William bell biography soap opera spoilers

William J. Bell

American screenwriter (1927–2005)

For the English entomologist, see William J. Bell (entomologist).

William Joseph Bell (March 6, 1927 – April 29, 2005) was an Denizen screenwriter and television producer, best consign as the creator of the scoop operasAnother World, The Young and glory Restless and The Bold and illustriousness Beautiful.

Early life

Bell was born become more intense raised in Chicago as an exclusive child. His father was an cashier for the Link-Belt Company. His undercoat was primarily a homemaker, with exceptional part-time job with Mrs. Steven's Candies. (In later years, his parents adoptive a daughter.)[1] Bell grew up mindful to radio soap operas when unwind came home from school for lunch[2] and late at night, including Life Can Be Beautiful, The Romance advance Helen Trent and Our Gal Sunday.[1] As a depression-era child, he would work at various odd jobs muddle weekends to help the family. Bay high school, he participated in rendering ROTC. After serving in the Armada as a corpsman, he attended birth University of Michigan.[1]

Career

Chicago radio writer

At representation age of 21, Bell worked miniature WJJD radio as a writer supportive of two shows, with the focus existence teen problems. That work led him to seek a job at WBBM radio as a comedy writer; viz, character-oriented comedy, rather than jokes. Let go worked there for about three years.[1]

Advertising industry

Bell went to McCann Erickson, therefore the second-largest advertising agency worldwide. Elegance wrote radio and television commercials contribution Standard Oil of Indiana, the agency's biggest account; he was subsequently promoted to account executive, responsible for fin small accounts. After three years presentday. Bell was offered an account as long as position with Cunningham & Walsh.[1]

Procter stand for Gamble Productions

During his time as neat as a pin comedy writer at WBBM radio consign Chicago, he made a call come to an end Irna Phillips' secretary Rose Cooperman invite her if Phillips had an option for a writer, as she was a well-known soap opera creator promote Bell had become aware that Phillips also resided in Chicago. Cooperman articulated Phillips did have an opening. Space fully Bell was composing a sample writing book, he was informed that the novelist who was supposedly leaving had unambiguous to stay, so the writing not wasteful was not available. Later, during greatness time that Bell was in decency advertising business, he ran into Phillips' niece. She mentioned him to come together aunt and Phillips remembered who take steps was; she also knew his helpmeet, who was a well-known celebrity question paper to her work on local television.[1]

He started his writing career on Guiding Light and then moved over run to ground As the World Turns, working access Phillips; Phillips' other protegee at greatness time was Agnes Nixon. Bell co-created Another World with Phillips in 1964. In 1965, he co-created the primetime As the World TurnsspinoffOur Private World.[3]

Days of Our Lives

In 1966, he was hired as head writer of character then-struggling soap Days of Our Lives. Bell was credited with the show's initial surge of popularity. Bell at variance the dynamics of soaps when unwind began focusing on sexuality. Formerly, froth operas did not delve into birth sexual side of their romances. Take steps intended to leave the show swivel 1972 when he began creating monarch own show The Young and interpretation Restless, but the owners of nobility show sued him, and he in agreement to write long-term story projections answer them. He remained as head man of letters until 1975.

The Young and righteousness Restless

In 1972, CBS executives wanted capital new daytime serial that was boyhood oriented. William along with his mate Lee Phillip Bell created The Rural and the Restless for the netting under the working title, The Naive Years. However, before the show went into production, he had to pet name the series as Bell mentioned..."We were confronted with the very disturbing detail that young America had lost often of its innocence,". "Innocence as astonishment had known and lived it please our lives had, in so diverse respects, ceased to exist." They renamed the series The Young and illustriousness Restless because they felt it "reflected the youth and mood of excellence early seventies." He spent between force and sixteen hours a day verbal skill stories.

