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This Is How Much The Familiar Faces From TV Commercials Make

John Gilchrist: Quaker Oats, Unkown

It is a bit hard to believe that John Gilchrist got his first break at the age of 3 ½ years. He was seen in an American television commercial of breakfast cereal named Life. The advertisement was so popular that it went on running for more than 12 years. During these 12 years, Little Mikey (John Gilchrist) remained in continuous rotation for the commercial.

In short, he made most of his fortune with the Quaker Oats cereal commercial. The commercial even won a Clio Award in 1974. Post this; John Gilchrist was seen in over 250 commercials before he moved on from acting.

Jonathan Goldsmith: Dos Equis Beer – $1 million

The face of a popular meme, Jonathan Goldsmith, has become an internet sensation with his strikingly handsome looks. He is known as the Most Interesting Man in the World, and no one can deny that! Goldsmith earned this title while appearing for the Dos Equis Beer ad campaign. The sale of the beer increased by 15.4% when he started appearing in the ad. It gave him a chance to go beyond the world of commercials. 

The charismatic actor began acting in the early 1960s and has appeared in Magnum P.I., Dallas, and Charlie’s Angels. Other than that, he has more than 300 TV appearances in his resume.

T.J. Jagodowski: Sonic – $600 Thousand

T.J. Jagodowski is one of the two quirky guys in the popular Sonic Drive-In commercials. Jagodowski is a well known improvisational comedian and actor in Chicago. The actor has a big list of acting jobs in various movies and television series such as The Ice Harvest, Club83, Stranger Than Fiction, Close Quarters, Shrink, and Prison Break. 

Despite his other awesome works, he still will remain as a crazy Sonic guy in the hearts of people. The sheer talent of the actor shows how big an impact acting can have, even on commercials. Apart from the popularity, Jagodowski has made around $300,000 from the Sonic ads.

Laurel Coppock: Jan, Toyota – $1 Million

We all know Laurel as the famous Toyota Girl. Jan has made a great fortune out of the Toyota Commercials. After playing Jan in over 50 commercials for Toyota and in a few of those ads, she is also pregnant. More amazingly, Laurel was actually pregnant at that moment, and her script was written accordingly to immerse her new look into the commercial. 

Not only in the commercials, but Laurel also had some stints with the TV shows like The Office. More interestingly, when Laurel was about to call it quits on her advertisement career, Toyota handpicked her from the other 500 candidates. 

Diane Amos: Pine-Sol – $2.5 Million

We all can say that we have grown up watching the shoutings of this Pine-Sol lady. Her real name is Diane Amos, and she is a stand-up comedian and an American actress. She is widely known for her Pine-Sol commercials that are on for more than 27 years now. Yes, that’s how long she has been around. 

Her first Pine-Sol advertisement was released in 1993 when Diane was just 35 years of age. The Pine-Sol commercials played a significant role in her life, and it is claimed that she has made more than $500,000 from those commercials. Diane has a current net worth of $2.5 million.

Paul Marcarelli: Verizon/Sprint – $3 Million

Who can forget the zappy Paul Marcarelli from the iconic “Can You Hear Me Now” campaign of Verizon Wireless? And since he was a part of the campaign for a decade and also the company spokesperson, his name was synonymous with the brand. However, in a shocking move, he switched to the rival brand – Sprint. 

It is reported that Verizon paid Marcarelli around $6,000 for each ad initially, and earned $2-3 million per year. Even Though there is little known about Marcelli’s pay at Sprint, he received a whopping $20 million approximately, during his voice acting career in commercials.

 Colin Ferguson: Maytag – $8 Million

Don’t be shocked if you run into running Colin Ferguson to take care of your daily food needs. The actor seen in the Maytag commercials has made all of us laugh with his serious face in the exceptional comedic character. Colin is the richest Canadian born television actor who has made his name with several side roles in Crossing Jordon, Line of Fire, and several other films. 

Apart from that, the actor’s hilarious appearance as the Maytag Man has earned him a lot of reputation and earnings. It is said the actor has charged $1 million for the Maytag advertisements that have raised his total worth to $8 Million.

Carly Foulkes: T-Mobile – $3 Million

Ever since Carly has played the “No More Mrs. Nice Girl” character in her first T-Mobile ad, there is no stopping for her. Carly started acting in T-Mobile commercials in 2013 and was paid $1 Million per year. Also, she took over the reins of being the spokesperson for T-Mobile from Catherine Zeta-Jones. 

Carly was taken to modeling at a younger age. She was 13 when she started to model. Moreover, before she landed her dream job with T-Mobile. Even though Carly had a different dialect, she was chosen for the role as she was described as picture-perfect for the T-Mobile Commercials. 

Jared Fogle: Subway – $6 Million

There can hardly be any person who is not acquainted with the famous weight loss story of Jared Fogle. Jared or the subway guy was over 425 pounds when he saw a Subway advertisement mentioning a sub has as little as 6 grams of fat. Stressed from his weight, Jared restricted his diet and assigned an efficient subway diet for himself. 

