Gracie Fields

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 25, 30 January 1937, Page 15 (Supplement)

Gracie Fields

WORLD’S HIGHEST PAID ARTIST Gracie Fields earns more money than any other stage or screen artist in the world. For the picture she is making now for Mr Basil Dean, at Ealing studios, she will receive £50,000. For each of the two previous pictures she made for him she received the same amount. That means that since February of last year, when she signed the contract, she has earned £150,000 for film acting alone. In addition - to the money, she receives a large sum annually as royalties on her gramophone records, has an income from stage appearances and receives a higher fee than anyone else for her occasional broadcasts. 600 Guineas for One Appearance The last time she appeared in a 8.8. C. studio it was reported that she was paid 600 gs. She has now signed a new contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, under which she will make four pictures in two years, and, as her agent, Mr Bert Aza, says, “an artist does not sign a new contract for less money than she is already receiving.” No other film star can touch her earning capacity, even international figures like Garbo and Dietrich. Dietrich received £50,000 for her part in ‘The Garden of Allah,’ but that was for one picture; not a three-picture contract like Gracie’s that would guarantee her the same amount each time. In view of her unique position it seems contradictory that the area in which Grade’s films are really popular is extremely isolated. West End audiences do not like them. The South of England audiences do not rave about them, and they will not go in America. But she is worshipped in certain localities. Any company which makes a picture with Gracie Fields as the star is in a unique position. It is able to budget with remarkable accuracy. That is to say, it knows that it will earn in gross receipts more than £IOO,OOO. The average is £105,000. The cost —because expensive sets and expensive supporting casts are not necessary—can be confined to £35,000 or £40,000. This, of course is exclusive of Grade’s salary. Profit of at Least £IO,OOO When the £50,000 she earns is added to the cost of production, the total becomes £85,000 or £90,000, leaving a profit of at least £IO,OOO, possibly £15,000. That is a very comfortable position for any producer, and by ensuring it, Grade earns her salary. That brings a second query. How is it that Grade Fields can ensure this? Briefly, the answer is that she is a great artist, with an unique appeal. How much of each £50,000 Gracie gives away quietly to bring a little happiness and comfort here and there as she goes along no one but she will ever know. She does not talk about that sort of thing. But those who know her best know also that she is one of the most generous persons anyone could meet.