R.I.P.: AMC, ATWT and ABC Daytime EP Felicia Minei Behr Passes Away

[EricMontreal22]

Not sure where to post this (I suspect someone wrote something elsewhere?) but in sad news, the children of Felicia Minei Behr have posted about her death on FB.  As everyone here knows it was her run on AMC that made me a soap fanatic as a kid/young teen:

 

We are writing on behalf of our mom, Felicia. She passed away peacefully on March 2nd surrounded by loved ones. We appreciate the love and support you have given our family over the last 5 years as she battled brain cancer. For memorial/viewing information, please reach out to us.

- Francesca Behr and Kristina Behr Miller

Some writers who worked under her, including Hal Corley (who was so great when I interviewed him for my MA) have posted replies:

Hal Corley: Devastating news, Kristina Behr and Francesca. Felicia was my ally and sometime champion. I worked with her on AMC and ATWT and again when she was an executive at ABC. Nobody reveled in the form's glories - and meeting its considerable challenges - more than Felicia. She was a rare producer who had absolute trust in those on her team: she delegated with confidence, investment, and respect. She appreciated soap writers as foundational to the genre's success or failure, as few do. She was also famously unflappable: no crisis escalated into drama because Felicia left the drama to the small screen. A genuinely generous-spirited human being away from her tiered executive responsibilities, she was also my friend. She continued to stay in touch after we both left daytime, and a call could buoy me with nostalgia and wickedly funny memories of shared experience. And did Felicia have stories! I loved her dearly and send my heartfelt condolences to you both and your family.

• Millee Taggart Ratcliffe: I second every word Hal!

[Contessa Donatella]

First of all may I just say Phuque Cancer, all kinds, every kind!

FMB was Sr. VP ABCD 2000-2004. It was Felicia Minei Behr that Wendy Riche was having breakfast with when they were talking about the inevitable, then pending cancellation of The City & what to put there in that timeslot & Riche described what came to be Port Charles (PC) and Behr told her to go write it up as a formal proposal. She said that if it were her, she'd bracket the ABC soap afternoon with GH, beginning with a new one focusing on doctors in training in a kind of wing of the hospital all their own & end it with traditional GH. [Told to me in a Twitter DM by Riche]

I have just learned from Eric that Disney made a choice between continuing with Behr or hiring Brian Frons. Now I have a terrible headache, thinking about what might have NOT been. Not happened. 

[Maxim]

May her soul rest in peace.

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[Contessa Donatella]

May light perpetual shine upon her & may angels & heavenly hosts guide her to her new resting place & may she be met there by long unseen family & friends & beloved pets. And, may a feast be laid at a groaning table, only awaiting her presence. What a celebration of her life.

[Jonathan]

I was just thinking about Felicia Minei Behr over the weekend—she was, without a doubt, the best executive producer All My Children ever had.

I remember Kelly Ripa mentioning years ago that some of the cast and crew attended FMB’s daughter’s wedding. She also shared a funny story about Susan Lucci ending up at Applebee’s between the wedding and reception—LOL! It really seemed like the cast and crew were a close-knit group during FMB’s time as EP.

 

 

[Contessa Donatella]

Before she was EP she started as a Line Producer in 1970, few years promoted to Associate Producer, then few more years, promoted to EP. The show under her solid #2 in ratings & won Emmys

 

[Jonathan]

Not to nitpick in this unfortunate thread, but according to the Locher Room interview, it was actually Pat Fili-Krushel who asked Wendy to write the proposal.

 

 

Yeah, I believe Felicia Minei Behr was reporting to Angela Shapiro at the time—FMB was a VP, and Angela was the President. Then, when Brian Frons took over as President, Disney and/or Brian likely saw FMB’s role as redundant and decided to eliminate her position. It’s really unfortunate because FMB was a strong advocate for great storytelling and wouldn’t have harmed the daytime lineup the way Brian Frons did.

[Contessa Donatella]

Oh, no. Perhaps I have the wrong ABC VIP with the right anecdote. Let me check.

You're correct. So sorry. Thank you. Serves me right for not going over the text of the DM conversation. 

Edited March 4 by Contessa Donatella

[DRW50]

Very sorry to hear of FMB's illness and her passage. She clearly loved AMC and her best work was there. 

I was also amused at her very blunt interview with Michael Logan which JFP and ABC Daytime were not pleased with.

