Ted McGinley said he’s managed to weather the peaks and valleys of show business thanks to his stable private life and a strong sense of thriftiness.
The “Shrinking” actor, 67, whose first breakout role was as a vicious jock in 1984’s “Revenge of the Nerds,” told Page Six in a recent interview that he never worried about where his next paycheck was coming from, and neither did his wife, actress Gigi Rice.
“Luckily, when I walk into my home, no one ever says that to me,” he shared. “I’ve got a wife who loves me, I’ve got two kids that love me, I have friends that have nothing to do with the business, and it doesn’t even exist outside of that part of my life.”
“So, it’s very healthy,” the “Married with Children” alum added.
And McGinley was refreshingly candid about how he’s weathered the financial ups and downs.
“I’m super cheap,” he explained with a laugh, and luckily, he and Rice are on the same page.
“We’re both very thrifty and have been…I’m a massive saver. I’ve worked since I was in third grade, cutting lawns and doing paper routes, and I’ve saved it.”
Due to his long career on TV, starting in the 70s and including shows like “Happy Days,” “The Love Boat,” “Dynasty” and seven years on “Married with Children,” McGinley said he still gets a ton of residual checks, sometimes in the ridiculous amount of one penny.
He admitted he hasn’t cashed them, but anything above four cents is going into an account.
McGinley can currently be seen in the comedy-drama “Shrinking” and confessed that he was worried about his character’s fate when he landed in the hospital this season with a heart ailment.
“I thought, oh no, don’t do it, please don’t do it,” he recalled. “At some point, I asked Bill [Lawrence, the show’s co-creator], ‘Bill, are you killing me off?’ And he made some funny joke and I walked away thinking, so is that a yes or no? I had no idea he was playing with me.”
McGinley, who never in his “wildest dreams” imagined he would be in a show with Harrison Ford, shared that he’s overwhelmed by the response to the series, which deals with mental health, therapy and grief.
He said he’s approached daily by fans who tell him how much the show has helped them and their families.
“It means so much to me that people are so open about therapy,” he added, “and it’s been very interesting.”
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