What is Glen Charles Net Worth?
Glen Charles is an American screenwriter and television producer who has a net worth of $300 million. Glen Charles an his brother Les Charles earned the majority of their fortunes by creating the sitcom "Cheers." The brothers also wrote some episodes of "Taxi," "The Bob Newhart Show," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and "Phyllis," among other programs. For the big screen, Glen and Les Charles wrote the 1999 dramedy film "Pushing Tin," directed by Mike Newell and starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton.
The Charles brothers won Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Comedy Series for Taxi in 1979, 1980, and 1981. They won the same award for Cheers in 1983, 1984, 1989, and 1991. They also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for Cheers in 1983 and received the Writers Guild of America Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement in 2002.
Early Life and Education
Glen Charles was born on February 8, 1943 in Henderson, Nevada. His brother Les was born five years later. The boys were raised as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Both Glen and Les attended the University of Redlands in California, with Glen graduating in 1965 and Les in 1971.
Television Career
After beginning his career as an advertising copywriter, Glen Charles moved to television in the mid-1970s. He had his first screenwriting credit in 1975 on the CBS series "M*A*S*H," cowriting the season-four episode "The Late Captain Pierce" with his brother Les. After that, the brothers penned an episode of the sitcom "Doc." At the end of 1975, Glen and Les Charles began writing for the sitcom "Phyllis," a spinoff of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." They continued writing for the show until it ended in 1977. Meanwhile, the brothers wrote the "Mary and the Sexagenarian" episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in early 1977. Subsequently, they wrote three episodes of "The Bob Newhart Show" and an episode of "The Betty White Show." In 1978, Glen and Les Charles became writers on the newly created ABC sitcom "Taxi," starting with the show's fifth episode, "Come as You Aren't." The brothers wrote for the show until 1982, with their last episode being "Bobby Doesn't Live Here Anymore" in season four. In both 1980 and 1981, Glen and Les Charles earned Emmy Award nominations for their writing on "Taxi."
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Cheers
Following their time writing for "Taxi," Glen and Les Charles formed the production company Charles/Burrows/Charles with television director James Burrows. The men went on to create the NBC sitcom "Cheers," which premiered at the end of September in 1982. Set in the titular Boston bar, the show focused on a group of locals who meet to drink, kick back, socialize, and hide from their everyday concerns. It starred Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Nicholas Colasanto, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt, Kelsey Grammer, and Woody Harrelson, among others in the ensemble cast. "Cheers" quickly became one of the most popular series in television history, and ran for a total of 11 seasons through 1993. Glen and Les Charles wrote 12 episodes of the show, including the pilot and the series finale. For the pilot, the brothers won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and the WGA Award for Television: Episodic Comedy. Glen and Les Charles wrote their final television episode in 1986, for the short-lived sitcom "All is Forgiven."
Film Career
Although they primarily wrote for television, Glen and Les Charles wrote one film together: the 1999 dramedy "Pushing Tin." Directed by Mike Newell, the film stars John Cusack as an arrogant air traffic controller who gets into a petty competition with a fellow employee, played by Billy Bob Thornton. Other actors in the cast include Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, and Jake Weber. "Pushing Tin" earned mixed reviews from critics, and flopped at the box office.
