I can't imagine anyone today comes close to the "Simpsons" actors - at least in terms of comparing one gig to another. Someone else might make more due to volume, but for voice acting money made from one gig? Gotta be Shearer and the gang!
     
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  7. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    "Tap rocks"?
     
  8. Olompali

    Olompali Forum Resident

    Over the years I'd bet Shearer banked well in excess of 30 mil from the Simpsons.
    On the Maron podcast he talks of his love for the community found in New Orleans and contrasts it with the driven craziness of L.A.
    He's has the money to walk away from burnt bridges at 70 years old.
    His show biz history involves 8 years on the Jack Benny show!
     
  9. mrgroove01

    mrgroove01 Still looking through bent-backed tulips

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I think doing the show is their retirement! :cool:
     
  10. Russ_B66

    Russ_B66 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vermont
    Michael can record that album of songs backed by the London Philharmonic.

    I will always be grateful for Spinal Tap. One of my all time favorites.
     
  11. MJConroy

    MJConroy Senior Member

    Location:
    East Coast
    I emailed Harry once a couple of years ago about Spinal Tap (a bunch of us started a Declare 11/11/11 Nigel Tufnel Day) and got a pleasant email response.
     
  12. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Could be - given how little time it probably takes, it's like a working retirement! :)

    Out of curiosity, I looked at the main actors' IMDB pages, and it looks like most do "Simpsons" but not much else. Azaria seems to have the busiest schedule, but most of the others appear content to do occasional bits elsewhere and that's about it - I think. Given how many "Simpsons"-related credits they have, it could be a bit tough to separate out the non-"Simpsons" stuff.

    Shearer is the only 1 who's traditional "retirement-age" - he's 71. (Viewing 65 as "retirement age".)

    Kavner hits 65 this year but Castellaneta and Cartwright are firmly in their 50s. Smith and Azaria just turned 50 last year...
     
  13. mrgroove01

    mrgroove01 Still looking through bent-backed tulips

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Plum gig, isn't it?
     
  14. SoundAdvice

    SoundAdvice Senior Member

    Location:
    Vancouver
    It's well known that the Simpson voice make stupid money, especially after so many re-negotiations and Shearer having major clout since he does so many characters. The show has made a couple billion over the past 25 years.
     
  15. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    That's for sure! Can't say they didn't earn it, of course! :)
     
    mrgroove01 likes this.
  16. Hokeyboy

    Hokeyboy Nudnik of Dinobots

    I remember reading an interview with Dan Castellaneta a few years back. He basically stated that his job on the Simpsons mostly consists of coming in, reviewing the script, discussing the nuances with the director, recording his lines, and done. He's usually out the door in about two hours. And in that time period, he's banked a few hundred large.

    MUST. BE. ROUGH.

    In the last two hours, I've had a Clif Bar. But I had to pay for it. It was a good one, though. Sierra trail mix-flavor...
     
  17. bizmopeen

    bizmopeen Senior Member

    Location:
    Oswego, IL
    Maybe they can raid the vaults and finally put out the full "Jazz Odyssey" show in a deluxe edition. I want the full gig, though...no puppet show, no sale!
     
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  18. bumbletort

    bumbletort Senior Member

    Location:
    Baltimore, Md, USA
    About time they all took up the drums....
     
  19. Yovra

    Yovra Collector of Beatles Threads

    It would be a pity....they produced some fine movies and music together!
     
  20. kouzie

    kouzie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Batavia, IL
    I got to meet all three guys backstage at the Beacon a few years ago after their Unwigged show. All three were extremely friendly and polite, though the fact that we were the distributor of their "Back from the Dead" CD most certainly had something to do with it. They signed all kinds of things for me; as Nigel/Derek/David for all the Spinal Tap items and Christopher/Harry/Michael for the non-Tap items. On a side note, among the items they signed for me was the Stonehenge shaped vinyl for "Bitch School," the Lenny and the Squigtones LP (which Michael signed as Michael, but Chris (appropriately) signed as Nigel), the Spinal Tap Criterion Collection DVD (which was also signed by Paul Shaffer who was also backstage) and the Red, White, and Blaine promo CD soundtrack (also signed by the present Parker Posey). All-in-all, a really great night.
     
  21. cungar

    cungar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Torrance, CA
    I sat near the Shearer and McKean at an Elvis Costello concert on the Spike tour. They were all pretty friendly with the crowd.

    I met Guest at LAX in 1986 and tried to shake his hand but he wouldn't extend his hand. Love his work but he seems like an arrogant prick in interviews I've seen.
     
  22. HenryH

    HenryH Miserable Git

    Maybe the drummer could go out on tour under the band name...in an ironic sort of way... ;)
     
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  23. Todd Fredericks

    Todd Fredericks Senior Member

    Location:
    A New Yorker
    As an actor I can understand the logic behind these types of salaries but a part of me thinks it's also insane based on what other people earn in the world and the amount of work, etc. The world and what people earn for what they do is crazy and unfair. Yes, the show makes a lot of money but that is crazy money. Would I take it if I got a gig like that? Yes, because this is the crazy world I live in. I just don't think it's very fair and I know life is not fair.

    On a happier note. I worked on a film with Michael McKean many years ago and he was a lot of fun to hang out with on set. Nice guy.
     
  24. edenofflowers

    edenofflowers A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular!

    Location:
    UK
    I'd go and see Bev Bevan's Spinal Tap for sure.
     
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  25. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Oh hell yeah!
     
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