Retired Maryland Public Television host and pledge drive maestro Rhea Feikin isn’t merely a force of nature. She’s all of the fundamental forces combined: gravity, magnetism — and yes, the type of thermonuclear energy that powers electric generators.
Feikin, 89, often described as the “first lady of MPT,” has been entertaining Maryland television viewers for six decades: first with WBAL-TV where she hosted educational shows and the weather, and then with the public television station, where she remained for about 46 years, until her retirement in 2020.
During her career, Feikin hosted such memorable programs as “Artworks This Week,” “Chesapeake Collectibles” and her celebrity interview series, “Impressions with Rhea Feikin.”
But she is best known for cajoling viewers into opening their wallets for MPT’s annual pledge drives since around 1980. Feikin has done more than 40 of them, since station officials quickly discovered that she possesses the Midas touch.
Larry Unger, president and CEO of MPT, thinks the secret to Feikin’s success is a combination of her work ethic — she’s always prepared — and her authenticity. She wasn’t afraid to occasionally throw away the script and say what was on her mind, even if that meant telling pledge viewers that she didn’t especially like their favorite show, so if they wanted to save it, they had better call in.
“She just comes across on screen like you’ve known her all your life, “Unger said, “and that’s something very few people can do.
“I’ve been at Maryland Public Television for 28 years, and the question I get asked most often is, ‘Wow, do you know Rhea?’ She is beloved. There are people who don’t like public television, but I’ve never heard anyone say a bad word about Rhea.”
Describing Feikin as “retired” may be an exaggeration. While she no longer receives a steady paycheck, she still often anchors MPT pledge drives. In fact, she hosted one in May.
“I’ve received so many fabulous opportunities with MPT,” Feikin said.
”I loved that we could program shows [such as educational shows and in-depth documentaries] on public television that wouldn’t get programmed on commercial television.
”I loved working with people who could have made a lot more money somewhere else, but who stayed at MPT because they believed in what they were doing.”
Early in her career, Feikin overcame sexist roadblocks — she says she was one of the first women to be part of a WBAL-TV news show — paving the way for future generations of broadcasters.
She also was an early champion of LGBTQ+ rights, according to her longtime pal, the filmmaker John Waters.
He and Feikin met in 1964 in a gay bar on The Block. At the time, Waters was about to release his first film, “Hag in a Black Leather Jacket.” A year before, Feikin had been part of a group that founded Baltimore Center Stage. Both possessed undeniable dramatic flair, and they hit it off.
“Rhea was an early friend of the gay community,” Waters said.
“She was always up to go anywhere and explore any kind of culture. She could cross over with ease. She was friendly with the underground, and straight people weren’t uptight with her as their guide.”
Later, Feikin appeared in two Waters movies: “Hairspray” and “Cecil B. Demented.” In the former, Feikin portrays a geometry teacher who sends Tracy Turnblad and her blackboard-blocking bouffant to the principal’s office after delivering the immortal line: “Whatever you call it, it’s a hair-don’t.”
Feikin grew up in Hampden, where her parents ran a grocery store. Theirs was the rare Jewish family in their community, and she clearly remembers the sign over the Meadowbrook swimming pool saying its services were “only for approved gentiles.”
But while she recognized the antisemitism and chauvinism that characterized mid-century Baltimore, young Rhea was a sociable child who began developing her interviewing skills early.
“I loved talking to our customers,” Feikin said.
“I would be in and out of everybody’s houses all day, finding out about their lives.”
A fourth grade teacher first realized the girl’s potential to connect with audiences and introduced her to acting lessons — an experience that Feikin credits with helping her develop empathy.
”It made me understand how other people felt because it made me think the thoughts of another person,” she said.
She pursued acting as a University of Maryland student, performing on military bases from Iceland to Bermuda, and continuing into her late 20s, when she was cast in “La Ronde,” the first show produced at the new Baltimore Center Stage.
Her encounter with four professional actors taught her a lesson that turned her away from live theater and toward a career in television.
”I learned that I could never be as good as they were,” Feikin said. ”I could never lose ‘me’ enough to become somebody else.”
A short time later, Feikin made her first foray into television — and found that the same quality that caused her to fail on stage was the secret to her success on the small screen.
“It is such an intimate medium that if you aren’t yourself, people at home will see right away that you are a fake,” she said. “It’s the reason some actors don’t do well on television. They’re theatrical and they’re not being themselves.
”On TV, you have to be yourself.”
Have a news tip? Contact Mary Carole McCauley at mmccauley@baltsun.com and 410-332-6704.
Rhea Feikin
Age: 89
Hometown: Baltimore
Current residence: Baltimore
Education: Forest Park High School; University of Maryland, B.A. in speech therapy
Career highlights: About 46 years with Maryland Public Television, where she hosted annual pledge drives, “Artworks This Week,” “Chesapeake Collectibles” and “Impressions with Rhea Feikin”
Civic and charitable activities: Co-founded Baltimore Center Stage in 1963
Family: Was married to Colgate Salsbury (deceased); two children; two grandchildren