Exclusive Interview With Lauralee Bell
Posted by Tommy Garrett on Jun 6, 2009 - 1:37:12 PM
BEVERLY HILLS—Lauralee Bell is a name fans all over the world know. Bell was one of the most popular heroines ever on the CBS soap, “The Young & the Restless” which was created by her parents, Bill Bell, Sr. and his beautiful wife Lee Phillip Bell. Lauralee Bell always preferred to create her own opportunities rather than have them handed to her so she left the cocoon of the show she grew up on, “The Young and the Restless,” the #1 rated soap, in 2005 to try her luck in other areas. She was the female lead in her first film, “Carpool Guy,” the lead in the 2006 Lifetime movie, “Past Sins,” and one of the leads in the upcoming feature that is a prequel to an iconic film. In between, she’s raising two very active kids and owning “On Sunset,” a celebrity-friendly fashion boutique that refuses to disclose its well-heeled customer base for self-promotion. In her spare time, she’s been writing a series or two to develop as well as a book. She also guest-starred on “CSI: Miami,” the #1 primetime show.
While “The Young and the Restless” has always been produced and taped in Hollywood since its start, the Bell family continued living in Chicago until 1986. Their roots were there and Lauralee and her two older brothers, Bill Jr., now the president of Bell-Phillip Television and Bradley, now the executive producer of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” all attended school in the Windy City. Lee Phillip Bell hosted her own television show in Chicago on the CBS affiliate, WBBM-TV. A winner of some fifteen Emmys for the program, she was one of the city’s most recognized personalities. “My mom got stopped every two seconds,” recalls a proud Lauralee, “but it wasn’t until I had kids of my own that I realized my mom is Superwoman, she was always there for us and we were unaware of her heavy workload.”
Her parents, particularly William Sr., commuted regularly between Chicago and Los Angeles. On vacations and holidays, the children were delighted to be able to accompany them, especially Lauralee who at age nine asked to be allowed to be a non-speaking extra in an episode of “The Young and the Restless.” At 13, she was rewarded with a brief scene and a few lines to speak. Succeeding trips found her in four-day and six-day efforts in what was slowly becoming a recurring role. But now she wasn’t asking -- she was being asked to do the show because of something that she had no idea she was creating: fan mail. Viewers were charmed by the guileless and natural actress -- someone they’d like their own daughters to be like. They were writing to the network to say that, at last, here was a teenager to whom their own children could relate, rather than to a slick, older actress playing the part of a teenager.
Most of the year was still spent in Chicago until the family moved to LA in 1986. Lauralee became a full-time cast member of “The Young and the Restless” as Christine “Cricket” Blair (Romalotti Williams Blair -- you know those soap marriages never last). Her castmates accepted her and the audience embraced Lauralee Bell. She was voted “Favorite Soap Opera Actress” in TEEN magazine’s national poll shortly after joining the cast and in 1999 she was nominated by fans and won the Outstanding Supporting Actress Award at the “Soap Opera Awards.”
She was the hottest daytime star in France for many years as well as their most frequent TV Guide cover subject. She guest-starred on the season finale of “Walker, Texas Ranger,” hosted television specials for E! Entertainment Television, PAX-TV and co-hosted a talk show pilot. On October 4, 1997, Lauralee married photographer Scott Martin in a storybook wedding in Santa Barbara. The couple had their first child, Christian, in January, 2001 and their second, Samantha, in October, 2002.
In 1999, during a three-month break from the show, Lauralee fulfilled a lifelong dream by opening her own clothing boutique, “On Beverly Blvd.” In Spring, 2004, Bell closed her first store and opened the even more successful, “On Sunset.” Bell’s handpicked staff at “On Sunset” act as a customer’s personal stylist and the boutique has attracted Hollywood’s elite as regular customers. Bell plans to spend this decade transforming her ideas into reality. Next project? Creating her own projects when she is not acting. And enjoying the free time now that her youngest entered kindergarten. Lauralee Bell, like mother like daughter, is also a “Superwoman.” So there is absolutely no doubt the beautiful star will achieve all of her dreams. With hard work and dedication that is part of her DNA, she’s bound to succeed.
Bell’s latest project is an amazing online series called “Family Dinner,” which is created/produced by Lauralee Bell and her husband, Scott Martin and written and directed by Bell. Martin-Bell Productions shot two three-minute “Family Dinner” webisodes with Lauralee as the attention-starved mom of three, her former “Young and Restless” castmate, Aaron Lustig, as her husband, comedy legend Phyllis Diller as her mother-in-law, and Dan Cortese of MTV, “Veronica’s Closet” and “Rock Me Baby,” as the reality show producer. Bell has tapped into the dysfunctional family dynamic that everyone thinks characterizes their own family so everyone can easily relate to this experience. This is the most amazing show I’ve seen in decades. Phyllis Diller has been telling me for years that she’s retired. Thankfully Phyllis has not kept her word. She’s absolutely amazing in the series.
The first webisode will premiere on Monday, June 8. And then on Wednesday, June 17 webisode two will air. This role is a first for Bell, who has never played what she calls, “Trailer Trash.” But she loves this character and we laughed at the suggestion that she’s picked up traits from many Hollywood wives to make this character so fascinating. And I’m sure that a worldwide audience will become as addicted to this series as I’ve become. Just wait and see what’s coming ahead. Bell sat down with me this week to tell me about her new project "Family Dinner" and what has been going on in her life and career since leaving "Y&R" four years ago. Q-What an amazing concept. I don't think I ever considered seeing you produce and star in a show on the Internet. It's a hilarious show. Who came up with the concept of the show, Lauralee?
