We have all heard different things about this woman. Her Santa Barbara was good, her GL was her best run, her AW was too Phelped for me, she destroyed OLTL and GH it is all Guza vision. Anyways what type of woman does JFP come off to you. IMO she looks like the biggest bitch you could ever encounter. In fact she is infamous for being the meanest, nastiest, scaryest and biggest control freak in daytime. First of all she got the Dobsons locked out of their own. She is a woman who loves her friends and makes it known and the ones she hates she either fires you, makes your life miserable or gets you no screentime. Robin Strasser said in a recent hotline there is no love loss between her and JFP. In fact she said JFP wanted her off OLTL from the first year she was on it. That is why Dorian killed Jessica's baby and she had no friends, lover or any of her girls around her. JFP tried to fire RS and she wanted Dorian sent to Statesville but she ended up getting RS to quit. Robin even said her last day in 2000 was such a dark day. JFP arranged the entire shooting schedule for RS to finish her scenes dead last and she missed half her going away party. She was blacklisted from ABC because of JFP, alot of bad blood between them. Also JFP fired Laura Koffman when she was on maternity leave. She sent her a fax saying her services were being terminated and no longer rendered. She also overworked Phil Carey to death and did not care about his health. From what I heard JFP is either your bestest buddy galpal if she is friends with you or the meanest biatch you have ever encountered. Does she look like a nice woman to you or like the wicked witch of the west aka Cruella De Ville?

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She's a woman who hates women. I've heard several actors say how terrific she is, so I expect she's charming to them, but she's one of those women who can't stand having other powerful women around her.

When did she put Darlene Vogel on GH?? Her hamhanded job placement for Bolger and Kale was bad enough.

Lets also remember when JFP in 1999 at OLTL decided to fire Pam Long and then not replace her. She decided to become the head writer of OLTL and for a full year OLTL had no official head writer writing the show. It was a bunch of associate head writers but JFP was the one who executed the ideas onscreen. at GH she is pretty much a lame duck, it is all Guza's vision. I dream for the day Sri Rao takes over as GH's head writer, he did a wonderful job on Night Shift compared to the horrid first season. JFP has been there at GH close to 8 years but IMO two woman hold the major visionary part of GH's history. Gloria Monty is number 1 without her there never would have been GH continuing. The woman was a genius and a visionary for GH. The other one of course is Wendy Riche who is a major part of GH's history. I would love to see Wendy return to take the reigns back, she is much missed at GH. The problem she and Guza hated each other but he and JFP are in sync. Anyways though about JFP she is a petty woman as well. Apparently JFP's lowest point was remember when Felicia Minei Behr took over as VP of daytime in 2000 and called OLTL unwatchable. Apparently Jilly went ballistic about it and went to her buddy Angela Shapiro who was the prexy at the time. Angie/Jill were best buddies at ABC. Jill being moved to GH was a sign of a promotion for her by Angela Shapiro. She got that by kissing major ass. JFP knows when to smooze and kiss ass and then she knows when to become the biggest witch ever.

A controlling bitch.

A controlling bitch.

Jill Farren Phelps is brilliant! I've met her and had a great conversation with her about daytime. I love her and would take her back at GL in a minute!

JFP is a frustrated woman. Daytime has changed, radically, since JFP started in the business in the 80s...her days of innovation and power are long over. Thus, it is clear that her bitchery, for she IS a bitch, have developed since OLTL. Prior to that, JFP was generally respected by those who worked for her. The reputation she's garnered really started to evolve once she started at ABC, it changed her...I don't know how, but it did.

JFP is an EP who goes by numbers. If someone fails a focus group, they're fired. If the budget is out of control, she slashes and burns until she's in the black. If she gets an order from the higher ups, she enacts it. JFP has vision, HER vision, she also works like a dog.

That said, she's done some very petty things and I think she could stand to get spat in the face. Of course, she isn't alone in being difficult, a lot of executives are. JFP has virtually no power at GH, as all ABC EP's do and is said to be resigned to her fate. Daytime is a business that is falling apart so JFP is going to ride GH for as long as she can because she is very aware that finding work after GH will be very, very difficult if not not impossible.

One thing I will give JFP is that when Jeanne Cooper won the Emmy this year I saw her give a round of applause that was genuine and respectful. JFP looked delighted for Jeanne and the two, to my knowledge, don't know one another at all. Hard to sum up, but the way JFP looked it gave me pause for thought that maybe, just maybe, the woman has a heart and likes veterans and respects those who have 'survived' just as she has.

It's not that the woman is widely hated -- she does have her FOJ's who will sing each and every praise possible. It's just that you're either in, or you're out. And if you're out, you'd have to do something really bad or really good to be noticed by her, otherwise, she could care less about you.

That's my impression. I know a lot of "strong" women like that. Women who are so determined to be taken seriously and rather have you think of them as a cold, callous bitch rather than have you think of them as a cheap, easy bimbo that's ripe for the masculine picking.

