Y&R's Lauralee Bell Opens up About Her Father's Struggle With Alzheimer's

When Young and Restless star Lauralee Bell (Christine) was the guest of General Hospital’s Maurice Benard (Sonny) in the most recent episode of his State of Mind YouTube series, they covered a multitude of topics during their chat. Things took an emotional turn when Benard mentioned that both of their late fathers had suffered from Alzheimer’s, and the actress opened up about how her dad, Y&R and Bold and Beautiful Co-Creator William J. Bell, struggled with the disease before he passed on April 29, 2005.

Slipping Away

“It was 20 years ago,” Bell noted, “so the terminology was like… I don’t know if they weren’t wanting to say Alzheimer’s because that sounded worse, or… we just were hearing a lot of ‘dementia.’ ‘Early stages of dementia.’

“Also, mind you, he had to remember Y&R cast’s real name and character name and then [the same] on Bold and Beautiful,” she continued. “He had so many names and he had so much scramble in his brain. He would be terrified to go to like, a cast party, because he would try so hard to call everyone by their real name. And we don’t care — call us anything you want!”

William J. Bell was a prolific writer, beginning his daytime career penning scripts for Guiding Light and As the World Turns before his 1966-75 run as head writer of Days of Our Lives. He was also head writer of Y&R from its premiere in 1973 until 1998, when he stepped down to retire. So as the Alzheimer’s worsened, everything changed.

“When he started to get sick, he went silent,” Bell revealed. “For months, he didn’t say a word. But… he smiled. So like, a huge gift to us was… he was never angry. I know my mom [Y&R and B&B co-creator Lee Phillip Bell] had to deal with him waking up in the middle of the night and getting dressed and walking out the door. Taking the car keys, I remember, was not a good day.

“But other than that,” she added, “he would kind of have a little bit of a blank stare and would be led around, and he didn’t say much or anything, really. But he smiled. You can see it in his eyes… I can look at pictures of their 50th wedding anniversary — it was just kids, spouses, some grandkids — and they were holding a picture of themselves and having cake, but it was just kind of a glassy… but there and not putting up a fight and not nervous.”

Before he passed, Bell related that her father would occasionally visit the Y&R studio and observe scenes being taped, but he primarily watched old movies at home. “In retrospect, I don’t know how we would have done it differently,” she reflected. “He was happy watching these movies, and I think watching old movies was very comforting to him because sometimes things from the past and songs… It’s incredible to see some videos where people who are suffering don’t remember anything, but you put on a Frank Sinatra song, and they belt it out. It’s crazy.”

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The Dynasty: (From l.) William Bell, Jr., Lauralee Bell, William J. Bell, Lee Phillip Bell, and B&B Head Writer/Executive Producer Bradley Bell in 1989.