Around Halloween each year, Forbes magazine releases its list of the highest-earning dead celebrities. The 2009 version is expected around Halloween. I had a chance to review the 2008 list of highest-earning dead celebrities while writing an article on the highest earning dead artists. (You can read that here.) Most of the names on the Forbes list won’t be a surprise: Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Andy Warhol. Michael Jackson will probably make his debut on the list this year.
I noticed some much-loved figures of entertainment were missing from this list of high-earning dead celebrities. Granted…these entertainers may not have enjoyed the success of John Lennon or Paul Newman, these five figures will live forever in the hearts of many. Why aren’t they on the list? Here are some possible reasons: bad management, enjoyed their best days before lucrative syndication deals and made movies before the rise of the movie aftermarket (DVDs, play-on-demand and even television). All of them and most of their work would still be protected by original copyright laws, which gives a dead celebrity’s estate control and income for 70 years after the celebrity’s death. (These laws are now changing and I think eventually the estate will have control forever.)
1. John Wayne
Can you imagine how many times “True Grit” has been shown? Somehow, his greatest classics ended up in the $5 Walmart bins. In 1999, an end-of-the-century poll by the American Film Institute rated Wayne as No. 13 among the top 100 movie stars of all time. Wayne played the lead in almost 150 movies. Why isn’t he on this list? Wayne was a great actor, but he wasn’t always a good businessman. He became an actor in the early days of the entertainment world, when movies were called motion pictures. I doubt he realized the enormous influence his career would have on the field or the potential for after-life earnings. Wayne was a vocal supporter of the Vietnam War and spoke out frequently in favor of conservative and sometimes unpopular views. That could have influenced the marketing of his last efforts. Wayne died in 1979. (I bought my dad a John Wayne calendar this year for $9.99…wonder if he made any money off of that?)
2. Don Knotts
Back in 2000, Don Knotts’ character Barney Fife, the bumbling deputy on “The Andy Griffith Show’ back in the 1960s, was named the second most memorable character in television history by T.V. Guide. And with good reason…Barney Fife’s comic timing and sheer physical acts make that show hilarious. Knotts won five Emmys for the role. Even though the show was in the top ten every year it was on the air, no one could have participated the life it would have once canceled. In 2000, a Nielson survey showed that five million people watch the show everyday. Most county fairs in the South feature their own “Barney Fife” imitator. And the show is one of the hottest adult shows when it comes to merchandising, including Barney bobbleheads. But Knotts’ estate doesn’t reap any benefits from most of these. The show was filmed prior to standard syndication agreements.
3. Abraham Lincoln
I hope no one thinks I’m being disrespectful by calling Abraham Lincoln a celebrity…but he certainly has been this year. President Obama has made much ado about his respect for Lincoln as a leader and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is still counting the cash from her bestselling biography “Team of Rivals.” 2009 marked the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth and cities from his tiny birthplace of Hodgenville, Kentucky, right up to D.C. have racked in the tourism dollars from scholars and families wanting to be part of the party. Now, imagine if every fourth grader had to pay a royalty each time “The Gettysburg Address” was recited. He’d make a billion if he just got $1 from every Illinois license plate that says “Land of Lincoln.” Agree with me, now?
4.Hank Williams
More than anything, Hank Williams’ income was limited by the far too few years he was on Earth, only 30. Williams did in that short time take a regional style of music and make it national. He made a few records and landed some songs on the charts like “I’m So Lonesome I Can Cry” and “Hey Good-Lookin’.” Every Hank Williams song has been covered by at least a dozen singers from all genres but none of the covers even come close. If Hank had been given a few more years and maybe Col Tom Parker as a manager (he’s the guy that made Elvis famous), he might be vying for one of the top spots.
5. Anna Nicole Smith
Why does she deserve to be on this list? A noun and a name: lawsuit litigation, J. Howard Marshall.
