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Thank you for the response. I had a feeling those two were like two peas in a pod and both loved the show and took care of it. I would be fascinated to see the period in 1976. Maybe I wouldn't notice much difference. On the Y&R FB group Julianna McCarthy praised Kay and how she wrote for her character, as she felt the dialogue felt genuine and real.

I have always loved the way Kay spoke about Bill Bell, she obviously had such respect and admiration and I feel the same was true for him about her too. 

Yes the hour long expansion - I have always been slightly obsessed with the 80 - 82 period, it is obvious the show was struggling. Not down right awful but not at its usual strength either. I am fascinated to know more. I think one could write a whole book about that period. Would Kay ever write a book about her time at Y&R? I would love for her to get a behind the scenes history together, no need for anything to scandalous, even just the general stuff would be so amazing to know. 

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She was always asked by industry people "how have you been able to tolerate such a monster for such long!"

She'd then say "what monster?"

Lots who worked for him did spread lies or exaggerate certain incidents. She was with them when they worked for him and she'd tell these people it wasn't true. He loved Sally Sussman and Elizabeth Horraway though.

 

He did have an ego and could be temperamental when others in the room criticised him. Remember, he worked with Irna. The last thing she said to him was "you will never be a success in this industry bc your life is too normal."

Kay said Lee said during the period he worked for her she'd keep him from early in the morning to late at night. He'd come home around dinner and Irna would call as they started to eat. He'd tell her but she wouldn't care. For HOURS Irna would berate him on how terrible he was and degrade and undermine his ability.

Yet, he always spoke nice about her.

 

On a side note she doesnt remember how Jim Riley got on the show or any contributions he made. But, she and him were great friends and he was fun to have around. She said Riley was a real raconteur who could tell you stories, and keep you engaged, at a bar for HOURS. She misses that.

Orson Bean who was Alley Mills' late husband was like that too, she said.

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I've learned quite a lot about the expansion from half hour to hour from Elana Levine's book, HER STORIES (c) 2020 & other sources. It's fascinating to me but I don't know if other people already know it or not. I would be glad to post about it if anyone is interested but I don't want to impose especially since this is not a group where I usually am. I know more than my fair share about the epic fail expansion from an hour to 90 minutes that they did to AW, as well. Let me know if you'd like to hear about it.

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After seeing Bell in multiple interviews I don’t think I see him as some “monster” but he was a very candid person from what I’ve seen; I could see that off putting to some not use to that style, especially with Bell being from Chicago. I’m quite sure while Bell could be mellow he was definitely not one to be messed with; I recall that when EB and PB were feuding in 1992/93 Bell personally stepped in and threatened both of them, as someone put it in an anecdote “he showed them who the real diva of Y&R was”.

Sally Sussman? I figured Bell adored her. Years and years ago I remember reading an anecdote that Bell felt betrayed by Sally by not only getting his blessing for her to create a new soap but also by the fact the new soap would would directly compete with Y&R in the 12:30ET slot. But I don’t know if that story is true or accurate at all. It sounded eerily similar to what happened between Johnny Carson and Joan Rivers. In any case I imagine any hard feelings were eventually forgiven as Sally eventually made her way back to Y&R in the early 00’s. 
 

LOL I do wonder when Irna said that Bell…I have to think that was after AW’s rocky first few months. 
 

I’m glad Kay remembered some good times about Reilly. I always thought Reilly definitely learned a lot during his time on Y&R
 

I’m curious about how Trent Jones came to Y&R and why his eventual HW stint didn’t work out/just petered out. 

Edited by soapfan770
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Tune in Tomorrow by Jon-Michael Reed

April 15, 1980

With the expansion of "The Young and the Restless" to an hour format comes a new central family to the action in Genoa City.  The Williams clan, supposedly, has been in town since 1973, when the soap debuted.  But they weren't needed for story considerations until the daily plots lengthened.  

The youngest Williams son, Paul, has been seen infrequently for the past year.  He didn't have a last name when he was "doing it in the bushes" with nymphomaniac Nikki Reed last spring.  When Nikki reformed and married lawyer Greg Foster, Paul faded out of the picture until two months ago when other members of his family slowly began popping up. 

Now, there's mama and papa, Mary and Carl (she's having a menopausal pregnancy, while he's investigating gold-digger Derek Thurston's fake kidnapping).  There's also Paul's older brother, Steve, who's working on Stuart Brooks' newspaper, and younger sister, Patty, who thinks mama ought to have an abortion rather than giving birth at her age.

Paul is portrayed by Doug Davidson, who's a karate expert and may "kick up his heels" for future story developments.  Carl, Steve, and Patty are played by Brett Hadley, David Winn and Tammy Taylor respectively. 

[He failed to give us Carolyn Conwell's name, lol.  For those who are interested in Y&R's "awkward period", this is EXACTLY how I remember the family's early appearance.  Paul began popping up more and more frequently, Steve was introduced at the newspaper, Carl was introduced at the police station during Derek's faux-kidnapping, and I had no idea they were family members.  Finally one day, Carl was called home by Mary (whom I'd never seen before) to tell him she was pregnant.  Then all the others -- Paul, Steve, and Patty -- drifted in to get the news.  I remember thinking, "Are these people all related to one another??]  

 

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I watched some 1994 episodes surrounding April's trial, Lillie Bell mentally healing, Cole/Victoria drama and Brad in the hospital. Amazing how many different family dramas were happening at one time, the great production and characters scenes and I can't remember the last time I was lured into watching the show. It's quite sad how far it has fallen. 

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That does sound a bit clunky.

Maybe the family should have been brought in more slowly. 

Perhaps some scenes with Paul and Mary, with mentions of the others, then Carl joins the group followed by Steve and Patty.

Carl could have already been seen in police scenes, Mary and Paul could talk about him and viewers could connect him to them before they are actually seen together.

It really was an interesting time for the show that I could examine endlessly.

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