Big fat pay hikes. That's the trend in TV these days, especially if you headline a successful series.

Several of TV's top names got hefty raises in the past week or so, with Frasier's Kelsey Grammer at the top of the heap. That is, unless you break down the US$20 million David Duchovny reportedly got this season for working six full episodes of The X-Files. (That works out to US$3.3 million per episode.)

Other stars, such as David Letterman and Regis Philbin, make a reported US$20 million per year. But since they work nearly every night, their per-episode take pales beside Grammer and the cast of Friends.

Here's how TV's all-time per-episode breadwinners stack up (all figures in U.S. dollars):

Kelsey Grammer (Frasier): $1.6 million

Tim Allen (Home Improvement): $1.25 million

Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld): $1 million (plus huge share of syndication revenues)

Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt (Mad About You): $1 million

Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond): $900,000

Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show): $750,000

The cast of Friends: $750,000 each.

FOLLOW THE LEADERS: For some reason, drama stars earn less than their comedy cohorts, despite the fact that they generally work longer hours. Here are some of the top drama earners:

Anthony Edwards (ER): $530,000

Eriq LaSalle (ER): $409,000

Martin Sheen (The West Wing): $200,000

THOSE WERE THE DAYS? Believe it or not, the following stars from the '70s and '80s made headlines with these record-breaking salaries. Today, they pay extras more than this:

Carroll O'Connor (All In The Family): $30,000

Joan Collins (Dynasty): $65,000

John Forsythe (Dynasty): $85,000

Larry Hagman (Dallas): $125,000

Fred Dryer (Hunter): $50,000 +

GOT A MINUTE? Grammer gets $1.6 million per episode. Each episode is 22 minutes. That means he makes just under $73,000 per minute. In U.S. dollars!

TIME IT TAKES GRAMMER TO EQUAL CARROLL O'CONNOR'S ENTIRE PER EPISODE SALARY: 25 seconds.


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