Bell-Phillip Television Productions Inc.
| William J. Bell | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
William Joseph Bell March 6, 1927 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | April 29, 2005 (aged 78) Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | writer, producer |
| Years active | 1956–1998 (as a writer) 1973–2005 (as a producer) |
| Spouse(s) |
Lee Phillip Bell (1954–2005; his death) |
| Children | William J. Bell, Jr. Bradley Bell Lauralee Bell |
William Joseph "Bill" Bell (March 6, 1927 – April 29, 2005) was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known as the creator of the soap operas Another World, The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Bell was married to former talk show host Lee Phillip Bell, who co-created The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful with him. Their three children, Bill Jr., Bradley, and Lauralee, and daughter-in-law Maria Arena Bell are all involved in their parents' soaps in some capacity.
Brenda Dickson, an original cast member of The Young and The Restless, claims that Bell blacklisted her after 15 years on the show after they partook in a secret love affair. He then went on to wreak havoc on her personal and professional life by hiring "Mafia cartel judges and attorneys" to "ruin" her life. As a result, she ended up "broke and homeless" and has been blocked from working ever since.
On April 29, 2005, Bell died at age 78 from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He is buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
He started out as a comedy writer at WBBM-TV in Chicago, and one day he made a call to Irna Phillips' secretary Rose Cooperman asking her "Does Irna have an opening?" Rose said Irna did have an opening. By the time he got there it turned out the guy who was leaving decided to stay. About two years later William J. Bell was in advertising business and he ran into Irna's niece. She mentioned him to Irna and Ms. Phillips remembered who he was; she also knew his wife, who was a celebrity in Chicago at that time. He started out at $75 a week and ended up living in what once was Howard Hughes' villa. His mother regularly listened to radio soap operas: Life Can Be Beautiful, The Romance of Helen Trent, Our Gal Sunday and The Guiding Light.
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