Monica Spear, 1984-2014

Monica Spear in FLOR SALVAJE

Monica Spear, 1984-2014

I'm simply devastated by the tragic news out of Venezuela of the murder of Monica Spear and her husband.

MI PRIMA CIELA was one of the telenovelas that made me an avid viewer of the genre; FLOR SALVAJE was the telenovela that inspired me to start writing an articles about telenovelas for English readers.


Excerpts from three past articles I wrote about two of her performances.


from my January 1, 2013 article on FLOR SALVAJE:

"Amanda’s first love, Pablo, is murdered by Rafael. In order to avenge his death, Amanda attempts to suppress the innocent side of her, to fully become Flor Salvaje, the hardened prostitute, and lure Rafael into a trap, but in attempting to destroy Rafael, she ends up saving him, changing him, making him a better man through his love for her, and ultimately, she falls in love with this newly ennobled demon. It’s a Gordian knot of twisted character motivations, internal conflicts and contradictions, little of it verbalized, but played on the face, and Spear does marvels - following her performances in a trio of Venezuelan novelas beginning with the lovely MI PRIMA CIELA and culminating with her impressive turn LA MUJER PERFECTA as a young woman with Asperger syndrome, Spear has to be considered amongst the finest telenovela actresses of her generation."

Telenovela Star and Former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear Killed In Robbery

Actress Monica Spear and and her husband were shot and killed on Monday night while resisting a robbery after their car broke down, according to the Miami Herald.

Prosecutors said in a statement that Monica Spear, 29, and Henry Thomas Berry, 49, were slain late Monday night near Puerto Cabello, Venezuela's main port.

Armed men approached the car and the couple locked themselves inside, police said. The bandits opened fire, injuring the couple's 5-year-old daughter and killing the parents. The child was in stable condition after receiving medical attention.

TELENOVELA WATCH: Best Telenovelas Of The Year

A rundown of my favorite telenovelas of 2012 with a qualifier - that aired in the US on a broadcast network:

(1) FLOR SALVAJE
(2) UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR
(3) AMOR BRAVÍO
(4) LA QUE NO PODÍA AMAR
(5) UNA MAID EN MANHATTAN
(6) A MANO LIMPIA
(7) ESCOBAR: EL PATRÓN DEL MAL
(8) EL SECRETARIO
(9) RELACIONES PELIGROSAS (first 30 episodes)

Performances I liked in telenovelas that played in the US in 2012:

TELENOVELA WATCH: No Spanish? Our New, Weekly Column Makes Telenovelas Fun for Everyone!

As the American daytime soap opera is in decline, the telenovela, a similar Spanish language art form, is thriving in the US. The dominant Spanish language network in the US, Univision, regularly finishes third in the 18-34 demographic among broadcast networks in prime time, trailing only Fox and CBS. Telemundo, the second biggest Spanish language network, often beats the CW in the 18-49 demographic. With Latinos representing the majority of US population growth over the next five years, networks are sprouting up in cable to cater to that audience; and this fall, Fox, teaming with Colombian media giant RCN, is launching a third broadcast network to challenge Univision and Telemundo.

Monday Evening Nielsen Ratings: ALCATRAZ, TERRA NOVA, GOSSIP GIRL, CASTLE, MAID, FLOR, CASA

Fox's much-hyped new drama ALCATRAZ got off to a solid start last night against tough competition, which included a surprisingly strong Betty White birthday tribute on NBC.

ALCATRAZ averaged a 3.3 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen, slightly better than the 3.1 TERRA NOVA logged in its premiere in the same Monday slot last fall.

Wednesday Night Nielsen Ratings: REVENGE Down, ONE TREE HILL Premieres; MAID, FLOR, CASA

Here's a look at the preliminary Wednesday evening Nielsen ratings:

- REVENGE was down 4% with a 2.4 Adults 18-49 rating on an audience of 7.51 million viewers.

- Compared to OFF THE MAP, in the same ABC time slot one year ago, REVENGE was up about 9%.

Tuesday Evening Nielsen Ratings: PARENTHOOD Up, SWITCHED AT BIRTH Down, JANE BY DESIGN Down, MAID, FLOR & CASA

Here's a look at the preliminary Nielsen ratings for Tuesday, January 10, 2012:

- PARENTHOOD was up about 6% with a 1.8 Adults 18-49 rating on about 4.84 million viewers.

- Compared to last year, PARENTHOOD was down about 18%.

Monday Night Nielsen Ratings: CASTLE Up, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS Steady, LYING GAME Steady, More

Here's a look at the preliminary Nielsen ratings for Monday, January 9, 2012:

- CASTLE was up 15% to a 2.3 Adults 18-49 rating on an audience of 9.75 million.

- Compared to last year, CASTLE was up about 4.5%.

- PRETTY LITTLE LIARS held steady with a 1.3 Adults 18-49 rating on an audience of 2.95 million viewers.

Wednesday Night Ratings: REVENGE Up, Telemundo Steady

Here's a look at the preliminary primetime Nielsen ratings for Wednesday, January 5, 2012:

- From 10:00-11:00 p.m., ABC freshman drama REVENGE finished as the No. 1 entertainment show in its time period among Adults 18-49 (2.5/7).

- REVENGE was up over its last first-run telecast in viewers (+10% - 8.0 million vs. 7.3 million) and young adults (+4% - 2.5/7 vs. 2.4/6), marking a 7-week high on both counts - since 11/16/11.