Is it exactly the BEST way to do business? No. Is it understandable with the way entertainment has been an Good Ol' Boys Club? Yes. Do I take that into consideration when she pulls some absolute garbage and utters the most asinine comments? I try -- but at the end of the day, only so much "Awww, there-there, Jilly... You're just trying to be respected" will cover so many wounds.

She will bring that obnoxious John Bolger on GH as that equally obnoxious Mayor Floyd -- She'll bring that annoying Darlene Vogel on the show to roll around in bed with Rick Hearst... She'll use Kale Browne to do voice over work... but she won't go to bat with ABC to work out a deal with Genie Francis? These lackluster actors who kiss her ass are worth getting work, but one of the shows iconic actresses -- not so much?

She's questionable, her "vision" is questionable, and her management and people skills are beyond questionable. I think they're nonexistant.

I agree with both of these posts.

The fact this thread even says "what kind of *woman*" says it all. Seriously--even the Rauch threads are never phrased that way--What kinda MAN does he come off to you? ick

A controlling bitch.

A controlling bitch.

Isn't that what an EP should be?

That said I wouldn't want her on any of my soaps

I agree with both of these posts.

So do I. I think DaytimeFan and R Sinclair managed to capture the facets of JFP, the bad with, maybe, the not-so-bad.

The fact this thread even says "what kind of *woman*" says it all. Seriously--even the Rauch threads are never phrased that way--What kinda MAN does he come off to you? ick

Exactly. I've never heard Frank Valentini or even the much-maligned Ed Scott spoken about with the veciferousness reserved for JFP.

And, no, I'm not defending her -- at all. I'm just saying.

I'm glad someone agrees--sorry I didn't mean to imply that Jonnybros did anything wrong or start a fight--but I see this a lot, and particularly with JFP. People seem to have no qualms (men and women) calling her a bitch, etc--an attitude I simply doubt I'd see if she was a man.

I'm glad someone agrees--sorry I didn't mean to imply that Jonnybros did anything wrong or start a fight--but I see this a lot, and particularly with JFP. People seem to have no qualms (men and women) calling her a bitch, etc--an attitude I simply doubt I'd see if she was a man.

No, I didn't mean to imply anything about Jonnybros or other posters here, either. I'm no fan of JFP, not by a long shot. There's a reason I don't watch GH anymore, and she's part of that reason (although not the biggest part -- I'm looking at you, Guza ). But I guess I'm more torn on JFP than I thought. I hate Gooz unreservedly. My feelings for her are more ambivalent.

It also makes me wonder about male EPs out there who may have done the same awful things she has. Paul Rauch or John Conboy, for example. Some would measure GL's destruction to the Conboy/Weston period. And didn't Rauch fire/backburn a bunch of people on Santa Barbara and replaced them with his faves?

I watch clips of her time at Guiding Light on Youtube, and I cannot imagine this is the same EP that drove me away from OLTL, and now, GH. I do not lay all the blame at her feet, but there is plenty.

I do think she USED to have great production taste. The sets, costumes, new show open and look of GL during her time were incredible. I also remember how much better everyone looked at the begining of her OLTL stint. She used to put some effort into producing a look for her shows.

She also used to go for the drama, hardcore, and the shows I saw her working on had superior acting and gutwrenching material, and it was well produced. Viki was again a major character during her time on OLTL, and she kept Nora front and center. On Guiding Light she fully supported the ensemble work of that show, and no one was the single star from what I have read. The writers wrote for everyone, and she produced the hell out of it.

But the things I can't forgive or forget are becoming more present than ever. Frankie Frame on AW being so brutally killed in the middle of the afternoon, on camera. It was a bit much for me. Maureen Bauer's fate being decided by a focus group. Laura kills a legacy character on GH (Rick Webber), goes insane, and the killings of Alan Q, Emily, Georgie, Cooper and Logan (so much promise), Tony, Justus, Michael, Sonny's sister who I couldn't stand by the time she died in the contagion, but I forget her name, etc. That is a number of promising and legacy people killed in less than 5 years on one show. Fight for your show Jill! You should know better.

The ever famous FOJ. Of all the talented actors to work for her, why we see Kale Brown and Bolger on every show is shocking. They just aren't that great at anything she has had handed to them. What happened to Cassie and Dorian on OLTL was horrible. The way Genie Francis has been treated at GH is pretty bad too. Tony still gets his annual vacations, which from what I have read is all Genie really wants. She managed to screw up keeping or luring Vanessa Marcil back, but the men on her shows seem to get whatever they want. That brief period when Brenda returned, and the hostage in the hotel sweeps stunt are the only two things I can remember having any positive effect on the ratings during her tenure.

Worst of all for me, the new hospital set design looks like CRAP. There I said it. I was not really a big fan of the overly dark refit during Wendy Richie that got rid of the old nurses station, but GH looks so cheap now, and if I have to look at those crappy backsplash tiles all over the palce, at least pick some richer colors people.

^^^ Great post, titan1978. I can't claim to have seen any of her shows other than GL (and for me it was great under her). But your post was very intuitive, IMHO.