Today in Soap Opera History (March 6)

1979: One Life to Live's Karen Wolek confessed her past on the
witness stand in one of the most memorable scenes in soap opera
history.

"History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1927: William J. Bell, iconic soap opera writer and producer who co-created The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, was born. He died on April 29, 2005 at age 78. To read some early articles on Bell and his wife Lee Phillip, click here and here.

1966: On Another World, Lee Randolph (Gaye Huston) informed Pat Matthews that she was taken with [Guiding Light's] Hope Bauer and enjoyed being with Hope's father, Mike Bauer, more than anyone she's ever known.

Today in Soap Opera History (March 6)

1979: One Life to Live's Karen Wolek confessed her past on the
witness stand in one of the most memorable scenes in soap opera
history.

"Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."
― Machiavelli

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1927: William J. Bell, iconic soap opera writer and producer who co-created The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, was born. He died on April 29, 2005 at age 78. To read some early articles on Bell and his wife Lee Phillip, click here and here.

1966: On Another World, Lee Randolph (Gaye Huston) informed Pat Matthews that she was taken with [Guiding Light's] Hope Bauer and enjoyed being with Hope's father, Mike Bauer, more than anyone she's ever known.

Today in Soap Opera History (March 6)

1979: One Life to Live's Karen Wolek confessed her past on the
witness stand in one of the most memorable scenes in soap opera
history.

"All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1927: William J. Bell, iconic soap opera writer and producer who co-created The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, was born. He died on April 29, 2005 at age 78. To read some early articles on Bell and his wife Lee Phillip, click here and here.

1966: On Another World, Lee Randolph (Gaye Huston) informed Pat Matthews that she was taken with [Guiding Light's] Hope Bauer and enjoyed being with Hope's father, Mike Bauer, more than anyone she's ever known.

Today in Soap Opera History (March 6)

1979: One Life to Live's Karen Wolek confessed her past on the
witness stand in one of the most memorable scenes in soap opera
history.

"The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect is already in the cause."
― Henri Louis Bergson

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1927: William J. Bell, iconic soap opera writer and producer who co-created The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, was born. He died on April 29, 2005 at age 78. To read some early articles on Bell and his wife Lee Phillip, click here and here.

1966: On Another World, Lee Randolph (Gaye Huston) informed Pat Matthews that she was taken with [Guiding Light's] Hope Bauer and enjoyed being with Hope's father, Mike Bauer, more than anyone she's ever known.

FLASHBACK: 'The Young and the Restless' Mistakenly Wins Writing Award at 1986 Daytime Emmys

William J. Bell

In one of the epic fails in recent television history, Sunday night Miss Universe's host Steve Harvey named the wrong contestant as the winner—incorrectly announcing that Miss Columbia, Ariadna Gutierrez-Arévalo, was Miss Universe 2015. She was crowned and taking her accolades for over two minutes before Harvey returned to the stage to announce that he had made a grievous error. Miss Columbia was, in fact, the first runner-up. The winner was Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurzbach. This wasn't the first such blunder during a live TV event, and most certainly will not be the last. Perhaps the most memorable live event blunder from the world of daytime soap operas happened in 1986 at the Daytime Emmy Awards.

Another World stars Stephen Schnetzer (who played Cass Winthrop) and Julie Osburn (Kathleen McKinnon) presented a Daytime Emmy to the writing team of The Young and the Restless, headed by William J. Bell.  Bell accepted the award for "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team" during the ceremony in New York City on July 17, his first writing win for Y&R (he had previously won as head writer of Days of our Lives).

"We've put in long hours, and many years, waiting for this moment. It is arrived," Bell said in his acceptance speech.

Today in Soap Opera History (March 6)

1979: One Life to Live's Karen Wolek confessed her past on the
witness stand in one of the most memorable scenes in soap opera
history.

