Who Is The Richest Late Night Sidekick?
Late night talk is an institution of television. Ever since the days of Johnny Carson or David Letterman, hosts have combined both comedy with interviews and sketches to give viewers a variety of entertainment. Whether it was the offbeat intellectualism of Craig Ferguson, the childlike games of Jimmy Fallon, or Conan O’Brien’s self-deprecating humor, every niche has or has had a late night host to match it.
But half of what makes any talk show is the sidekick. Some hosts rely on their bandleader, as David Letterman did with Paul Schafer, or they rely on a good friend, like Conan O’Brien did with Andy Richter, or they rely on a puppet, like Craig Ferguson did with Geoff. But when you are second banana to the show's star, even if they are your friend, is it worth what they pay you at the end of the day? Who is the richest of late night sidekicks? Was it Johnny Carson’s pal Ed McMahon who was the spokesperson for American Family Publishers (the competitor to Publishers Clearing House)? Or is it the present-day Tonight Show stand-in Steve Higgins? Who makes the most cash playing second fiddle on late night?
7 Andy Richter Has A Net Worth Of $10 Million
The richest talk show host sidekick, past or present, is Andy Richter. Richter started as Conan O'Brien's main sidekick when he debuted on Late Night in 1993 and stayed with the original show before leaving to pursue his acting career in 1999. O’Brien then relied on his drummer and bandleader Max Weinberg for his sidekick until leaving to briefly host The Tonight Show. When Conan had The Tonight Show, Richter returned as his sidekick. After Conan’s falling out with NBC, Richter remained at Conan’s side when they moved his show to TBS. Conan ended his show in 2021.
6 Fred Armisen Is Worth $8 Million
While not as instrumental to the show as previous sidekicks have been, Fred Armisen is doing for Seth Meyers what Richter did for Conan. Armisen and Meyers are friends in real life and used to work together on Saturday Night Live. They have even revived a few old SNL bits for the show, like “Really!?!”.
5 Jon Batiste Has $4 Million And His Own Pixar Movie
Batiste took over as TheLate Show’s bandleader when Stephen Colbert took over the show for David Letterman. Batiste, like his predecessor Paul Shafer, is a piano player who specializes in blues, classics, and jazz. He recently worked on his own Pixar film about his music, Soul, which won him several awards and skyrocketed Batiste to mainstream success. Batiste now plays major concert venues like Carnegie Hall, and some say he is creating a resurgence of soul and jazz music.
4 Reggie Watts Is Worth $3 Million And Has Experience With Talk Shows
Watts is no novice to being a talk show bandleader, although he used to do it in a much more sardonic capacity. Watts is currently the band leader for James Corden’s The Late Late Show, but he used to be the “band leader” for Scott Aukerman’s show Comedy Bang Bang.
3 Guierllmo Rodriguez Is Now Worth $2.5 Million, And He Really Did Used To Be A Security Guard!
Rodriguez is a unique sidekick, and he is one of the rare "rags to riches" stories you see in movies, when a behind-the-scenes Hollywood laborer gets discovered and becomes a star. Rodriguez’s official title is “Head of Parking Lot Security” for The Jimmy Kimmel Show, but in reality he acts as Kimmel's sidekick. But he really did use to be the show's parking lot security guard. Kimmel loved the banter he had with Guillermo off-screen so much that he decided to add him to the show.
2 'The Tonight Show' Sidekick Steve Higgins Is Only Worth $2 Million
Although Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon is worth $60 million and the show gets 1.5 million viewers nightly, Higgins is one of the least rich late night sidekicks working today. Despite being on the show that many consider the grandfather of all late night shows, he is not nearly as wealthy as some of his contemporaries. Still, Higgins doesn’t seem to mind, he is there in every episode of The Tonight Show with a positive attitude and is there to help Jimmy Fallon work through his famous giggles and character breaks. Before getting The Tonight Show gig, Higgins was relatively unknown to the public, but he was the head writer for Saturday Night Live for several years.
1 Ed McMahon, Ironically, Died With A Negative $2 Million Net Worth
Although no longer with us, the man who set the standard for all late night talk show sidekicks deserves acknowledgment. McMahon was Johnny Carson’s sidekick for several decades, and he was just as iconic a part of the show as Carson was. People old enough to remember the show can easily spot McMahon's catchphrase “Hi OH!” which would usually follow his favorite jokes after a hearty, throaty laugh. Sadly, McMahon died penniless and was $2 million in debt despite being an American icon. After retirement, he fell behind on several mortgage payments and never caught up. Injuries from an accident in 2007 prevented him from working and thus added to his financial woes. It is both ironic and tragic that the man from American Family Publishers, who used to shower families with money in those iconic giant check commercials (again, like Publishers Clearing House), died broke.
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