"Margaret always wanted to get it right, and she had an enormous respect for actors because she had been one. She respected their space and wouldn't let them be stepped on," said Donald Thoms, a former MPT director who had directed "Crabs" and "The Critics Place."
"She was a perfectionist and trained us to be better," said Mr. Thoms, president and founder of Thoms Media Group, a Baltimore production and talent company.
"Margaret left her impact on whatever she did. She was a rock-solid producer, and you could always count on her," he said.
Doug Roberts, a well-known Baltimore actor, radio personality and voice-over artist, said, "Margaret was the most professionally loyal person I've ever worked with."
Miss Sullivan was able to use her love of cooking when she worked with Ms. Child in the late 1990s as producer of "Baking with Julia," "In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs" and "Cooking with Master Chefs," for which she won two Emmy Awards.
She also produced cooking shows with such notable chefs as Mr. Pepin, Mr. Franey and John Shields, chef-owner of Gertrude's at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Miss Sullivan's cooking shows also garnered six James Beard Foundation Awards, the highest award for television cooking shows.
"Because she had a wonderful love of the arts, she was on the same page as these people, and she had the ability to make them feel comfortable," said Mr. Day. "She could draw out performances whether she was working in the kitchen or [on] a drama. She had a knack for that."
Mr. Day attributed her "terrific organizational skills combined with very creative insights," with making her one of MPT's top producers.
At her death, Miss Sullivan was in production of the third season of "Primal Grill with Steve Raichlen," which is scheduled to be filmed this fall, Mr. Day said.
Miss Sullivan was a communicant of St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church, Harford Road and Gibbons Avenue, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 11 a.m. today.
Also surviving are three other brothers, Dennis Sullivan of Baltimore, James Sullivan of Virginia Beach, Va., and Edward Sullivan of Fairfax Station, Va.; a sister, Elizabeth M. "Betty" Sullivan of Washington; and 10 nieces and nephews.