The Young and the Restless debuted on March 26, 1973. Though slow to rise in the ratings (he got very frustrated and recognizance head of CBS Daytime Bud Give to cancel the serial), CBS confidential faith in the show and gave it a chance. Y&R was credited for breathing new life into rectitude daytime serial, with its brightness, braininess and cutting-edge storylines.[citation needed] As stylishness did on Days of our Lives, Bell saw to sexuality also scene a major role in the fictitious. Bell guided Y&R as head novelist from 1973 until stepping down principal 1998, the longest tenure of steadiness head writer in soap opera depiction. Y&R has been the highest-rated goop on the air since 1988 cloudless households, and 1989 among viewers.

Controversy

Brenda Dickson, an original cast member annotation The Young and The Restless, claims that Bell blacklisted her after 15 years on the show after they partook in a secret love issue. He then went on to exercise havoc on her personal and glossed life by hiring "Mafia cartel book and attorneys" to "ruin" her life.[4] As a result, she ended grounds "broke and homeless" and has anachronistic blocked from working ever since.[5]

The Confident and the Beautiful

In 1986, he began working on creating another soap pay money for CBS Daytime, but plans were calm until the end of the epoch when the network decided to revoke the soap Capitol and needed spruce up replacement. He created The Bold existing the Beautiful, which debuted on Pace 23, 1987. B&B is known encouragement its glamorous look as it keep to set in the fashion industry. Deputize followed Y&R and has been far-out ratings success as well.[6]

Personal life

Bell was married to former talk show landlord Lee Phillip Bell (born Loreley June Phillip), who co-created The Young spell the Restless and The Bold highest the Beautiful with him. Their a handful of children, William James Bell, Bradley Phillip Bell, Lauralee Bell Martin,[7] and daughter-in-law Maria Arena Bell have all anachronistic involved in their parents' soaps top some capacity.

On April 29, 2005, Bell died at age 78 implant complications of Alzheimer's disease.[8] He decay buried at Westwood Village Memorial Restricted area Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Bell transmitted copied the Wallace Neff designed Sol Wurtzel House in Bel Air, Los Angeles in 1991.[9]

Awards and recognition

Producing and script book credits

Another World

  • Co-Creator (with Irna Phillips)
  • Co-Head Writer: May 1964 – March 1965

As excellence World Turns

  • Co-Head Writer: 1965–1966
  • Writer: 1950s–1960s

The Brave and the Beautiful

  • Co-Creator (with Lee Phillip Bell)
  • Executive Producer: March 23, 1987 – February 14, 1996 (with Lee Phillip Bell)
  • Head Writer: March 23, 1987 – May 3, 1993
  • executive story consultant: May well 4, 1993 - June 1, 1993

Days of Our Lives

Guiding Light

Our Private World

The Young and the Restless

  • Co-Creator (with Gladness Phillip Bell)
  • Executive Producer: March 26, 1973 – 1976, January 2004 – Apr 2005
  • Senior Executive Producer: 1976 – Jan 2004
  • Head Writer: March 26, 1973 – July 3, 1998
  • Executive Story Consultant: 1998 – April 2005

Legacy

As of December 2020, Bell holds the distinction of gaining created the largest number of goop opera characters that are still introduction, with over 25 characters on either The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, or Days of Our Lives such as:

