“Happy Days”, “Married with Children” Star Ted McGinley Says Some Residual Checks Are So Small They're 'Not Worth My Time'
“Happy Days”, “Married with Children” Star Ted McGinley Says Some Residual Checks Are So Small They're 'Not Worth My Time'
Virginia ChamleeMon, June 1, 2026 at 7:29 PM UTC
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Ted McGinley
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Ted McGinley is sharing the size of some of his residual checks
The actor has appeared in dozens of roles in shows like Happy Days and The Love Boat
Though many of those shows remain on television in syndication, his payouts for the reruns aren't always large
Actor Ted McGinley is opening up about how much he makes from reruns of Married With Children.
McGinley, 67, has appeared in dozens of TV shows, including The Love Boat, Happy Days and Married With Children, the latter of which he was a main cast member.
Speaking to Page Six, the actor said that over time, the residual checks have gotten smaller and smaller.
“Eventually, it doesn’t become that much," McGinley said of the payouts.
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Married With Children
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McGinley said of his career: "I was on The Love Boat for three-and-a-half seasons. I was on Happy Days for four seasons. I mean, I've been getting residuals all the time."
"I've got some — I have a whole stack upstairs for one cent," he added.
Asked if he ever cashed in the smallest checks, McGInley said, "No. I keep them as a trophy for how inane the system is. Cost a fortune to send it to me."
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The actor added that "anything above two [dollars]" will get cashed. "Anything above $1.89 is going in."
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McGinley is currently playing the role of Derek on Apple TV's Shrinking, which, as he told PEOPLE recently, is a role he "never thought would happen."
“I spent my entire career wondering what it would be like to work opposite a man like Harrison Ford, Jason Segel,” he told PEOPLE exclusively, emphasizing that he once believed: “I'm never going to get that chance to have a scene."
McGinley also reminisced to PEOPLE about the big impression his small role in Pearl Harbor made, noting he was surrounded by major stars despite only having “like three days of work."
“I thought, ‘Okay, now I'm going to go, Michael Bay, Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett — I'm going to see Alec Baldwin. What are these guys doing that I'm not doing?’ ” he recalls questioning at the time. “I got there and I realized, ‘Okay, I'm doing this. It's just hard to get in there,’ and so I always tell actors like, ‘Just keep going. You've got to keep just believing.' ”
'90s teen star Andrew Keegan also recently opened up about the reality of the residual checks he receives from some of his hit projects, including 10 Things I Hate About You, saying in a podcast: "I think it's really funny, cause I'll get — different shows, obviously — but I'll get one-cent checks."
"It costs like 40 cents to send in the mail…” Keegan added, noting that sometimes he does not even check which project the one-cent checks are for, since the small amount is "not worth my time.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