A-“I did a long time ago. I did it as a half hour format. Then what I started to realize was, that we had a talented group of friends. We then asked them to become a part of it and they used their talents to contribute to the series. It was what my dad had always taught me. If you have a set and some rich characters. You can make anything exciting and interesting to the audience. In today’s economy, Hollywood is even downsizing and going backwards and becoming creative all over again. This is a one set show. We’re going to even ask fans/viewers to offer ideas and contributions and that’s a way for them to get a writing contribution credit.” Q-I've known Phyllis Diller for years. She never slows down, even though she continues to tell me, she's retired. How did you get her involved with this project?
A-”Tommy, it is amazing to work with her. Phyllis (Diller) and my mom Lee (Phillip Bell) have been friends for years. So when Scott and I were working on the script, my mom gave Phyllis the script and within a few weeks I got a call from her saying she had to be the mother-in-law, the grandmother in this. It was a dream come true. Phyllis Diller is an icon. She is one of the most fascinating and talented women in the business. She‘s up there with Lucille Ball and she has such great instincts in her acting and comedy. When we filmed her, my husband Scott and I looked at each other and at the same time said, this is our pilot!”
Q-You and Aaron Lustig have amazing chemistry on screen. Just a decade ago, you and he were embroiled in a major storyline on "Y&R." Do you think that is why you two have such comfort working together on this project?
A-”Yes, I’ve known Aaron for decades. He was great to work with on Y&R and he’s wonderful to work with on this series. He has a great sense of timing and he knows how to improvise. Our scenes so far are so funny and amazing to do. I’m hoping the audience will enjoy them as well. I think my years on Y&R gave me the ability and knowledge to be able to do this type of work and improvising is what it’s all about. Making choices as an actor is half the fun. The writing on this project is exciting and raunchy. You know me, Tommy! It’s what I was born to do. Aaron and I have some great stuff coming up. He’s a wonderful actor to work opposite. The kids are great as well. Our little son Jeremy in the series doesn’t say much. So we’re looking forward to fans telling us what they want to hear come out of Jeremy’s mouth.” Bell says laughing.
Q-Your husband Scott is also involved with this project. What did he do?
A-”It’s amazing to watch Scott work. When I took him through the breakdown and gave him the pages of dialog and screen directions, he did what my dad always did. He had the ability to just use a red pen, scratch through it all and make changes. Scott being a photographer can visualize things better than anyone I know. It was Scott who sat in the booth and watched all the monitors and decided how and which way we’d even film and shoot the dining room. Having this one set, it was important to utilize as much as possible to get the most out of our scenes. Scott was brilliant and able to do so. He created the visual and used his knowledge to make every shot effective.”
Q-How many children do you have now? I hear you had one when I was not looking!
A-“We have 2 children. Both Scott and me come from families of threes. I have two brothers, whom you know. But aside from the two kids, we do have dogs and other things that keep me busy. I want to work, you know. I love working. So the thought of a third child was a bit exhausting for me. I‘m not my mom. I can‘t do it all like she did when she was raising us. I don’t know how my mother was able to do it all. When I was growing up, I admired her so much, as I do now.”
Q-This character is no Christine Blair Williams. How would you describe her best?
A-“Attention starved, nutty, neurotic, crazy, typical Hollywood wife, who is so desperate for attention that she ends up causing her kids to become as neurotic as she is. Does that sound like anyone you know, Tommy?" Bell says with laughter. “With this character, it’s never enough. She has a life with her kids and her husband. They don’t have sex. They just exist in this nutty world where she’s trying her best to get her fifteen minutes of fame. It’s so much fun to play. I’m hoping that the audience will fall in love with her, and offer us ideas on where to go with the characters. She’s one of those characters my dad would have loved to write for. I learned so much working with him over the years. I also never forget the Boomerang Award I got from Australia. Do you know to this day, it is in my Den and my kids think it’s the most outstanding thing I’ve ever gotten. They look at it and say, wow mom, you actually won a Boomerang Award. I say with pride, yes, I did!“
Q-Do you still have your boutique On Sunset in town?
A-“Yes, I do. I pride myself of having it full of things. Department stores seem so empty and unless they are filled with customers it’s even more empty than usual. My boutique On Sunset is in the Sunset Plaza at 8711 W. Sunset Blvd. We are happy to say our customers leave very happy with our service and products." The store is one of the most sought after celebrity shopping locations in Hollywood. Bell has a trained staff that knows just how to cater to each client.
Q-Thank you for your time, Lauralee, what have you been doing since breaking all of our hearts and leaving Y&R?"
A-“I have a couple movies coming out. I stay busy with my store, with my beautiful kids and handsome husband. We are enjoying working on (Family Dinner) right now and hope that it’ll take off with the audience.” Spending a fabulous afternoon with Lauralee Bell in Sunny LA is a treat. The beautiful actress who learned how to do it all from Superwoman, mom Lee Phillip Bell is making her dreams come true and having a lot of fun doing it. Family Dinner is a Martin Bell Production.
