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    Ric Wylie Dead At 42: BBDO New York VP/Executive Producer.

    By SHOOT StaffUpdated:No Comments1988 Views

    By ELIZABETH MICHAELSON

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    Ric Wylie, VP/ executive producer at BBDO New York, passed away on June 2. He was 42. Despite battling an illness for about two years, Wylie continued to work regularly until taking a medical leave on May 1.

    This was the second tour of duty for Wylie at BBDO, where he was originally hired as an assistant art director in ’80. Wylie was promoted to art director in ’82, and went to J. Walter Thompson, New York, in ’83. He switched over to the production side and when he rejoined BBDO in ’90, it was as a VP/ exec producer.

    At BBDO, he produced Doritos’ "Snack Machine" and "Muzak" as well as Campbell Soup’s "Bigger Letters" and "Kitchen". But Wylie was best known for his work on Tostitos’ "Beverly Hillbillies," "Wow," "Float," "Tree," "Post Office" and "Blimp", which featured comedian Chris Elliott.

    Cate Donovon, BBDO New York senior VP/television production manager, commented, "He worked on virtually every account we had. He was a real charming, funny guy, and he is sorely missed. [He was] very kind of heart and spirit, generous of his time, and an all around wonderful guy."

    Wylie is remembered for both his dedication and his hard line with costs. Donovon recollected, "He was very, very dedicated to his job and getting the best price that he could for the client."

    Senior producer Diane McCann agreed: "He was known for being very protective of the company dime. He put his whole heart into everything-his job here and his life. And as tough as he was at work, outside of here he was the gentlest person."

    She continued, "He had a great sense of humor. I went to [visit him at] the hospital and I said, ‘I’m very worried,’ and he said, ‘What, about the spot you’re working on?’ That’s what I loved about him most. He was just very funny."

    McCann also recalled Wylie’s devotion to his work: "He would bring his spots home on the weekends and make everybody sit around the VCR and show the special effects frame by frame! He cared about it so much." Wylie’s commitment to his job remained strong even as he grew weaker. "I cannot believe he stayed on as long as he did, feeling the way that he did," related McCann. "Even on May 1, he said, ‘I don’t know if I should leave,’ and he was in pretty bad shape. He just wanted to stay on, he loved working here."

    In his free time, Wylie did pro bono work for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), filming the AIDS Walk for that organization. He also produced a series of PSAs for Ads Against AIDS.

    Wylie was raised in Bedford, N.Y., and graduated from Syracuse University. He lived in New York City and East Hampton, and is survived by his partner Leo Pena, a teacher.

    Category:News



    Steven Soderbergh Has A Multi-Faceted “Presence” In His Latest Film

    Wednesday, January 22, 2025

    Steven Soderbergh isn't just the director and cinematographer of his latest film. He's also, in a way, its central character.

    "Presence" is filmed entirely from the POV of a ghost inside a home a family has just moved into. Soderbergh, who serves as his own cinematographer under the pseudonym Peter Andrews (his father's name), essentially performs as the presence, a floating point-of-view that watches as the violence that killed the mysterious ghost threatens to be repeated.

    For even the prolific Soderbergh, the film, which opens Friday in theaters, was a unique challenge. He shot "Presence" with a small digital camera while wearing slippers to soften his steps.

    The 62-year-old filmmaker recently met a reporter in a midtown Manhattan hotel in between finishing post-production on his other upcoming movie ("Black Bag," a thriller Focus Features will release March 14) and beginning production in a few weeks on his next project, a romantic comedy that he says "feels like a George Cukor movie."

    Soderbergh, whose films include "Out of Sight," the "Ocean's 11" movies, "Magic Mike" and "Erin Brockovich," tends to do a lot in small windows of time. "Presence" took 11 days to film.

    That dexterous proficiency has made the ever-experimenting Soderbergh one of Hollywood's most widely respected evaluators of the movie business. In a wide-ranging conversation, he discussed why he thinks streaming is the most destructive force the movies have ever faced and why he's "the cockroach of this industry."

    Q: You use pseudonyms for yourself as a cinematographer and editor. Were you tempted to credit yourself as an actor for "Presence"?

    SODERBERGH: No, but what I did is subtle. For the first and... Read More

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