The soap world has lost another member of its daytime family. Ron Weaver, the longtime associate producer of The Bold and the Beautiful, passed away in his Los Angeles home on May 11. He was 75.
"I am saddened to learn of the passing of Ron Weaver," noted executive producer/head writer Bradley Bell in a statement. "Ron was talented, a good friend to all of us, and a 26 year producer of The Bold and the Beautiful. He will be missed, will always be remembered and will forever remain in our hearts."
Weaver joined The Bold and the Beautiful as associate producer in 1986, and helped launch the show alongside the series' co-creators, William J. Bell and his wife, Lee Phillip Bell. Though Weaver may be best known to soap fans for his behind-the-scenes work on B&B, Weaver helped transform an entire generation through his work on another landmark show: Sesame Street.
"When I was about ten years old, I think, my dad bought me a tape recorder," Weaver recalled in a 2010 interview on Soap Central Live. "And I hung the microphone from the ceiling in my room, and I did my own little radio shows. So I think I've had it in my blood for a long time. And when I went to college, I majored in radio/TV first, and then I changed my major to drama, and initially, I went to New York to live, and I thought I was going to be an actor because I had been an actor, a fairly decent one, in college and summer stock. But I ended up behind the scenes. I worked for WCBS-TV as a production assistant -- that was my first job in the business. And then I went on, I spent 13 years -- I was there in the very beginning of Sesame Street, actually -- I was director of operations in the very beginning. I negotiated the first contract with Jim Henson for the Muppets on Sesame Street. After that show became very successful, a couple of years later we began to get some interest in international co-productions, so I went out to establish some of those. So I've had a really wonderful career. I've been on two world-class shows -- I was there 13 years, I've been [with The Bold and the Beautiful] over 23, so I've had two world-class shows in my career, and I'm just feeling very blessed."
Weaver left The Bold and the Beautiful in April of 2013.
Weaver was also the associate producer for Lionel Richie's music video for the 1986 hit "Dancing on the Ceiling."
On May 14, the cast and crew of The Bold and the Beautiful honored Weaver's memory with a moment of silence on the set.
To listen to the entire Soap Central Live interview with Ron Weaver, please click here.
