Peter Riegert Earned Millions from Animal House; His Net Worth

Last Updated on September 22, 2019

If you have seen Animal House then you will remember Peter Riegert. He played the role of Donald ‘Boone’ Schoenstein in the cult classic which became a huge blockbuster and changed the way people see comedy movies.

It’s been a long time since Animal House hit the theatres and Peter has been a part many more huge movies appearing alongside many notable actors and working with huge directors in the industry. Let’s take a look at the life of the Animal House hitmaker.

Debut in a Cult Classic

Peter Riegert made his debut in the film industry in 1978 with Animal House. The movie became a huge success grossing over $141 million and gave Peter and other casts’ career a huge boost.

Peter received an estimated amount of $1000 per week for doing Animal House. The lead actor of the movie, John Belushi received an estimated amount of $35,000 for the movie; however, he received more money when the movie became a blockbuster. You will be surprised to know that the budget of Animal House was less than $3 million.

Animal House is a movie that was almost not made. Many directors denied to make the movie and the studio almost canceled it until John Landis agreed.

Peter Riegert auditioned for the role of Boon, and boom he played the role which changed his life. From there, Peter has appeared in many huge movies like The Mask, Crossing Delancey, Local Hero, and many more.

The Dads hitmaker portrayed Sam Posner in romantic comedy Crossing Delancey, where he appears alongside the beautiful Amy Irving and won the hearts of many females at the time.

Peter has appeared in many notable movies from which he has gathered an estimated net worth of $6 million. The 72-year-old actor is also an Oscar-nominated director making his directorial debut in 2000 with a short film.

In 2001, Peter appeared as Ronald Zellman in hugely popular mob series The Sopranos alongside Edie Falco; however, he left the show after 6 episodes because of his busy schedule. Later, he said in an interview that he would be glad to work on the show once more if possible.

Active to this Day

The Local Hero hitmaker’ appearance in Dads alongside Brenda Song as David Sachs received a lot of love from fans where once again, he was only for a season in 2013. To this day, Riegert has more than 82 acting credits under his belt.

The Bronx native is still active to this day with a career spanning over 40 years. He recently appeared in the short movie Extra Innings as Pete. The film released in 2019. Just before that in 2017, he played the role of Artie Goodman in the TV show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Sold his House for Millions

Peter Riegert sold his house for an estimated amount of $1.99 million. Riegert bought the house way back in the 1990s for an estimated amount of $335,000 which is valued at $656,600 in 2019. The house was renovated by architect Diane Lewis at the time Peter bought the house.

Riegert is a Married Man

Peter Riegert has been with many beautiful women throughout his life. He was in a relationship with Bonnie Bedelia. They first met on the set of The Stranger and their love quickly blossomed. The duo started dating from 1986 and their relationship came to an end on 1990.

Before that, he also dated the beautiful singer and songwriter Bette Midler in 1975. The duo met for the first time in a show when Peter was working and was making $110 a week doing what he loved. Bette Midler currently has an estimated net worth of $230 million.

Bette and Peter were living together when Peter received the script for Animal House and Reigert said that she loved how funny it was. The duo is still good friends. Peter said that Bette supported him and wanted him to go bigger with his career.

Riegert’ Trivia will Surprise You

• Peter Riegert once worked as a school teacher teaching eighth-grade students.
• The Oscar-nominated director graduated from Ardsley High School in 1964 and also attended and graduated from the University of Buffalo.
• Riegert made his theater debut in a musical, Dance With Me and also has many other Broadway credits under his name.
• His father was a food wholesaler and his mother was a professional piano teacher but the actor does not have any musical insect inside him.
• Peter grew up in a Jewish household and has also made appearances in the popular sitcom Seinfeld, Family Guy an many other shows.
• He received an Emmy Award nomination for his appearance in Barbarians at the Gate.

For more updates on your favorite celebrity news and entertainment, do follow StarBio.