In promotion of the releas
e of Guinness World Records 2012 — the latest edition of the long-running book series, which hits U.S. shelves Sept. 15 and will retail for $28.95 — we received notes on a few of the TV, movie, music and other entertainment records featured in the book as compiled by the global authority in record-breaking achievements. Here are some records that stood out:
TV RECORDS
Highest-Paid Actor in a TV Drama — Hugh Laurie (pictured) of FOX’s House pulls in $400,000 per episode, which makes sens
e when you learn that, according to Guinness, House is the Most-Watched TV Show (it is seen by 81.8 million people in 66 countries).
Highest-Paid Child Actor and Actress on TV — Angus T. Jones of CBS’s Two and a Half Men is the Highest-Paid Child Actor, earning $250,000 per episode, but it appears that even in entertainment women don’t pull in as much as men — iCarly (Nickelodeon) star Miranda Cosgrove is the Highest-Paid Child Actress on TV with a paycheck of only $180,000 per episode.
Highest-Rated New Show in the U.S. — CBS’s reboot of Hawaii Five-0 drew in a record audience of 19.34 million for its Jan. 23, 2011 episode.
MOVIE RECORDS
Highest-Paid Actress and Actor — For the period from June 2009-June 2010, “America’s Sweetheart” Sandra Bullock made $56 million. During that same time period, Johnny Depp was the Highest-Paid Actor, earning $75 million.
BOOK RECORD
First Billion-Dollar Author — Unsurprisingly, J.K. Rowling is the first author to become a billionaire, with her seven Harry Potter books selling more than 400 million copies worldwide to date. (Rowling is also one of only five self-made female billionaires.)
MUSIC RECORDS
Most Followers on Twitter — Lady Gaga (pictured) had 11,259,372 followers as of June 29, 2011. She also gets the record for Most Weeks on the U.S. Hot Digital Songs Chart — her “Poker Face” spent 83 weeks there from 2009-2010.
Most Popular Video of Any Kind Online — Justin Bieber’s “Baby” had 463,820,304 views as of Feb. 16, 2011.
Fastest-Selling Digital Album By a Female (USA) — Taylor Swift’s album Speak Now sold 278,000 copies as of Nov. 13, 2010. Swift also has the record for Most Simultaneous US Hot 100 Hits By a Female Artist, with 11 singles on the Hot 100 in the week ending Nov. 13, 2010.
Most US Hot 100 Hits By a Rap Artist — Lil Wayne had 64 tracks on the US Hot 100 between 1999 and 2010.
LIVE-STREAMING RECORD
Most Live Streams for a Single Event — The Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton in April 2011 ruled live online viewing, with 72 million streams.
Surprised by any of these records? Disappointed? Outraged? Let us know!
