Thoughts on "The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell" Part 4

Here are my thoughts and summary on the William J. Bell biography, "The Young and Restless Life of William J. Bell Creator of The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful" by Michael Maloney with Lee Phillip Bell (Bill's widow). This entry will cover chapters fifteen through twenty-one of twenty-one.

Chapter 15 - Meet the Press

This chapter discusses how Bill dealt with the media and how he disliked spoilers. Examples are also given of times actors made comments about material that they didn't like, which upset Bill. It is also mentioned how he became frustrated when CBS This Morning promoted Deirdre Hall returning to Days of Our Lives as it was a soap opera on NBC, while the network seldom did interviews with CBS daytime stars.

Chapter 16 - The (Soap) World According to Bill

This chapter explains some of what made Bill's shows a success. Bill always used his typewriter even when computers were an option, but he went from using carbon paper to a copier, and had an early VCR to see Y&R. There are references to plots in the 80s and 90s. The Queen Mary ocean liner remote on B&B was one of those that was mentioned. There was also talk about how Bill took soaps seriously, so while at times he had humorous characters like Esther on Y&R or Sally on B&B, he tread a line to make sure it didn't go too far. There is a reference to him loathing SoapDish for example.  The chapter ends with quotes from people in the industry. Some of them worked for Bill Bell, while others just knew him by reputation.

Chapter 17 - Fenmore's West

This chapter talks about Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) moving from Y&R to B&B as the nefarious character did her worst in Genoa City and now went to Los Angeles. There is also discussion of Sally Spectra (Darlene Conley) who was an antagonist to the Forrester family. How Bill gave his son Brad the show to write instead of long time contributor Jack Smith is another part of the chapter.

Chapter 18 - A "Bold" Move

This short chapter explains how Bill was able to convince Columbia Pictures Television now Sony Pictures Television to give him some profit of Y&R.

Chapter 19 - "Young and Restless" Years, Part 3

This chapter is about how after Brad was in charge of B&B, Bill had more time to devote to Y&R again. It goes into detail of things that happened in the 90s at Y&R. There are story references along with how the show coped with the Northridge earthquake and OJ Simpson. The 25th anniversary time capsule from 1998 along with some of the various risks Y&R took like the partial male nudity material was mentioned. At the end of the chapter, it is mentioned how Bill wished they could start again from the beginning as he planned on retiring from writing.

Chapter 20 - After the Rainbow Room

This chapter is about Bill's retirement, battle with Alzheimer's and the tributes to his life. Bill passed away on April 29, 2005. The second part of the chapter discusses what happened to Y&R after Bill stopped working. How Y&R became like other shows with a revolving door, supporting cast members were written out, and the writing and producing teams changed a lot more quickly. Some of this helped B&B though as Brad was able to hire members of his father's team to work on that show.

Chapter 21 - Cliffhanger

This chapter is an epilogue on the biography as it talks about what has happened in the years since Bill retired. There are references to how eight soaps were cancelled in the interim and only four remain (two of them being Y&R and B&B). The Alzheimer's story on B&B is referenced along with many of the stories Maria Arena Bell (Bill's daughter-in-law) was responsible for at Y&R. Brad's Emmy wins for B&B along with Lee being honored for her life's work.

That's the end of my summary of Bill Bell's biography. If you are interested in soaps this is a good book to pick up as it gives many years of the genre's history. While many chapters discuss Y&R and B&B obviously, since Bill spent time at Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Another World and Days of Our Lives, part of their pasts were also highlighted.