Y&R: Old Articles

[Paul Raven]

Ep # 1051

Airdate Wed May 18 1977 Tape date Tues May 10 1077

Written by 

William J Bell

Kay Alden

Elizabeth Harrower

 

Cast

Kay

Joann

Liz

David Mallory

Ron

Nancy

Miss Simpson

Dr Hanlin

Jill 

Derek

 

Sets

The Allegro

Nancy's hospital room

Foster Living room

Golden Comb

 

Prologue

Allegro

Nancy's room

 

ACT 1

Foster Living Room

Golden Comb

 

ACT2

Nancy's room

Allegro

 

ACT 3

Allegro 

Golden Comb

 

ACT 4

Golden Comb

Nancy's Room

 

Looking at those characters and sets and trying to piece together the episode is tricky. any ideas?

 

Nancy's hospital room was for Ron Nancy, the doctor and Miss Simpson (maybe a social worker?)

 

The Allegro

Maybe Kay and Joann. Maybe they encounter Derek

 

Foster Living Room

David and Jill (but the next scene was the Golden Comb, so Jill couldn't be there)

 

Golden Comb

Derek and ??

 

Did Joann work at the Golden Comb.Did Kay visit her there? If so who was hanging out at The Allegro?

 

Remember, in those days, things didn't move too swiftly. Characters were lucky to be in a different setting in one episode.

 

 

[Broderick]

 

Where on EARTH did you find this??  

 

My guess is that the prologue features Kay Chancellor and Joann Curtis beginning a long, awkward conversation in the Allegro, then a quick cutaway scene of Ron and Nancy in her hospital room, followed by the opening titles.  Act I is likely David Mallory and Liz Foster having a conversation in the Foster living room about how much David loves Jill.  Then we segue into a quick "teaser" scene of Jill flirting with Derek at the Golden Comb.  Commercial Break.  Act II would be the longest of the hospital room scenes, featuring more of Ron and Nancy, who are now joined by Miss Simpson and Dr. Hanlin.  Move to the Allegro for a few more lines of dialogue between Joann Curtis and Kay Chancellor.  Commercial Break.  Act III will feature the longest scene of Kay and Joann at the Allegro, followed by a segue into about 5 more lines of dialogue at the Golden Comb between Jill and Derek.  Commercial Break.  Act IV will feature the longest, most in-depth scene of the episode between Jill and Derek at the Golden Comb, followed by the "cliffhanger", which will be Nancy plotting to escape from the hospital room or something.  Fashions provided by Giorgio's of Beverly Hills.

 

Just my guess based on Bill Bell's "style" of writing a few VERY short scenes for each character group, and one LONG scene for each character group.  

 

[Paul Raven]

Thanks for that.

Even though it was front of me,i forgot Liz wan on that day.that's why I struggled to piece it all together. Your sequence makes sense and follows Bill Bell's plotting.

Going back to an earlier topic re crossover of characters you could see that with a limited number of sets and scenes per 30 min episode Bill didn't want to clutter up things too much by having different characters get to know one another and have to interact.

[SoapDope]

Ron Becker is a character I have read about over the years, but have failed to see one single scene featuring him. I think Carolyn Conwell who would start playing Mary Williams in 1980, also played Ron's mother. Dick DeCoit who played Ron still acts and you can google recent pics of him. He seems to mainly do theater and online web projects.

[Paul Raven]

Ron was a central character during his stay as they really went into his psychology and he had a lot of powerful scenes. Dick DeCoit handled them very well IMO.

They are really no scenes available from that time.

[soapfan770]

I wasn’t sure where to post this or if this  but thought I’d share this somewhere haha. This is a late 1996 interview that Bell gave regarding the show at that point. @YRfan23 @DRW50

 

BILL BELL KEEPS `Y&R' ON TOP

By Associated Press 

on November 30, 1996
 

In the world of daytime soap operas, "The Young and the Restless" has the competition conquered.

