Lee Phillip Bell
| Lee Phillip Bell | |
|---|---|
 Bell in 1970. | |
| Born |
Loreley June Phillip June 10, 1928 Chicago, Illinois |
| Residence | Beverly Hills, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Soap opera creator |
| Years active | 1953–present |
| Known for | The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless |
| Children | Lauralee Bell, Bradley Bell, William J. Bell Jr. |
Loreley "Lee" June Phillip Bell (born June 10, 1928) is a former talk show host and soap opera creator.
Early life
Bell was born Loreley June Phillip in Chicago, Illinois, to florists James and Helen Phillip.[1] Her parents named her after a French flower.[2] She has an older brother, J.R., and a younger brother, Russell.
Bell is one of the most notable graduates from what is now known as Riverside-Brookfield High School in Brookfield, Illinois. She then received a degree in microbiology from Northwestern University.
Career
After graduating from Northwestern, Bell returned to work in her family's floral shop with her brothers. On occasion, she accompanied her brother Russell to the local television station where he worked on a local talk show demonstrating flower arrangement. Eventually, she took over this job from him, before quitting the floral shop altogether and pursuing other positions at the station (WBBM-TV Chicago). She was eventually named as a host of a WBBM talk show named for her. The Lee Phillip Show was notable in that it was the first to show an on air self breast examination. The Lee Phillip Show was also shown in other cities in the early 1960s, usually (but not always) by CBS network affiliates. The show received 16 local Emmy Awards, and ran from 1952 to 1986. She also hosted other programs, including a Saturday morning children's program on WBBM-TV titled Lee Phillip's Friendship Show. She was co-host of a WBBM Radio weekday afternoon show with Paul Gibson titled The Lady & The Tiger.
While working at the talk show, Bell met advertising agent William J. Bell, later marrying him in 1954. The marriage lasted until his death in 2005.[3] During the early days of their marriage, he left advertising and began writing soap operas like Guiding Light, As the World Turns and Another World with Irna Phillips. Lee Bell would learn about important issues via her television show, and pass them along to her husband, who in turn would weave them into his storylines.
After leaving her TV show, Bell joined her husband to co-create the popular CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless in 1973 and its sister show The Bold and the Beautiful in 1987. She also served as executive producer of The Bold and the Beautiful in the 1980s. She won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1975 for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series for Y&R.
In 1977 she was the first woman to receive the Governor's Award from the Chicago chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
In 2007, Bell was awarded a Daytime Emmy for Lifetime Achievement for her contributions to daytime television.
Personal life
She and her late husband lived in Beverly Hills in a house formerly owned by aviation mogul Howard Hughes and also Cary Grant.
She is the mother of William J. Bell, Jr., Lauralee Bell, Bradley Bell, and mother-in-law of Maria Arena Bell and Colleen Bradley Bell; all of the Bell family members are involved in some way with the production of the company's soap operas. She also has eight grandchildren.
Her brother Russ Phillip continues to run Phillip's Flowers & Gifts, which has several locations in the Chicago area.
References
- ↑ http://www.phillips-flowers.com/illinois-florists.html
- ↑ "We Love Soaps: FLASHBACK: He's (Bill Bell) Wed to a Celebrity 1958". welovesoaps.net.
- ↑ "Chicago Sun-Times - Chicago : News : Politics : Things To Do : Sports". Chicago.