[EricMontreal22]

That makes sense date wise (that she wasn't involved with Port Charles) because FMB was at As the World Turns from Nov 1996 to June 1999 (PC premiered in 97). 

So she began getting credited at ATWT only 7 months once she stopped being credited after being fired from AMC in April 1996.  I've always found the trajectory about this all interesting (when I was interviewing Hal Corley about his time at AMC he asked to only vaguely talk about his time at ATWT so I only have some details here.)  Because, from all I gather, by some point in 1994 FMB was becoming increasingly unhappy with McTavish's work at AMC (and others in the writing room may or may not have been as well,) ratings were also falling (partly as they climbed at DAYS) and I think her belief was McTavish was starting to rely on stunts (doppelgangers, the infamous bombing situation) and running out of the ideas that made her early stuff work so well.

So FMB had McTavish let go from AMC in Spring 1995.  Corley, who was on the writing team, was an interim HW (and credited on episodes I have) right after until FMB convinced Lorraine Broderick to return, who was credited starting in October 1995.  Though I think creatively the show markedly improved (even though there were some flubs during LB's run at that time, no question) ratings did not improve and ABC then had FMB fired, when ATWT picked her up.  So Behr didn't have much of a chance to work with the writing team she had chosen to replace McTavish and Francesca James came on as EP (a creative choice at least.)

At ATWT, Behr inherited the writing team of Stephen Black and Henry Stern who, while I was not watching, I think are among the show's least fave writers (hadn't they written a kinda soap opera for the Playboy Channel?  Eden or something?)  They were quickly outed and FMB had a number of HW teams though Addie Walsh was often a part of it (I wonder if FMB was aware of her due to her work with Agnes Nixon on Loving?)  Then basically as soon as Broderick, Corley, and maybe some others, were let go from AMC, FMB basically immediately hired them for ATWT--the writers she wanted for AMC anyway--this would be February 1998.  Broderic, Corley and Walsh then were ATWT's HW until June 1999 when FMB was let go as EP (and returned to ABC Daytime) and Goutman came in.

I don't think ATWT think particularly highly of FMB's run at ATWT though I've never heard it spoken of as the worst--maybe there was a sense that with her as EP and bringing in the AMC writers she was just trying to make Oakdale more into Pine Valley, I admit I really haven't looked into her time there.  Still, I just find the back and switch interesting.

 

[slick jones]

I saw the family's post on Facebook. May she rest in Peace. Thanks for posting about her passing here, @EricMontreal22 It's great seeing you post back here on SON, despite these sad circumstances. Your posts about the crssovers had my attention! 

[Paul Raven]

Was it under FMB that a lot of the focus was in Georgia/Eddie/Alec- brand new characters that had no connection to the canvas?

With such a rich history to dig into, that was the time to bring back Frannie or Christina Hughes or the Ward quads and really shore up the canvas.

Seems such a no-brainer but for some reason TPTB want to alienate the audience.

[DRW50]

Yes. That was FMB/Broderick. The show had very different tones depending on who her writers were at the time - none of the tones were especially good, but some were worse than others. 

FMB did at least try to give the older characters story (not so much Susan and Nancy, but she did give her an anniversary episode), which Goutman would not.

[EricMontreal22]

I'll have to investigate and like I said, I didn't get much from Corley about it--but that wasn't the focus of my interview anyway. My impression was he was happy to be working with Broderick and FMB after what had happened at AMC and enjoyed the brief time there, but (and again this is PURELY my projecting and not based on exact quotes) that they maybe never quite got the feel of the show nor had the time to understand and learn the history of the show (and I don't think any had a history of watching the show, although I know Corley at any rate hadn't had one with AMC either when he joined either but he was part of the late 80s ABC writer training program which would teach at least some of that.)

I did like (most) of the FMB/Broderick brief era at AMC so much that if I had been online reading soap opera groups at the time and knew they moved to ATWT I would have checked it out for at least a few weeks, but I was clueless (it was only a year or two later, when Nixon came in briefly to try to save AMC after McTavish's second run that I would start to really be aware of all of that, otherwise all I knew was from the little I would find in soap rags, which I rarely read anyway, and paying as close attention to the closing credits as possible on the shows I did watch...)

Ah thanks

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Nice to see you here.

[Paul Raven]

Wasn't Felicia also at RH at one point?