Trump revisits art of the deal

In his new book, "Trump: How to Get Rich," Donald Trump dispenses secrets on impressing your boss and getting a big raise.

Clearly, this is a topic close to Trump's heart. The brash Manhattan deal-maker won a hefty pay hike for his NBC hit series "The Apprentice," even if -- we know this is hard to believe -- he's exaggerating shamelessly about the size of his salary.

When "Apprentice" turned into a huge hit, Trump and his representatives, using a familiar TV-industry ploy, forced NBC to renegotiate the original agreement for the series.

While Trump confirmed that he made about $50,000 per episode for the show's current run (which ends Thursday with a live finale), sources close to the series say his pay at least doubled in the new agreement, which covers two cycles of 16 episodes apiece that will air during the 2004-05 season.

That means Trump will gross at least $3.2 million for the new episodes. That doesn't include his producer's fee, his cut of merchandise sales, or the boost the show is giving his book sales. Last week, NBC announced an entire line of official "Apprentice" products, including $14 coffee mugs emblazoned with Trump's catchphrase, "You're fired!"

"When we put the old deal on, we didn't know [the show] was going to be a smash hit," Trump says. "I'm not going to reveal what I'm getting" under the new deal, he adds, but it's "much more" than his current pay.

Even so, Trump is almost certainly stretching the truth when he says, as he has said repeatedly, that he is now the highest-paid star in prime time.

"Well, that's my understanding," he says, when asked about the claim. "The 'Friends' people get a million an episode, and there's six of them."

Actually, it's $1 million per episode for each of the six -- and "Friends" has been a hit for 10 years.

"Everything happens quicker with me," Trump deadpans.

Asked for a clarification, an NBC spokeswoman said, "We don't comment on salaries."

Whatever the exact figure, Trump's pay bump offers further proof of the growing importance of unscripted series to the broadcast networks. With "Friends" leaving the air next month, "Apprentice" is expected to be a linchpin of NBC's Thursday schedule next year. And Trump is not alone. Simon Cowell, the tart judge on Fox's smash "American Idol," is earning a reported $3 million for the show's third cycle, or roughly $75,000 for each of the 40 episodes. Since "Idol" airs two shows a week -- sometimes three -- Cowell actually makes at least $150,000 per week. That's at least a 50 percent increase over his pay for last year's "Idol" run. And it doesn't include his cut from various "Idol" ancillaries.

The salary inflation for Trump and his reality counterparts is a sore subject for actors who are already alarmed by the rise of unscripted TV. One agent declined to comment, saying, "I represent too many actors who aren't happy."

Still, the Donald has a long way to go before he matches Ray Romano's reported $40-million-plus annual haul for "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Hyperbole might be a success secret that's not found in "How to Get Rich." According to several sources, Jim Griffin, an experienced TV agent at William Morris, helped Trump work out his new NBC deal. "I'm sure he would tell you that I did the negotiation, but he was deeply involved," Griffin says. Well, that's not exactly what Trump says. Asked who did the deal, he says flatly, "It was me."

'It's All Relative' goes on hiatus

ABC says it has placed "It's All Relative," the comedy set in Boston, on hiatus, replacing it with reruns of "According to Jim."

"Relative," which stars Cambridge native Lenny Clarke, has two episodes left to air of its first season. An ABC spokeswoman said it was unclear when those shows would air, or whether the program would be renewed.

The comedy, which made history as the first TV series to feature a monogamous gay couple who have raised a child together, suffered in the ratings opposite Fox's "American Idol."

SUZANNE C. RYAN

Radio highlights

8 a.m. WGBH-FM (89.7) -- "Classics in the Morning." Glazunov's "Chant du Menestrel"; Haydn's Piano Trio No. 32 in A; Franck's Symphony in D; Mendelssohn's Sextet for Piano and Strings, Op. 110; Bartok's Duos for Violins; Mozart's Concerto No. 18.

8 p.m. WUMB-FM (91.9) -- "E-Town" with Nick Forster. Guests: Marcia Ball; Devotchka.