Sheen, Winfrey & Laurie top TV pay list

WENN, Thursday, August 12, 2010, 4:02am (PDT)

Charlie Sheen, Oprah Winfrey and Hugh Laurie are among the highest paid TV stars in America.

Sheen, who has been sentenced to 30 days in rehab for his Christmas Day altercation with wife Brooke Mueller, nets a whopping $1.25 million per episode for hit comedy "Two And A Half Men."

His co-star Jon Cryer had the second highest salary for a comedy star on U.S. TV - $550,000 per show - while "The Simpsons'" voiceovers Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner are paid $400,000 for each installment of the animated series.

The figures, obtained by TV Guide magazine, show that Oprah Winfrey is still the Queen of the small screen - she pulls in a massive $315 million per year for her talk show, while Judge Judy Sheindlin and David Letterman are paid $45 million and $28 million respectively.

In the drama shows category, Hugh Laurie takes the top spot with earnings of more than $400,000 per episode of "House."

"Law & Order: SVU" stars Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay both take home $395,000.

"American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest topped the reality TV stars rundown, with an annual salary of $15 million for fronting the singing show.