9 hours ago, kalbir said:

Lee Bell birth name was Loreley June Phillip but I had no idea she was related to Irna Phillips.

3 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

No I don't believe she is . You would think that link would be very widely known. When Bill spoke about first working with Irna that connection was never mentioned.

They messed that up. Mrs. Bell isn't related to Irna.

Bell often told the story about his introduction to Irna. He was working for a Chicago ad agency. He heard Irna might be looking for an assistant writer, as one of her writers was leaving. He called Irna's secretary and was advised to submit a sample script. He did. But the writer who was thinking of leaving decided to stay.

Several months later (or years later), he crossed paths with a lady who said she was Irna Phillips's niece. He said, "I sent your aunt a script one time, but nothing came of it." The niece said, "I believe she's looking for someone right now." The niece mentioned her conversation with William Bell to Irna, and Irna said, "If you see him again, tell him I need an assistant. I believe he's the boy who's married to the talk show hostess, and he sent me a script once."

That time they connected, and she hired him.

9 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

No nepotism… Right. They started all at the bottom. Especially Lauralee. With a character on Daddys Soap and as a Front burner lol That’s definitely the bottom of it all.

Cricket was fine in small doses (LLB school break appearances) but when LLB became a full time cast member in Summer 1986, Cricket ate the show for the rest of the decade.

8 hours ago, Broderick said:

They messed that up. Mrs. Bell isn't related to Irna.

That writer didn't fact check. Thanks for the additional info @Broderick .

Julianna McCarthy's son Brendan Constantine started a fundraiser for her. Sadly she's been in poor health lately. She's 96 years old.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/julianna-mccarthys-care-fundraiser?attribution_id=sl%3A2a25fe88-fc97-4513-b669-7cb45e82dcbc&lang=en_US&ts=1766110790&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&fbclid=IwY2xjawOxu1ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEedEAn_gZIGROZih0DDp6c6qLFcNlKeGahurggmOujfIvKMqTcxKUmWANfkhg_aem_2rdxrpH5bk18Dxl9oRTDSQ

Thanks for letting us know @YRfan23 . Julianna was one of the best actors on Y&R, or any soap, and has had so many other wonderful performances on everything from Dark Shadows to Starship Troopers. I am sorry to hear about her struggles.