 

The Emmy-winning CBS show has been the No. 1 ranked soap for eight straight years, quite a feat in television, daytime or otherwise.For those of you who are soap-challenged "Y&R," as it's called, is the one that begins each hour-long episode with the sweeping "Nadia's Theme" and once featured David Hasselhoff and Tom Selleck.

 

And while "Y&R" sports the usual cast of cheating, conniving titans, beefcake and vixens who live in Genoa City, there is a real-life dynasty behind the scenes: the Bell family.

 

At the throne is William J. Bell, a charming 69-year-old who created "Y&R" back in 1973 and remains its head writer; his wife, Lee Phillip Bell, helped create the soap and is a story consultant.

For more than a dozen years, their daughter, Lauralee Bell, has played Christine Williams, a model-turned-lawyer. Their son, Bradley Bell, is the executive producer of "Y&R's" sister soap, "The Bold and the Beautiful."

 

And finally there's Bill Bell Jr., the financial whiz behind Bell-Phillip Productions, Inc. Anyone sensing a touch of nepotism here?

"They all started at the bottom," Bell insists.

 

It blossomed into a family affair, Bell says, because "it's an exciting field to be in. It's challenging. It's an experience that's difficult to describe."

 

At a celebration to mark the taping of "Y&R's" 6,000th episode in October at CBS Television City, many of the actors credited Bell's longevity for the show's success.

 

“In other soaps you see new producers and writers every four years. Not with this one," says Peter Bergman, who plays Jack Abbott.

 

"We have one decisive voice," chimes in Jeanne Cooper, who has played the wealthy Katherine Chancellor since 1974.

Bell began writing daytime in 1956 when he began working with soap legend Irna Phillips, the aunt of Bell's wife, on "Guiding Light," then a 15-minute live show.

 

The following year, Bell joined Phillips as a writer on "As the World Turns" and remained with the series until 1966.

In 1964, Bell and Phillips created "Another World," and the following year the pair created "A Private World," prime-time's first continuing serial drama.

 

In 1966, Bell became head writer for "Days of Our Lives," remaining there until 1977.

In the meantime, he and his wife created "The Young and the Restless" in 1973, and another soap, "The Bold and the Beautiful," in 1987.

 

"It's exciting to create something from nothing," Bell says, "and then creating the characters and the relationships and casting it and seeing all these pieces come to life.

 

"I can't tell you how euphoric it is! These are your children, these are your people, and you have such a responsibility to them because you love them and are involved with them."

 

When writing sudsy lines for his characters, Bell, who still uses an electric typewriter, says: "You have to get inside the moment.

 

"I tell you, it's fascinating. When you're doing something long enough, strange things happen. I was in a crunch and had decided to have this new character Kurt (recently cast with Leigh McCloskey), but didn't know what I wanted to do with him.

"I just sat down and I start writing and got deep inside. In 20 minutes, I had the whole thing worked out. When you've been doing it for 40 years you have a little head start.

 

Is it harder for Bell to write lines for a female character? “It doesn't make any difference, I'm bisexual," he says with a laugh.

 

Bell often gives his characters contemporary, social story lines. His daughter's character, for instance, has been date-raped, sexually harassed and married to a rock star. She also saw her mother die of AIDS.

 

"We have a duty to deal with social issues because it makes us part of the real world," Bell says. "Our viewers can learn from them and benefit from them."

The soap recently featured an incendiary tale about a married couple, in which the adulterous husband slept with an HIV-infected woman. The question remains whether the wife and child have been infected.

 

"AIDS had been portrayed as a gay and promiscuous disease and this took it to a different level," says actress Tonya Lee Williams, who plays the wife, Olivia. "It opened eyes about what this disease is about. This let people know this could be them."

 

Bell is so committed to reflecting as much of real life as possible that he has a psychiatrist read every script to make suggestions "in terms of accuracy or depth or something that we may have omitted." And an attorney looks over any legal story lines.

