Harry Julius Shearer was born on the 23th December 1943, in Los Angeles, California USA, and he is known as a man of many talents. He works as a comedian, actor, voice artist, director, producer, host, musician, etc. However, he is best known to the world for being a voice artist in the TV series “The Simpsons”. Besides that, he is also recognized by his work at the “Saturday Night Live”. His career has been active since the 1950s.
Have you ever wondered how rich Harry Shearer is? According to sources, it is estimated that Shearer’s net worth is $65 million; his salary per TV episode is $300,000. The main source of this amount of money is his career in the entertainment industry. Additional to this, Shearer has appeared in a number of movies and TV shows, which have also added to his net worth.
Harry Shearer Net Worth $65 Million
Harry Shearer was raised in Los Angeles, by his parents, Mack Shearer and Dora Warren, who were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Austria. He started earning money working for the school newspaper “Daily Bruin”, during his studies at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), before he continued his education at Harvard University. Soon after, he decided to leave The University and pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
Shearer’s professional career began when he was still a child; he had his first audition at the age of four. When he was seven years old, he appeared in the Jack Benny Program, even before he made his debut film appearance in the “Abbot and Costello Go to Mars” (1953). In the same year he was also cast in the film “The Robe” (1953). Until the beginning of the 1960s, Shearer appeared in various TV series, including “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” (1957), “Leave It To Beaver” (1957), “The Reader’s Digest” (1955-1956), and several others. After he appeared in the pilot episode of “Leave It to Beaver”, his parents thought it would be better for him to leave the acting world until his childhood ended. Regardless, from 1969 to 1976, he was a member of the radio comedy group called “The Credibility Gap”, alongside Michael McKean, David Lander and Richard Beebe.
Shearer continued with acting in 1976, appearing in an episode of the TV series “Serpico”, and in 1977, he was featured in the film “American Raspberry”. In 1979, he was hired as a writer for the Saturday Night Live show, but left in 1980 after an argument with other writers and cast members; nevertheless, the show inspired him to develop more as a writer, which resulted in a film creation in 1984 entitled “The Spinal Tap”, which increased his net worth by a large margin, as the film became a major success. In 1989, Shearer was hired as a member of the animated TV series “The Simpsons”, which became a main source of his net worth, considering the longevity of the series, and that his salary is $300,000 per episode. During the show, Shearer has voiced numerous characters, including Kent Brockman, Ned Flanders, Charles Montgomery Burns, Seymour Skinner, and several others.
To speak further of his successful career in the entertainment industry, Harry has appeared in the TV series “Nixon’s The One” (2013), as President Richard Nixon, “Dawson’s Creek” (2001-2002), “Friends” (1995), and numerous others, which have contributed to his net worth. He has also made numerous film appearances, such as in “Teddy Bears’ Picnic” (2002), which he also directed, “The Simpson Movie” (2007), and “The Truman Show”, to mention a few.
Overall, Shearer has appeared in more than 160 TV and film titles, during his 60 year long career, and for his achievements, Harry has been rewarded with several prestigious awards, including the Primetime Emmy award for the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for the “Simpsons”, and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the St. Louis International Film Festival.
During his career, Harry has also dabbled in radio programs; he has run the radio program entitled “Le Show” from 1983 until 2013 on KCRW, but then switched to KCSN. For his accomplishment in the entertainment industry, he has several Grammy Award nominations. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the radio category.
Speaking about Harry Shearer’s personal life, it is known that he has married twice. His first wife was Penelope J. Nichols, from whom he divorced in 1977. His second wife is Judith Owen, an American actress and singer; they have been married since 1993. They live in three places – Santa Monica, New Orleans and London. He is also recognized as a big supporter of several charities and foundations, such as “Dream Foundation”, “Live Earth”, “ActionAid”, etc.