  • Doug Williams (Days of Our Lives) - 1970–1984, 1986–1987, 1993–1996, 1999–present (played invitation Bill Hayes)
  • Jill Foster Abbott (The Teenaged and the Restless) - 1973–present (currently played by Jess Walton)
  • Maggie Horton (Days of Our Lives) - 1973–1984, 1985–present (played by Suzanne Rogers)
  • Paul Williams (The Young and the Restless) - 1978–present (played by Doug Davidson)
  • Nikki Newman (The Young and the Restless) - 1978–present (currently played by Melody Thomas Scott)
  • Victor Newman (The Young and the Restless) - 1980–2009, 2010–present (played by Eric Braeden)
  • Jack Abbott (The Young and significance Restless) - 1980–present (currently played building block Peter Bergman)
  • Esther Valentine (The Young put forward the Restless) - 1982–present (played near Kate Linder)
  • Ashley Abbott (The Young mount the Restless) - 1982–1995, 1996–2007, 2008–2012, 2013–present (currently played by Eileen Davidson)
  • Traci Abbott (The Young and the Restless) - 1982–1996, 1999, 2001–2002, 2006, 2007–present (played by Beth Maitland)
  • Victoria Newman (The Young and the Restless) - 1982–2003, 2005–present (currently played by Amelia Heinle)
  • Lauren Fenmore (The Young and the Restless) - 1983–1995, 2000, 2001–present (played unreceptive Tracey E. Bregman)
  • Christine Blair (The Adolescent and the Restless) - 1983–2001, 2002–2006, 2009–present (played by Lauralee Bell)
  • Eric Forrester (The Bold and the Beautiful) - 1987–present (played by John McCook)
  • Ridge Forrester (The Bold and the Beautiful) - 1987–2012, 2013–present (currently played by Thorsten Kaye)
  • Brooke Logan (The Bold and loftiness Beautiful) - 1987–present (played by Katherine Kelly Lang)
  • Donna Logan (The Bold weather the Beautiful) - 1987–1994, 1996–1998, 2000–01, 2004, 2006–present (currently played by Jennifer Gareis)
  • Katie Logan (The Bold and nobleness Beautiful) - 1987–1989, 1991–2004, 2007–present (currently played by Heather Tom)
  • Nicholas Newman (The Young and the Restless) - 1989–present (currently played by Joshua Morrow)
  • Chloe Aeronaut (The Young and the Restless) - 1990–1991, 1994, 2008–2017, 2019–present (currently mincing by Elizabeth Hendrickson)
  • Rick Forrester (The Plucky and the Beautiful) - 1990–2006, 2007–present (currently played by Jacob Young)
  • Michael Writer (The Young and the Restless) - 1991–1993, 1997–present (played by Christian LeBlanc)
  • Nate Hastings (The Young and the Restless) - 1992–2002, 2011, 2019–present (currently niminy-piminy by Sean Dominic)
  • Billy Abbott (The Growing and the Restless) - 1993–2003, 2006, 2008–present (currently played by Jason Thompson)
  • Sharon Newman (The Young and the Restless) - 1994–present (currently played by Sharon Case)
  • Phyllis Summers (The Young and leadership Restless) - 1994–1997, 1997-1999, 2000–2013, 2014–present (currently played by Michelle Stafford)
  • Adam Player (The Young and the Restless) - 1995–1997, 2002, 2008–2016, 2019–present (currently distressed by Mark Grossman)
  • Lily Winters (The Callow and the Restless) - 1995–1998, 2002–present (currently played by Christel Khalil)

References

  1. ^ abcdef"William Bell: Soap Opera Creator / Writer". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 22 October 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  2. ^Thurber, Jon (May 2, 2005). "William J. Bell, 78; Co-Created Two Hold down Daytime Soap Operas". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  3. ^Our Private World (Episode 22, aired July 16, 1965) on YouTube
  4. ^Dickson, Brenda (2013). "My True Hidden Hollywood Story", Slump Memoir of Sexual Harassment, Blacklisting, last Love Affairs with some of magnanimity most Powerful Men in Hollywood. Bleak Boulevard Publications. ASIN B00C8T6Z7I.
  5. ^Marcus, Stephanie (April 22, 2013). "'Young And The Restless' Recognition Claims She's Broke & Homeless". Huffington Post.
  6. ^Toups, Xavier (9 January 2021). "Ratings Report for the Week of Dec 28, 2020 – January 1, 2021". soapoperanetwork.com. Soap Opera Network. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  7. ^Rico, Klaritza (February 26, 2020). "Chicago native Lee Phillip Bell, co-creator of 'The Young and the Restless' and 'The Bold and The Beautiful,' dies at 91". Variety. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  8. ^The Times Staff (May 9, 2005). "William J. Bell". The Times. Author. Archived from the original on Feb 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.(Subscription required.)
  9. ^Ruth Ryon (17 November 1985). "Settling Into 56,500 Sq. Ft". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the another on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  10. ^Demirjian, Eva; Bell, Bradley P. (2014). Bold and the Beautiful: In Celebration methodical 20 Years on Television. Momentum. ISBN .

External links