TV Pioneer Lee Phillip Bell Passes Away
Soap Opera Digest
Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist Lee
Phillip Bell passed away on February 25, 2020 at age 91, according to her
children, William James Bell, Bradley Phillip Bell and Lauralee Bell Martin. “Our mother was a loving and supportive wife, mother and grandmother,” they said in a statement. “Gracious and
kind, she enriched the lives of all who knew her. We will miss her
tremendously.” Born in Chicago,
Illinois on June 9, 1928, Bell was co-creator, along with her late
husband William J. Bell, of Y&R in 1973 and B&B in 1987. Bell’s career as a broadcast journalist began in Chicago, where she hosted
and produced her own show THE LEE PHILLIP SHOW, for CBS TV for over 30
years. A pioneer in the evolution of the afternoon talk show format, Bell was a trailblazer in
the exploration of timely social issues and concerns. Additionally, she
produced and narrated numerous award-winning specials and documentaries
covering social concerns such as foster children, the subject of rape, children
and divorce, and babies born to women in prison, to name a few. Bell interviewed heads of
state such as Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan; film actors Judy
Garland, Clint Eastwood and Jerry Lewis; musicians such as The Rolling Stones
and The Beatles; television and stage stars such as Lucille Ball, Jack Benny
and Oprah Winfrey; and many other politicians, authors, journalists, fashion
designers and rock stars. She was awarded 16 regional (Chicago) Emmy awards and numerous Golden Mike
awards. Bell is also the recipient of the Alfred
I. Dupont/Columbia University Award for the special, THE RAPE OF
PAULETTE, the first program in Chicago
to explore the issue. In 1977, she was the first woman to receive the coveted
Governors Award from the Chicago
chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. In
1980, she was named “Person of the Year” by the Broadcast Advertising Club of
Chicago and the “Outstanding Woman in Communications” by the Chicago
YMCA. She also received the Salvation Army’s William Booth Award for her
distinguished career in communications and social service. Bell won the Daytime Emmy Award for
Outstanding Drama Series as co-creator of The Young and the Restless in
1975 and was recipient of the Daytime Emmys’ Lifetime Achievement Award in
2007. In addition to her children, Lee Phillip Bell is survived by her
daughters-in-law Maria Arena Bell and Ambassador Colleen Bell, her son-in-law
Scott Martin and eight grandchildren.
BELL, Lee Phillip (Lorely
June Phillip)
Born: 6/9/1928,
Chicago, Illinois,
U.S.A.
Died: 2/25/2020,
Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A.
Lee
Phillip Bell’s western – actress:
Gunsmoke (TV) – 1964 (Mrs. Bell)
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