"Mankind are so much the same, in all times and places, that history informs us of nothing new or strange in this particular. Its chief use is only to discover the constant and universal principles of human nature."
― David Hume

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to Scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1927: William J. Bell, iconic soap opera writer and producer who co-created The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, was born. He died on April 29, 2005 at age 78. To read some early articles on Bell and his wife Lee Phillip, click here and here.

1966: On Another World, Lee (Gaye Huston) informed Pat that she was taken with [Guiding Light's] Hope and enjoyed being with Mike Bauer more than anyone she's ever known.

Today in Soap Opera History (March 6)

1979: OLTL's Karen Wolek confessed her past on the witness
stand in one of the most memorable scenes in soap opera
history.

"There is no present or future, only the past happening over and over again - now."
- Eugene O'Neill

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1927: William J. Bell, iconic soap opera writer and producer, was born. He died on April 29, 2005 at age 78. To read some early articles on Bell and his wife Lee Phillip, click here and here.

1966: On ANOTHER WORLD, Lee (Gaye Huston) informed Pat that she was taken with [GUIDING LIGHT's] Hope and enjoyed being with Mike Bauer more than anyone she's ever known.

"The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell" Now Out In Paperback

Daytime legend, former talk show host, and co-creator of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, Lee Phillip Bell’s biography on her late husband, “The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell” is now in paperback nationwide currently in bookstores.

In this informative tell-all, Bell reminisces on stories regarding the creation and growth of the most popular soap operas of all time and the man behind some of the most memorable storylines in daytime television. The foreword of the biography was written by international superstar and former THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS cast member, David Hasselhoff.

Originally released in hardcover in June of 2012, Bell toured bookstores across Southern California in promotion of the book along with current and former cast members of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, and co-author Michael Maloney.

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Classic Photo Of The Day (William J. Bell)

In honor of the upcoming 40th anniversary of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (YR40), We Love Soaps will be posting a "Classic Photo of the Day" for the rest of the month. Today's photo is of William J. Bell, creator of Y&R along with his wife, Lee Phillip Bell.

Watch an except of Mr. Bell's Archive of American Television interview below in which he describes why they scrapped the original title of Y&R, THE INNOCENT YEARS.

Today in Soap Opera History (March 6)

On this date in...

1927: William J. Bell, iconic soap opera writer and producer, was born. He died on April 29, 2005 at age 78. To read some early articles on Bell and his wife Lee Phillip, click here and here.

1966: On ANOTHER WORLD, Lee (Gaye Huston) informed Pat that she was taken with [GUIDING LIGHT's] Hope and enjoyed being with Mike Bauer more than anyone she's ever known.

1979: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Karen Wolek (Judith Light) admitted her past as a prostitute on the witness stand.

CLASSIC CLIP: Merry Christmas From The Bell Family

In 1968, Lee Phillip Bell welcomed her husband, Bill, and sons Billy (age 6) and Bradley (age 4 with his tongue out above, now executive producer and head writer of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL), as guests on THE LEE PHILLIP SHOW, her hugely popular local Chicago talk show that ran for years. Watch the segment below which was taped just before Lauralee Bell was born.

INTERVIEW: Michael Maloney Discusses "The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell"

WE LOVE SOAPS TV caught up with journalist Michael Maloney at the 39th Annual Daytime Entertainment Creative Arts Emmy Awards to find out the scoop on his brand new book, "The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell."

Maloney reveals the book covers the entire life of late soap writer/producer and features contributions from the entire Bell family as well as many others who knew and worked with William J. Bell.

Watch this hilarious (and informative) interview below in WE LOVE SOAPS TV Episode 3.78.

NEWS ROUNDUP: No SMASH Musical; 5th Hour of Today?; Bill Bell Book June 1; Indie Television

No plans at the moment to bring SMASH to Broadway
"Since our creative team has been writing songs and snippets of 'Bombshell' scenes only to tell the stories of our characters in 'Smash,' there is no fully realized 'Bombshell,'" NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt wrote Thursday in an email to The Los Angeles Times.

