Who Bought the First Ford Mustang?-- Part 3: 'Felt Like a Movie Star'

Said Gail Wise when she drove her new Mustang: "I felt like a movie star.  I didn't go looking for attention.  Everybody was happy to see this car.  Everybody was waving, asking me to slow down."

One time she was following a Chicago police car, "He waved me to drive up next to him so he could see the car up close."

She arranged for her $5,000 rookie teacher's salary to be spread out over 12 months so she could enjoy a leisurely summer.  That enabled her to take trips to the beach where the car attracted even more attention.

--DaCoot

(N)opening Day-- Part 2: Sox No-Hit in 1940, Fox WinsIt and Pudge's Revenge

APRIL 16, 1940--  It was a cold, raw day at Comiskey Park with just 14,000 fans in attendance as Bob Feller and his Indians no-hit the Sox and won 1-0.

APRIL 10, 1959--  Nellie Fox hit a two-run homer in the 14th as the Sox won 9-7 in Detroit  He went 5-for-7 that day.  The Sox finished 94-60 to finish first that year, but lost in the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

APRIL 10, 1981--  Carlton Fisk's first game as a Sox player, and against his old team, the Red Sox.  Hit a 3-run homer in the 8th as the Sox won 5-2.  He had signed a five-year deal with the Sox for $2.9 million.

Da Sox.  --CootChiSox

Then & Now-- Part 8: Talk It Over

What is the going rate for actors and actresses who breathe life into onscreen animated characters?

THEN

"Alladin"  (1992)

Robin Williams (Genie) received $75,000

NOW

"Toy Story 3"  (2010)

Tom hanks (Woody) received $15 million

Wow!  --Cooter

Then & Now-- Part 7: Start Small, Think Big

Sequels often pay off.  Look at these numbers:

MACAULAY CULKIN:

"Home Alone" (1990)  received $100,000.
"Home Alone 2"  (1992)  received $5 million plus 5% of the film profits.

KRISTEN STEWART

"Twilight" (2008) received $2 million
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--  Part 1" (2011) received $12.5 million
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--  Part 2"  (2012)  received $12.5 million.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE

"The Hunger Games"  (2012) received $500,000.
"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"  (2013)  received $10 million.

Good Work if You can Get It.  --DaCoot

Then & Now-- Part 6: The Blockbusters

Hollywood loves its "big" movies, especially when they provide big returns at the box office.  Here's what a "big" paycheck looked like then-- and now.

THEN

"GONE WITH THE WIND" (1939)

Clark Gable (Rhett Butler) $117,917 ($2,066,542 today)
Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara)  $30,851  ($540,676 today)


NOW

"CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016)

Robert Downey, Jr received $40 million

THE LOWDOWN

Actors who made less than you might think.

MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY:  "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013)  received $200,000.

SEAN ASTIN:  "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)  $250,000 for three films.

--Cooter

Then & Now-- Part 5: "Star Wars": May the Fourth be With You

Since May 4th just passed us by  (May the Fourth Be With You).

During the almost 40 years between the first "Star Wars" movie (1977's "A New Hope") and 2015's "The Force Awakens" the salaries of some of the original stars really shot up.  here's how the salaries of the two casts stack up:

THEN

"STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977)

Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher  (Princess Leia Organa), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker).

They were each paid $1,000 a week  ($4,020 today)

Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) $150,000 ($602,978 today) plus 2.25 percent of the profits.

Ford, Fisher and Hamill also received 0.25 percent of the profits.

NOW

"STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)

Harrison Ford (Han Solo) $10 million- $20 million

Carrie Fisher (General Leia Organa), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker)  $1 million- $3 million

Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn) $100,000 - $300,000

Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron)  $600,000 - $900,000.

May the Force ....  --Cooter

Then & Now-- Part 4: The Prime-Time Soap Opera Salaries

THEN

DALLAS

In 1980, "Dallas" was a worldwide megahit and Larry Hagman was its biggest star  After the "Who Shot J.R." episode that year, Hagman asked for, and got, a raise from $15,000 to $100,000 per episode ($297,635 today).

Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing) $10,000 per episode in 1978 ($29,563 today).

Victoria Principal (Pamela Ewing) $25,000 an episode in 1978 ($73,909 today).

NOW

BIG LITTLE LIES

Reese Witherspoon (Madeline MacKenzie) and Nicole Kidman (Cleste Wright)  $350,000 per episode  

I Don't Watch Prime-Time Soap Operas For the Most Part (But Did Watch "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."  --Cooter

Then & Now-- Part 3: Salaries on Sitcoms: Dick Van Dyke Show and The Big Bang Theory

THEN

THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (1961)

Dick Van Dyke (Rob Petrie) was paid $1,500 an episode ($12,221 today)  He also received ownership hares in the series.

THE DUKES OF HAZZARD (1979)

Tom Wopat (Luke) John Schneider (Bo)

$30,000 an episode ($100,662 today)

NOW

THE BIG BANG THEORY (2017)

Johnny Galecki (Leonard Hofstadter), Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper), kaley Cuoco (Penny Hofstadter), Simon Helberg (Howard Wolowitz) and Kunal Nayyar (Raj Koothrappali)

$900,000 an episode.

Mayim Bialik (Amy Farrah Fowler) and Melissa Rauch (Bernadette Rostenkowski) $425,000 an episode.

Real Funny Folks.  --DaCoot

Then & Now-- Part 2: Saturday Night Live

Over the past four decades "Saturday Night Live" has gone from must-watch to that still on?

Back then, the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players in 1975 included Loraine Newman, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris and Chevy Chase.

What they earned:

FIRST SEASON:  $750 an episode (today $3,396)
SECOND SEASON:  $2,000 a show ($8,563 today)
FOURTH SEASON:  $4,000 a show  ($14,945 today)

NOW

Estimates say that cast members make up to $24,000 a show based on seniority.

$1,400--  How much Alec Baldwin is paid every time he appears on SNL impersonating President Donald Trump.

Cheezborger, No Cheeps.  --Cooter

Some Chicago Cubs Salaries in 1969

Kind of interesting, especially in light of all the money current players get.  But, remember, these are in 1969 money.

Ron Santo:  $85,000

Billy Williams:  $75,000

Ernie Banks:  $60,000

Bill Hands:  $30,000

Joe Niekro:  $19,000

Oh Well.  --Cooter

Bill "Moose" Skowron-- Part 2: Big Time Pay

Not saying that today's baseball players are paid too much, but here is what "Moose" was paid by the Yankees during four of his prime years:

1957--  $21,500 and batted .304
1958--  $22,000 and batted .273
1959--  $23,000 and batted .298
1960--  $23,000 and batted .309

Chump Change for the Players Today.  --DaMooseCoot

Not Saying Current Baseball Playres Are Paid Too Much, But This Is What Ernie Banks Was Paid

From the Jan. 25, 2015, Chicago Tribune.

Ernie Banks "was an immediate hit, and in 1955 broke the all-time record for home runs from a shortstop in a season, 39, and finishing with 44, including five grand slams, another record that stood until 1987.

"Despite playing for awful Cubs teams, he earned the National League MVP Awards in 1958 and '59, and quickly became a household name.

"he made $27,500 in '58 and got a raise to $45,000 in '59.  In his final two seasons, 1970-1971, he earned $85,000 in each.

"(His salary as CTA board member, a post he held from 1969 to 1981, paid $15,000 annually.)"

Compared to Today's Salaries?  --Cooter