Though Bill Bell tragically passed away in 2005 due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, his creativity and hard work still lives on through the characters and stories he created along with the actors who bring them to life. Bell was responsible for creating the infamous Newman and Abbott families on “The Young and the Restless” and the Forrester, Logan, and Spencer clans on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” which are all still featured prominently today (via SoapHub).
Popular actors like Susan Flannery (Stephanie Forrester), Eric Braeden (Victor Newman), and Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke Logan), among many others, credit Bell with establishing them as the soap stars they are today. Braeden and Lang, who still appear today, have spent a combined 77 years on their respective soaps. In an interview on “Marie,” the late Jeanne Cooper, who portrayed Kay Chancellor for 40 years, once said, “Bill Bell saved my life.” That sentiment is a testament to the enduring friendships that the Bells formed with their casts and speaks to the loyalty these actors have to the shows and their characters.
