The entire soap world and daytime community is saddened today with the news of the passing of a true icon and TV pioneer, Lee Phillip Bell.

According to her children, William James Bell, Brad Bell (EP and head writer, B&B) and Lauralee Bell Martin (Christine, Y&R), Lee passed away on February 25th at the age of 91.

Photo: JPI

They shared: “Our mother was a loving and supportive wife, mother and grandmother.  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 two of daytime television’s most successful dramas: The Young and the Restless (Y&R), and The Bold and the Beautiful (B&B).

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 Regan; 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.

Photo: JPI

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.

Since the news of Lee’s death, many stars from daytime have been sharing their remembrances and condolences of this great woman and what she meant to them.  We will share more on this story later today.

For now, share your condolences for the Bell family and your thoughts on the passing of this icon, Lee Phillip Bell in the comment section below.

More upsetting news involving former ABC and CMT’s Nashville star (Ex-Juliette Barnes), Hayden Panettiere.  According to various reports, the actress was punched by her boyfriend Brian Hickerson with a closed fist in an incident that occurred in Wyoming, over the Valentine’s Day weekend.  He was arrested around 2:30am on February 14th.

According to TMZ: the police report said that Hayden revealed that she and Brian were in their bedroom when he started throwing her around and punched her.  The Teton County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a disturbance at a private residence. That caller said an intoxicated male was locked out of the home because he punched his girlfriend in the face.

Pantierre’s face was red and swollen, and she also had a scrape and swelling on her left hand; which she believed came from Hickerson’s watch during the altercation.  Deputies then decided to book Hickerson for domestic battery. He was also hit with a second charge of interfering with a police officer for allegedly refusing to identify himself.

Things looked like they had taken a turn for the better before the incident, noting that the couple moved past another altercation previously from 2019.  That case was dismissed, although he has left red marks on Pantierre’s body, because they could not find a “material witness”.

Hayden and Brian have been dating since 2018.  Daytime fans remember first seeing Hayden as a young Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light.  She played Juliette on Nashville from 2012-2018.

So what do you think about the latest incident involving Hayden? Comment below.

Looks like the place to view the Daytime Emmy ceremonies continue to change, and now evolve with the times, with news on Wednesday from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).

While the annual kudofest used to be on major network television, the last several years have found the Emmys not having a broadcast outlet and having to be creative.  As fans of the daytime community know, most recently that show has been able to seen on You Tube, Twitter, and the like, via social media.

Photo: NATAS

Now comes word that NATAS has launched its very own streaming service app to be the epicenter for all of its award shows.  According to Variety: “The service, which doesn’t yet have a name (but will likely include “Emmy” in its title), will be unveiled in time for the Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards in April, and the Sports Emmys in May, both of which are administered by NATAS.”

With the introduction of the new OTT app, NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp shared that viewers will know where to go instead of  how it went down in the recent previous years.“We were making it available on PCs and mobile in a clunky way. But with the Emmys OTT app available on any platform, if you want to watch on your phone you can watch on your phone. You want to watch on your TV, you can watch on your TV. And really be accessible to the audience. Wherever they are consuming the shows, we’re on it.”

NATAS is reportedly building out the OTT app  be available on web, mobile, and major settop platforms including Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, Fire stick and Android TV.   The new app is said to be free, at least for now, and without commercials.

One more important note is that Sharp says to be on the lookout for more content to enhance the Emmy and award show experiences delivered from NATAS that will include: past awards ceremonies, as well as clips from the NATAS archives,.

In addition to that, looks like there will be some original short form content as well; including its first one “Behind the Emmy” that will combine backstage interviews, onstage acceptance speeches and some of the actual submitted content to really tell the story of the excellent creativity and production work that goes into winning that most coveted honor of excellence in television,” Sharp said.

So, what do you think about the upcoming launch of NATAS’ new app and the place to watch this year’s Daytime Emmys? Comment below.