NationMaster - Encyclopedia: William J. Bell

William Joseph Bell (March 6, 1927 – April 29, 2005) was the creator and executive producer of the extremely successful soap operas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. Image File history File links WilliamJBell. ... March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Bold and the Beautiful (often called Bold or annotated to B&B) is an American television soap opera, created by Lee Phillip Bell and William J. Bell. ...

He started out as a comedy writer at WBBM 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 Hawkes' villa. His mother regularly listened to radio soap operas: Life Can Be Beautiful, The Romance of Helen Trent, Our Gal Sunday and Guiding Light. He started his writing career on Guiding Light and then moved over to As the World Turns, working under the legendary "Queen of Soaps," Irna Phillips; Phillips' other protegee at the time was Agnes Nixon. Bell co-created Another World with Phillips in 1964. In 1965 he co-created the primetime ATWT spinoff Our Private World. WBBM is the callsign of three broadcast stations in Chicago, Illinois: TV station WBBM-TV - Channel 2, CBS television station AM radio station WBBM-AM - 780 kHz, all-news station FM radio station WBBM-FM - FM 96. ... Nickname: The Windy City, The Second City, Chi Town, The City of Big Shoulders The 312 Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook Incorporated March 4, 1837 Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area... Irna Phillips (July 1, 1901 - December 22, 1973) wrote and created many of the first American soap operas. ... Nickname: The Windy City, The Second City, Chi Town, The City of Big Shoulders The 312 Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook Incorporated March 4, 1837 Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area... Howard Hawks (May 30, 1896 - December 26, 1977) was one of the more critically acclaimed directors of the Classic Hollywood Era. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... The Romance of Helen Trent was a radio soap opera which aired on CBS from 1933 to 1960. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... As the World Turns (ATWT) is the second longest-running American television soap opera, airing each weekday on CBS. It debuted on Monday, April 2, 1956 at 1:30pm. ... Irna Phillips (July 1, 1901 - December 22, 1973) wrote and created many of the first American soap operas. ... Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon (born Agnes Eckhardt on December 27, 1927) is a Daytime Emmy award-winning writer and producer. ... Another World (AW) (sometimes called Another World: Bay City to distinguish it from its spinoffs in the 1970s and 1980s) was a Daytime Emmy-winning American soap opera which ran on the NBC television network (CTV in Canada) from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

In 1966, he was hired as head writer of the then-struggling soap Days of Our Lives. Bell was credited with the show's initial surge of popularity. He stayed as head writer until 1975. He intended to leave several years earlier but the show sued him and he agreed to write long-term story projections for them. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Days of our Lives is a long-running American soap opera. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

In 1973, he created The Young and the Restless. Although slow to rise in the ratings, Y&R was credited for breathing new life into the daytime serial, with its brightness, humor and cutting-edge storylines. Bell guided Y&R as head writer from 1973 until stepping down in 1998, the longest tenure of any head writer in soap opera history. Y&R has been the highest-rated soap on the air since 1988. In 1998 Bell relinquished most of his duties as head writer, serving only in a supervisory capacity. 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

In 1987, he created The Bold and the Beautiful, which was known for its glamorous look as it was set in the fashion industry. It followed Y&R and has been a ratings success as well. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Bold and the Beautiful (often called Bold or annotated to B&B) is an American television soap opera, created by Lee Phillip Bell and William J. Bell. ...

He was married to former talk show host Lee Phillip Bell, who co-created Y&R and B&B with him. Their three children, Bill Bell, Jr., Bradley, and Lauralee, are all involved in their parents' soaps in some capacity. Lee Phillip Bell is a former talk show host and soap opera creator. ... Bradley Bell Bradley Bell has been the head writer and executive producer of the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful since 1994. ... Lauralee Bell as Christine Blair Lauralee Bell as Christine Blair Lauralee Kristen Bell (born December 22, 1968) is an American soap opera actress. ...

On April 29, 2005 Bell died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at age 78. April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Categories: 1927 births | 2005 deaths | Soap opera writers | Daytime Emmy Award winners | Roman Catholics | Soap opera producers | Soap Opera Digest Award winners The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the collective bargaining representative, or labor union, for writers in the motion picture and television industries in the United States. ... Another World (AW) (sometimes called Another World: Bay City to distinguish it from its spinoffs in the 1970s and 1980s) was a Daytime Emmy-winning American soap opera which ran on the NBC television network (CTV in Canada) from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. ... James Lipton (born September 19, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American writer, poet, and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School in New York City. ... Days of our Lives is a long-running American soap opera. ... Patricia Pat Falken Smith (January 21, 1926 â€“ May 19, 2001) was a television writer, most famous for her stints as head writer of several soap operas, including General Hospital and Days of Our Lives. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Kay Alden is a writer for the Young and the Restless. ... The Bold and the Beautiful (often called Bold or annotated to B&B) is an American television soap opera, created by Lee Phillip Bell and William J. Bell. ... Bradley Bell Bradley Bell has been the head writer and executive producer of the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful since 1994. ... Image File history File links Wikinews-logo. ... Wikinews is a free-content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ...