Matt LeBlanc had $11 to his name. In 1994, the director of Friends flew the cast to Vegas on a private jet. Over dinner, he warned them this was the last time they'd go anywhere without being mobbed. They didn't believe him.
His name was James Burrows. He'd directed the pilot and had a gut feeling the show was going to explode, so he called the head of Warner Bros. and said: "Give me the plane. I'll pay for dinner."
He took them to Spago, the famous restaurant inside Caesars Palace. Booked the center table on purpose. Then he had them look around at the strangers walking past without a second glance, and said: "This is your last shot at anonymity. Once the show airs, you guys will never be able to go anywhere without being hounded."
Lisa Kudrow remembers thinking, "Really? We don't know how the show's going to do. Why is he so certain?"
Burrows handed each of them $200 in chips. LeBlanc lost his on craps in seconds, so Burrows loaned him another $200. They all wrote him reimbursement checks the next week.
The pilot aired September 22, 1994. 22 million people watched.
By season 2, Warner Bros. had quietly started paying Aniston and Schwimmer more than the rest. The cast found out. They refused to negotiate one-by-one ever again, and Aniston and Schwimmer even took pay cuts so all six earned the same.
By the final season they were each pulling in $1 million an episode, which meant the cast alone cost $6 million every time they filmed a show. In 2000, they did something no TV cast had ever pulled off: they took 2 percent of every dollar Warner Bros. would ever earn from Friends. Forever.
Forbes says Warner Bros. has now made $4.8 billion off the show. It still pulls in roughly $1 billion a year from reruns, streaming, and international rights. In April 2026, Lisa Kudrow told The Times of London that she and her surviving castmates each still take home around $20 million a year from a show they finished filming 21 years ago.
Burrows was right. 52.5 million people watched the finale, the fifth most-watched finale in American TV history. None of them have walked through a casino unnoticed since that night at Spago.
If this manager were available, the Howe Out folks would be dying to bring him in…
- Spent 4 1/2 years at last club
- Qualified for the CL twice - 1st time in 20 years
- First ever knockout stages of CL for club
- Two cup finals - First in 25 years
- Ended 56-year trophy drought
- 4th highest in league points since taking over
- Club went numerous windows without improving the team
- 49% win percentage
- Finished 11th, 4th (highest in 20 years), 7th, and 5th
- Took over club in relegation place and helped them become the first club in history to avoid relegation after not winning any of their first 14 games (previous manager’s run)
- Finished 14th and was sacked
But this is Eddie Howe’s time at Newcastle, so they desperately want him sacked.
#NUFC
Fickle fuckers some #NUFC fans. Build a statue of EH in 2025 after winning our first trophy in 70 yrs following that up with his 2nd #UCL campaign in 4 yrs . Fast forward, He knows fuck all and taking us "backwards" in 2026. No wonder we're laughed at for our expectations. #NUFC
I don’t recall others taking the team into the Champions League twice or winning a trophy. It’s about looking at the bigger picture & applying context/understanding. Howe has overachieved. He’s allowed a poor season (which includes a Carabao semi final & CL last 16 @ Barcelona)
We have a huge section of our fanbase that genuinely thing they know how to manage our team better than the guy that got us 2 champions league campaigns and won a trophy in four years. Fucking clowns.
Eddie Howe is always sensible, measured and respectful whenever he talks to the media. Say what you want about his shortcomings as a manager this season, but nobody can deny he is an excellent representative for #nufc as a person. Some of the disrespect shown lately is shameful.
The Eddie Howe Out crew is failing to understand that the standard they are using to judge him is the standard that he himself set.
He didn’t step into a club already qualifying for the CL and making cup finals. He’s worked miracles and got the club to a place we could only dream of.
We all agree this season has been a disappointment, but to sack a manager capable of achieving what he has would be foolish after one bad season. He has earned the opportunity to turn things around.
#NUFC