In a time of one year, he lost over 245 lbs. This inspirational story soon got viral in the country, and Subway immediately hired him as a spokesperson for their company. Jared made more than $2 million a year as a Subway spokesperson. 

Vanessa Lynn Branch: Orbit – $500,000

Recognized as the Orbit Gum Girl, a flash of Vanessa Lynn Branch’s smile can take dozens of people down! She has appeared in various projects such as 90210, Redline, and Little Hercules. However, she mainly gained attention when she appeared in the Orbit commercials.

Branch holds dual citizenship in the UK (where she was born) and the United States of America (after she moved here). While studying in her senior year of college, she won Miss Vermont 1994 and has been doing great in the modeling industry ever since. She has also appeared in Jimmy Kimmel Live with some skit roles. 

Wendy Kaufman: Snapple – $500 Thousand

Better known as the Snapple lady, now turned reality TV star Wendy Kaufman made a big name for herself in the television industry with her popular Snapple advertisements. Before becoming a reality TV star, Wendy was working at the Snapple Beverage Corporation that was co-founded by her best friend’s father, Arnie Greenberg. 

Snapple was getting hugely successful and used to get hundreds of fan mails that were hardly replied to. Wendy, being compassionate, started responding to every fan mail that made her famous and a popular choice for their TV advertisements. Soon she got popular and started making huge chunks of money from the commercials.

Chip Esten: Carl’s Jr. – $4 Million

Chip Esten is an established American singer, actor, and comedian. He is currently winning the internet with his hilarious death-defying Carl’s Jr. commercial for the chicken sandwiches. Eston appeared in the Carl Hardee Sr. commercial long back, and this new advertisement is an attempt by the company to rebrand the company’s name. 

Although the actor has just got a single line in the ad, his appearance does the job for the brand, and the commercial is all viral over the net. The fees of the actor, however, are not disclosed, but his popularity alone has made him worth $4 Million in the industry.

Hallie Eisenberg: Pepsi – $2 Million

Who can forget the cute curly-haired Pepsi star Hallie Eisenberg who could intimidate you if produced anything else then Pepsi? Hallie won the hearts of everyone with her adorable face and convincing acting. It is estimated that she was making $7,000 or $10,000 from her Pepsi commercials. 

Soon after the advertisement, Hallie got offers from multiple television series and other commercials. She even starred in numerous films like Paulie, Bicentennial Man, The Insider, and many others. It will be fascinating for you to know that she is a sibling of Oscar-nominated Jesse Eisenberg. Her current net worth is approximately $2 Million.

Peter Grosz: Sonic $1.5 Million

Peter Grosz has contributed more to the entertainment world as an award-winning writer than an actor. But this long commercial stint beside T.J. Jagodowski for the brand Sonic has been another level of success. In the two guys Sonic drive-in commercial, he plays the deadpan guy sitting in the driver seat. 

The dialog-driven campaign featured the duo ever since 2004. And while the amount Peter received for the commercials is not known, it is believed that he has a current net worth of $1.5 Million, with a significant chunk from the fast-food chain commercials.

Isaiah Mustafa: Old Spice – $5 Million

Isaiah Mustafa did not start as an actor, rather he was a Wide Receiver and played for several teams. However, once he took to the commercials, Isaiah again started to make the headlines. It was in 2010 when Mustafa did his first advertisement campaign. Come January 2020, Isaiah has been reprised in his previous role with Old Spice that also marks their ten year anniversary. 

In 2015, Isaiah was paired with Terry Crews, both of whom appeared in a series of commercials together. Because of their masculine figure and raw personality, both these men were suited to act for Old Spice Commercials. 

Dennis Haysbert: Allstate Insurance – $20 Million

‘Are you in Good Hands?’ We can not say about us, but Dennis Haysbert, spokesperson of Allstate Insurance, long-running commercials certainly is. Working in the film industry from 1978, despite having plenty of work, Dennis did not have high recognition. His career took a u-turn when he was offered the role of David Palmer, who later turned the US President in tv series 24.

He then became an important actor for Allstate Insurance, which he has been doing for years now. It is estimated that Dennis makes $3-4 million per year just from his Allstate Commercials and has a total net worth of about $20 Million.

Demetri Goritsas: Slim Jim – $6 Million

Demetri Goritsas rose to fame with the popular Slim Jim commercials, where he dressed as a human meat snack and got all crazy in the stomachs of people. Demetri made an excellent profit for himself through those ads and also made a good reputation in the industry. It is said that Demetri used to take $40,000 – $50,000 for a commercial of Slim Jim at that time.

Since then, the Eat Me star has done several films, including The Darkest Hour, X Men, and many others. He even has done voice-overs for more than 100 documentaries and has a current net worth of $6 Million.

