Edge of Night Producer Werner Michel Passes
Helped to launch and shape the long-running daytime drama.
Werner Michel, an original producer on long-running daytime soap opera The Edge of Night and a longtime advertising agency program and media executive, died August 27, 2010, in New York City. He was 100.
Michel's first assignment in television was as an executive producer at Dumont TV. From there, he helped launch The Edge of Night at CBS through Benton & Bowles Advertising. Produced by Procter & Gamble, the soap debuted in April 1956 and ran on CBS until November 1975, when it shifted to ABC and aired there until December 1984. There were 7,420 episodes.
Michel also worked in programming at Reach, McClinton and SSC&B, where he supervised The Lucy Show for Lever Brothers.
After retiring from SSC&B, Michel was hired by ABC entertainment president Fred Silverman as a consultant, which prompted a move to Los Angeles. He later joined MGM and produced the TV hits Fame and CHiPs.
A native of Detmold, Germany, Michel came to the U.S. before the outbreak of World War I. He served as director of Voice of America and later developed two musical reviews, Reunion in New York and Reunion in Vienna, where he conceived the productions and wrote the music and lyrics.
Survivors include his wife of 41 years.