What Is Brad Garrett's Net Worth and Salary?
Brad Garrett is an American actor and stand-up comedian who has a net worth of $50 million. Brad Garrett is probably best known for his breakout role in the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Garrett's comedic talents garnered him first prize on the "Star Search" TV competition in 1984, which provided a launchpad for his acting career. He appeared in several TV shows and movies, but his most defining role came with "Everybody Loves Raymond," where he played Ray Romano's lovable yet oft-overlooked brother. His outstanding performance earned him five Emmy nominations and three wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Beyond "Everybody Loves Raymond," Garrett's distinctive deep voice has made him a popular choice for animated characters, including roles in "Finding Nemo" (2003) and "Ratatouille" (2007). From 2008 to 2010, he starred in the Fox sitcom "Til Death."
Early Life
Brad H. Gerstenfeld was born on April 14, 1960, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Raised in a Jewish household alongside two older brothers, he attended high school in Woodland Hills. Although he attended UCLA after graduating from high school, he dropped out after a few months to pursue a full-time career as a comedian.
Career
Brad Garrett began his career by joining several improv clubs in Los Angeles. In 1984, he won the comedy category of "Star Search," which led to an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." He was just 23 years old at the time. This increased exposure led to further opportunities for Garrett in the comedy world.
Toward the end of the '80s, Garrett shifted his attention towards television roles, becoming the voice of Hulk Hogan in the cartoon series "Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n Wrestling. He then appeared on a number of game shows, including "Family Feud," "Super Password," and "Hollywood Squares." Brad transitioned towards acting roles in series like "First Impressions," "Roseanne," and "The Pursuit of Happiness." More voice acting roles came with the "Transformers" series.
After appearing in the film "Suicide Kings," Garrett booked the role of Ray Romano's brother on the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," and he earned five Emmy Award nominations for his performance on the show (winning in 2002, 2003, and 2005). In 2003, the entire cast of "Everybody Loves Raymond" won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. After the show concluded in 2005, Garrett played with the idea of creating a spin-off series based on his character, Robert Barone. However, he withdrew from the project after the writers from "Everbody Loves Raymond" decided to pursue other jobs instead.
Romano and Garrett also appeared together in "The King of Queens." During this period, Garrett made a guest appearance on the show "Prince of Bel-Air." Brad has made frequent appearances on the game show "Match Game." In 1996, he booked another guest role on the show "Seinfeld." In 2003, he won widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of Jackie Gleason in the film "Gleason." He was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie as a result of his performance.
In 2005, Garrett booked the role of Murray the Cop in a Broadway performance of "The Odd Couple." In 2006, he played the role of Oscar Madison when actor Nathan Lane became ill. That year, he booked a role in the film "The Pacifier," which also starred Vin Diesel. To round out a busy year, Brad booked the lead role in a new sitcom called "'Til Death." In 2007, he made a brief appearance on the series "American Idol."
In 2008, Garrett acted as executive producer for the reality show "Dating Brad Garrett," in which he also starred. That year, he hosted the roast of Cheech & Chong on TBS. In 2011, he started hosting "I Kid with Brad Garrett," which was a candid show for kids that ran for 12 episodes. In 2012, Brad booked a recurring role in the sitcom "The Crazy Ones."
Garrett is an accomplished voice actor. He has voiced characters in a range of both film and television projects, including "Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series," "The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper," "Biker Mice From Mars," "A Bug's Life," "Finding Nemo," "Ratatouille," "Asterix and the Vikings," "Superman: The Animated Series," "Justice League," "Planes," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows," "Christopher Robin," "Ralph Breaks the Internet," and many others.
"Everybody Loves Raymond" Salary Fight
Ahead of the final two seasons of "Everybody Loves Raymond," Ray Romano's salary per episode was raised to a then record-setting $1.8 million per episode. At that point, Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts were each earning $250,000 per episode, and Patricia Heaton was making $450,000. Brad Garrett, who was earning $160,000, was not pleased with the size of Romano's pay increase and launched a protest. Garrett approached studio executives and requested that his $150,000 per episode salary be raised. The studio would not budge and even wrote him out of the upcoming season's first episode. At one point, the show wrote Garrett out of several episodes and filmed an entire episode without him.
In solidarity, Patricia Heaton began calling in "sick" to support her co-stars. Boyle and Roberts soon also called in "sick." Production was halted for several weeks.
In the end, a settlement was reached with Garrett, Boyle, and Roberts where they each got modest per-episode salary increases, but more importantly, they received shares of the show's back-end equity points so they could continue making money every time it was sold into syndication forever.
Garrett and the studio ultimately agreed on $250,000 per episode. There were 39 episodes in the last two seasons, which worked out to $9.75 million for Brad.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
Poker
Brad won the fifth season championship of "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and participated in the World Series of Poker from 2005 to 2007. In 2009, he entered the main event at the World Series of Poker and was eliminated on the second day.
Brand Endorsements
In 2016, Brad appeared in a Christmas commercial for the Apple iPhone 7. He also appeared in numerous commercials for 7-Up.
Other Ventures
In 2010, Brad opened his own comedy club at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The club closed down a year later, but he started another identical club at the MGM Grand.
Relationships
In 1998, Garrett proposed to Jill Diven on the set of "Everybody Loves Raymond," and the pair wed in 1999. They had two children together before divorcing in 2006. In 2015, it was announced that Brad was engaged to his long-term girlfriend, IsaBeall Quella. Garrett and Quella married on November 11, 2021.
Controversy
In 2007, Brad slapped away a photographer's camera. The photographer then claimed that the camera had hit him in the face and filed a lawsuit against Garrett. However, the district attorney dismissed the case because he felt the photographer had intentionally provoked Brad.
"Star Search" Winnings
In 1984, Brad won first prize in the comedy category on the TV show "Star Search." His prize money amounted to a cool $100,000 (the equivalent of about $250,000 in today's money).
Real Estate
In 2006, Brad Garrett paid $8.8 million for a mansion in Malibu, California. The property features over 6,500 square feet of living space, Malibu tiles, a chef's kitchen, and a home theater. Although the mansion was built with classic, Spanish influences, it was completed in 2005 – one year before its purchase by Garrett. Six years later, the "Everybody Loves Raymond" star put the property back on the market for $11 million, hoping to collect a massive profit on his initial investment.