Offer Shlomi: ShamWow! – $2 Million

Known as The ShamWow Guy, Offer Shlomi got his first break in a comedy movie, The Underground Comedy Movie. The movie received negative reviews, although he worked extremely hard to complete it. 

Post this; he started marketing products like ShamWow, an absorbent towel. This commercial was extremely popular and sold millions of towels and bought Offer Shlomi in the eyes of the world. He also appeared in a kitchen gadget commercial Slap Chop that gave a cut-throat competition to a similar product. Moreover, other commercials like Schticky, InVinceable, and Canada Green acted as the pillars of success for the Israeli-American infomercial pitchman.

Jesse Heiman: Go Daddy – $900 Thousand

Apart from all the small and big roles in movies and web series, the thing that made him famous on a national level was a GoDaddy commercial during the 2103 Super Bowl. The advertisement took a total of 67 takes to shoot. The advertisement received a good response, and Jesse was offered to appear in a movie based on that.

In addition to this, he is considered one of the best extra characters in movies and TV shows. This is the reason he has worked in movies like The Social Network, Spider-Man, Transformers Dark of the Moon, and American Pie 2. 

Melanie Paxson: Gladware – $600 Thousand

Melanie Paxson is a successful television actor who is primarily known for Gladware commercials and famous sitcoms like Happy Family and Notes from the Underbelly. She first appeared on the television in the famous show Cupid. She was then cast in a television comedy The Opera Lover in 1999. 

But the biggest success she got was from the advertisement industry when she was picked from over 500 actresses by Gladware to play the Voice of Reason. Her impactful performance led her to earn many other commercials, including DayQuil. It is believed that the actress was making around $200,000 a year from her Gladware commercials.

John Gilchrist: Quaker Oats, Unkown

It is a bit hard to believe that John Gilchrist got his first break at the age of 3 ½ years. He was seen in an American television commercial of breakfast cereal named Life. The advertisement was so popular that it went on running for more than 12 years. During these 12 years, Little Mikey (John Gilchrist) remained in continuous rotation for the commercial.

In short, he made most of his fortune with the Quaker Oats cereal commercial. The commercial even won a Clio Award in 1974. Post this; John Gilchrist was seen in over 250 commercials before he moved on from acting.

Edith Fore: LifeCall – Unknown

‘I’ve Fallen, and I can’t get up…!’ is the one-liner that made a 70-year-old Edith Fore famous overnight. She is one commercial artist who fell, injured her hip, and with blood dripping, delivered an impeccable dialogue. 

Ironically, all this happened while she was acting for the commercial of LifeCall pendant, worn around the neck, and one could contact the LifeCall team on the press of a button. Though she was saved that day, the commercial became an overnight success. Edith took her last breath in 1997, and there is no information available on her commercial earnings back in 1990.

Timothy Williams: The Trivago Guy – $1 Million

Trivago has a history of choosing some selected actors and actresses in different countries to represent their brands. For the USA, it was Tim Williams. He became a cult favorite in the country for his stint with Trivago urging people to “find their ideal hotel at the best price.”  

With a net worth of $5 Million, Tim Williams has gathered his popularity from other roles in TV and movies. Movies like Valkyrie, Ninja Assassin and a few others are some of his memorable roles. Apart from commercials and movies, Timothy is also a musician and has performed in a music album Magnolia City. 

Dean Winters: Allstate Insurance – $6 Million

Dean Winters or famously known as Mayhem from the Allstate Insurance commercials is an American actor and has starred in several movies and television series. He made his debut from the TV series Homicide: Life on the Street. 

He was a part of many TV series and movies, but Winters got his recognition from the Allstate Insurance commercials, where he was seen as a comedic Mayhem that brought misery to the life of people. Although, it did not bring any misery to the actor as he earned a whopping $1 Million for starring in those advertisements. Later he got appreciated for his role as Ryan O’Reilly on HBO’s Oz.

Milana Vayntrub: AT&T – $3 Million

Milana Vayntrub is an American actor who is famously known for her character of Lily Adams in a series of AT&T commercials. The actor has been seen off and on in the television industry. She first appeared in the role of Tatiana in the television series ER in 1995. Then again, she was seen in the year 2001 – 2002 in the Lizzie McGuire series.

Milana got highly recognized and popular when she started appearing in the AT&T commercials. Apart from earning popularity from the audiences, she also made around $500,000 from the commercials. Currently, she is in talks for her popular LivePrudeGirls YouTube channel.

Orlando Jones: 7 Up – $5 million

Jones Orlando, who is better known as the guy from 7 UP commercials, is truly a star worth noticing. Orlando started his career as a writer and was a part of hit television shows like Different World and Roc. He later launched his own Advertising Company and starred Michael Jordan in their very first McDonald’s commercial.

Jones became a famous household name when he became the Spokesperson for 7 UP from 1999-2002. It is estimated that he made around $400,000 from the 7 UP commercials. It opened several doors for him in the television industry, and his popularity has made the actor worth $5 million in 2020.

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