Rhea feikin biography

Rhea Feikin ’56 grew up wanting to be an actress, but it turned out the role she was always meant for was just being herself.

After nearly 50 years at Maryland Public Television, the first lady of MPT will retire Sunday after a career that saw her go from hosting a game show for the Maryland Lottery and appearing in the film “Hairspray” to being the face of MPT pledge drives.

“I sort of had a talent for begging,” she said.

The Baltimore native turned her UMD degree in speech pathology and theater experience at Maryland into a gateway to TV.

Working as a speech therapist, she volunteered for an educational program at WBAL, hosting “Betty Better Speech” and then writing, producing and starring in the local children’s show “Miss Rhea and Sunshine.” That collaboration with puppeteer Cal Schumann led to their pairing for evening weather reports.

After the station fired them—prompting a mischievous Feikin and Schumann to walk off set midway through