 

While his shows may go on indefinitely, so may Bell, who is showing no signs of slowing down. "I have another soap opera in the works," he says slyly. As expected, he refuses to say more.

[DRW50]

Thanks for sharing that article. I laughed at marrying a rock star being mentioned as a contemporary, social issue. 

 

I would love to know what plans there were for Kurt. The character never made sense. Having to bring in dead wife flashbacks for a new character is never the best sign. The most positive spin I can make is that someone at Y&R wanted to pay a kindness to Linda Dona for the yeoman's work she had to do at GH. 

Edited May 26, 2020 by DRW50

[feuxdelamour]

When there's more, there's more!

 

You can watch below the first episode broadcast in France on August 16, 1989, and the 20-minute presentation of the different running storylines which preceded. France, as well as Germany in 1993, started with the episode #3263 of January 10, 1986.

 

I've edited subtitles in French that YouTube can automatically translate into English (and in other languages)...

 

Presentation of the storylines :

 

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Episode #3263 (January 10, 1986) :

 

 

 

[FrenchFan]

Wonderful ! As a French guy, I appreciate that !! How did you find such a clear version ?

[Aback]

 

Thanks! Especially for the subs! I love brushing up my French every now and then

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[kalbir]

1985 Daytime Emmy Awards. Y&R's first wins in the acting categories.

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[BoldRestless]

What storylines did they have in that awards cycle? Beth had the miscarriage with her professor, what about Tracey? 

 

Beth is absolutely adorable lol.

[kalbir]

I think Lauren's 1984 stories were her singing career, the marriage to Paul, and the arrival of her mother JoAnna.

 

1985 was the second of Terry Lester's four consecutive nominations for Lead Actor. Sadly Terry never got a Lead Actor win, but if you look at the 1984-1987 Lead Actor races, the competition those years was tough.

[BoldRestless]

CBS Soaps April 10, 1992

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[Paul Raven]

So who played Brent?

#136 – Tuesday 16th October, 1973 (Tape date: Tuesday 2nd October)

 

Chris is in her bathroom, rinsing off her face when Jennifer comes from behind and mentions that Greg is downstairs.  Chris knows that the women are coming from the rape crisis centre tonight – but she doesn’t know when.  Chris tells her mother she’ll slip on something and come down.  Greg waits with an obvious penetrating curiosity.  Jen comes down and says Chris will be down in a minute or two.  Greg expresses his feeling that there’s something everyone is keeping from him and he suspects that something is going on there.  Jen handles the moment with sensitivity.  Greg tells Jen that he happens to love Chris, and whatever it is why won’t they tell him.  Chris comes down and says how grateful she is that he’s here.  She’s just wanted some time to herself and that it has nothing to do with him personally.  Chris graciously touches on the idea that she’s expecting someone.  When she opens the door for Greg to leave, the two women from the Rape Crisis Centre are there and said they were just about to ring the bell.  Greg asks Chris privately about why she’s talking with women from the Rape Crisis Centre.  She tells him that she has to go in now, but perhaps they can talk in a day or so.  The two women leave having made an impression on Chris to report her rape.

 

Brent walks Jill home after an evening together.  He asks her if she enjoyed herself and she says yes, very much.  They talk for a while and she complains about her work at the beauty parlour, yet she’s good at it and is lucky to have a job.  She complains that she doesn’t want to grow up and live like her mother – and yet she thinks her mother is super.  Brent reassures her that there’s nothing wrong ever with a person trying to improve herself, reach beyond what her parents have had.  Jill tells of how she answered a modelling ad and Chris Brooks was there.  The photographer told them the kind of pictures he wants and both she and Chris decided to leave.  After they left, Jill lingered in the ladies’ room until Chris had left, then went back and asks the man if she could try out for the job, but by then he had hired someone.  Jill admits to Brent that at that moment in time she would have gone ahead with it.  “How about that for looking for a way out?”, Jill says.  Brent suggests to her that they discuss this on their next date.