FLASHBACK: Lauralee Bell Responds to Terry Lester's Claims 1989
YOUNG AND RESTLESS LAURALEE BELL CONFRONTS ACTOR'S SILVER-SPOON
By Lynda Hirsch
Daily News of Los Angeles (CA)
For two months, YOUNG AND RESTLESS actress Lauralee Bell (Cricket) has read interviews with former cast member Terry Lester (Jack, now Mason on SANTA BARBARA) that quoted Lester's discontent with the amount of air time Bell has been given, alluding to her limited acting experience and the fact that her father, Bill Bell, produces the show and is the head writer.
For the past two months, Bell has refused opportunities to write an open letter in fan magazines and to give interviews. She has even declined to answer questions about it.
But the actress has changed her mind because, as she said, "it has dragged on for so long. After the first two articles I thought, 'OK.' Now I am thinking, 'Enough already.' "
Bell is quick to point out that she has always "admired Terry. He taught me so much. At a point when he and my dad were having contract difficulties, he took me aside and told me that I had nothing to do with the problems and if he ever took it out on me, he was sorry. I went to his production of 'Kiss Me Kate' and thought he was wonderful. A few months ago, he wrote me the nicest letter.
"A lot of the younger cast members were really impressed with Terry. After they would do a scene with him, they would be awed. I often wished I could have gotten some tips from Terry. He was always pleasant to me, but I never felt I could knock on his dressing room door and ask his advice. He was always busy with other projects, which I understood."
What of Lester's charges that the entire story has revolved around her for months?
"It has. But for the past four summers the show has had a teen story. One year, it dealt with Phillip's problem with alcohol. Thom Bierdz (who plays Phillip) worked a lot. Yes, I was involved in it, but it was Thom's story. We did teen-age pregnancy, and it was Nina's plot, and while, again, I was involved, since the characters are friends, it was Tricia Cast's story.
"In the summer, we deal with social issues that will affect teens. We have three months to do a beginning, middle and end. Of course, that means a lot of airplay for the younger cast members. There were weeks that I worked five days. I am sorry if that pushed other characters or cast members aside, but it was needed so we could do the story. Summer's over, and I am working two, three days a week, which is fine with me. That is a great schedule, which gives me time to take my singing and dancing lessons. I don't even know what my next story will be."
Bell said she was amazed at the support she received after the initial articles were published. "I received at least 30 messages on my machine; producers, writers, cast mates, actors from other shows. They were very supportive. They didn't say I was a great actress. They mostly said they knew how hard I worked, and that I was always prepared and I really cared."
Is her father playing favorites? "When I first joined the show, it was with the condition if I could not handle it, then I would be off the show. My father is a very smart businessman; he would not jeopardize the show for me. The ratings have been very high during the date-rape story. I am not saying I'm the reason, but the show has not lost ratings because of me."
Posted by Roger Newcomb (We Love Soaps)
Categories: Flashback, Lauralee Bell, Terry Lester, The Young and the Restless
TERRY LESTER WAS 100% CORRECT.SHE GOT SPECIAL TREATMENT BECASE OF HER FATHER. IT IS A FAMILY SHOW SO MISS BELL SHOULD HAVE BEEN WORKING LIKE HER BROTHERS BEHIND THE CAMERA AS A WRITER OR A PRODUCER. TERRY LESTER WOULD HAVE MOST LIKELY STAYED ON THE SHOW. LAURALEE BELL IS THE WORST ACTRESS ON DAYTIME. I WON'T WATCH THE SHOW WHEN SHE'S ON. I GLAD SHE IS NO LONGER ON THE SHOW.
THAT IS SO TRUE ABOUT MISS BELL. I THINK SHE IS BY FAR THE WORST ACTRESS ON DAYTIME. THEY NEED TO KILL HER OFF PERMANENTLY. I ALSO AGREE ABOUT HOW SHE GOT THE JOB. IF THEY HAD HIRED A REAL ACTRESS WHO COULD ACT, SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN OFF YEARS AGO. NO BODY ELSE ON THE SHOW WAS THAT LUCKY,THEY ALL HAD TO AUDITION.
Asst Scoutmaster Boone August 22, 2014 at 5:33 PM
She's still awful. Annoying, and can't act worth a darn. Oh, that blank stare of here.
That blank stare of hers. Sorry for the typo.
I'm glad you agree with me that Bell is a rotten to the core actress.
Lauralee Bell should never had been hired. it is not to those real actors who don't make it. Go out and audition and see what it's like.
LAURALEE BELL SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN HIRED. SHE CAN'T ACT AND HER FATHER WAS BILL BELL. I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND TERRY LESTER HATING HER SO MUCH. I THINK SHE IS A SHITTY ACTRESS. I AGREI DON'T WATCH THE SHOW WHEN SHE'S ON. SHE HAS BEEN ON RECENTLY BUT ONLY 1 EPISODE WHILE THE CARMINE MURDER STORY GOING BUT THE STORY IS ON MICHAEL, LAUREN AND FEN. GET RID OF BELL PERMANENTLY
You're are right Terry Lester actor he was nominated for 4 times for an emmy. Lauralee Bell suld got the rassy award for worst actress in daytime
Terry Lester was my favorite and it's sad he's not here anymore. Miss Bell should never gotten hired at all. She can't act she has no experience in acting. Bell should have left the show and tried to see what acting is all about. I refused to watch Lester on Santa Barbara but I did enjoy him on As the World Turns, it's just sad he left that show but, it was nice to see him back on daytime. RIP Terry Lester
Thank god Lauralee Bell is not on the show. Jill Abbott needs her story. Miss Bell why don't ever realize the pain you caused for so long for so many actors. Nobody deserved to be hired the way you were, to Jill Farren Phelps the current producer don't let her back at all.
It is ashamed Terry Lester died,but I truly understand the situation. Miss Bell should never been hired, she is the worst actress I've ever seen. I also think she got her job only cause of her father. Bill Bell past on and so did her job and hopefully she'll be out of the show forever.
Canadian MGTOW June 21, 2014 at 10:19 PM
Cricket gave me a bit of a boner.
I wished she would go away permanently. She doesn't have her father anymore, so she shouldn't be their anymore. Go away Miss Bell and let the show deal with real qualified actors, even Susan Lucci auditioned against hundreds of actress's for Erica Kane and she is a real actress
It pissed me off that she was back recently, I wish she would just go away permanently and never come back not even when the show goes off the air which will most likely be in 2 or 3 years
Rick October 31, 2015 at 1:39 PM
The tell tell sign she was daddy's girl was casting her as a model way back when. Unbelievable! She couldn't model or act and to be honest wasn't model material. But...if it were my daughter and I could, I probably would have done the same thing.
Ms. Bell was referred to as the Tori Spelling of daytime tv. I think that is an accurate comparison. She can't act, dance or sing. She is the daughter of the boss. She didn't have to audition. She IS the Toti Spelling of Daytime TV.
Wow! What a bunch of haters.Especially the guys commenting? She had to start somewhere. She did just fine, she wasn't that bad. And the storyline was around the teenagers, Nina, Phillip and Cricket.They all were on air quite a lot. And it wasn't her fault either. She went by the script. That's what the WRITERS wrote for all of them. What a shame that Terry Lester singled her out because of her Dad. Well he wouldn't have been on the show if it wasn't for Mr. Bell. And Terry was the one to quit, no one kicked him off the show. No one else quit because of the teen story line. That's how soaps roll. Sometimes you are on screen a lot and other times your not. Just got to role with the flow.