"I'm not saying that it will never happen, but we are all focused at the moment on completing our [Season 1] finale episode and have already started talking about the macro ideas for Season 2," Greenblatt wrote, adding that next season will feature a second musical, as the fictional "Bombshell" heads to the fictional Broadway.

FLASHBACK: He's (Bill Bell) Wed to a Celebrity 1958

He's Wed to a Celebrity

She's Lee Phillip--and Their Marriage Is Successful

By Norma Lee Browning
Chicago Daily Tribune
August 27, 1958

What's it like, being married to a celebrity wife?

"It takes some adjusting," admits Bill Bell Jr., who still hankers to be known by his own name instead of Mr. Lee Phillip.

Lee happens to be Mrs. Bill Bell Jr., [instead of vice versa] but her public knows her as Lee Phillip, that wholesomely beautiful blonde darling of television. She and Bill have been wed three and a half years.

He was disconcerted at first to hear his wife mumble sweet nothings in his ear that were really television commercials.

"But," he explains, "she's a hard working girl and it takes her hours to learn those TV bits."

Fortunately he has a broad minded outlook on fame. Lee lightly accuses him of marrying her out of sympathy. He says she married him to acquire a script writer.

FLASHBACK: The Teening of the Soaps 1993

THE TEENING OF THE SOAPS

By Lynette Rice
Los Angeles Daily News
July 28, 1993

She's divorced, rich and hates sex. And now she wants her husband back.

As soap operas go, Victoria Newman's plight on YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS is standard daytime fare. But Victoria has one characteristic that many of her counterparts don't - she is only 17.

Teen story lines have become as commonplace on daytime dramas as the she-devil who steals every woman's husband, luring youths to daytime TV once followed largely by housewives.

The trials and tribulations of teens thrive year-round on the soaps now. Victoria's character on the CBS drama toiled with a stressful marriage - albeit a celibate one - for seven months. But many story lines get especially steamy during the summer, when teens are out of school and definitely feeling restless.

"I knew we had a younger audience during the summer for 15 or more years now," said William Bell, YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS' lead writer, who helped create the daytime drama in 1973.

FLASHBACK: Soaps Maturing in Romantic Way 1986

DAYTIME SOAPS MATURING IN ROMANTIC WAY

By Jan DeKnock
Chicago Tribune
July 13, 1986

The summer of '86 is a time of real transition for daytime soap operas.

On the way out are the spy sagas, treasure hunts and sci-fi escapades that have dominated most of the shows for the last several years.

On the way back in are old-fashioned stories about romance--and this time, the lovers are not just the young kids.

"Every summer we're usually bombarded with teenage storylines," says Nancy M. Reichardt, a syndicated columnist who has been observing the soap opera scene for nearly a decade. "This year . . . while there's some of that happening, there aren't really a lot of front-burner teen storylines.

"Last year, for example," she says, "everything--and I do mean everything--on DAYS OF OUR LIVES was Bo and Hope, Bo and Hope. Personally, I don't mind a teenage storyline, but DAYS just carried it to extremes. I mean, here Hope is supposed to be just barely out of high school, and suddenly she's married, she's running a private detective agency, she's running around looking for Russian spies.

FLASHBACK: Lee Phillip is a Success in Any Rating (1976)

Lee Phillip is a success in any rating

By Mary Daniels
Chicago Tribune
April 4, 1976

Lee Phillip is not the kind of character her husband, Bill Bell, would write into one of his soap operas.

Yes this stable, pleasant woman as hostess of her own daily show on WBBM-TV (Channel 2) is as much must-viewing for a large segment of Chicago as the soaps. She has been around as long as some of them, too - 23 years.

Why has Lee lasted?

One gets a clue on tour of her airy, elegant apartment on East Lake Shore Drive overlooking Oak Street Beach.

Her husband, who writes two highly addictive soap operas, DAYS OF OUR LIVES and THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, has staked out most of the dining room with his work desk and jumbo TV set. A small book-lined den is his, also.