Bill Glenn, 74, a director who helped launch the long-running television soap opera "The Young and the Restless," died June 11 at his Palm Springs home, said his cousin, Eleanor Glenn. The cause of death was not disclosed.
When "The Young and the Restless" debuted on CBS in 1973, Glenn was credited with giving the soap a distinctive look that emphasized beautiful sets, imaginative lighting and lush orchestral scores.
"It was a big turnaround in soap operas because we went very elegant with one of the top designers in Hollywood," Glenn told Canada's Ottawa Citizen in 1998. "It was a trendsetter."
Born in 1933 in Ottawa, Glenn was the only child of a railway engineer. He started acting in his teens and joined the Canadian Repertory Theatre before directing children's shows for the Canadian Broadcasting Co.
In the late 1960s, Glenn directed the CBS soap opera "Where the Heart Is" in New York before moving to Los Angeles. He stayed with "The Young and the Restless" for nine years, and later joined the same creative team for the 1987 debut of CBS' "The Bold and the Beautiful."
Director William (Bill) Glenn, who was instrumental in the launch of the Bell-Phillip Television soap operas, "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "The Young and the Restless", passed away at his home in Palm Springs, CA on June 10, 2007. Born in 1933 in Ottowa, Canada, Glenn started acting in his teens and joined the Canadian Repertory Theater before directing children's shows for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He also directed and produced a variety of dramas, documentaries and special events for CBS, the National Film Board of Canada, Crawley Film and TV Ontario, Canada's education Channel. As part of Canada's Centennial Celebration, he produced and directed a Command Performance for the Royal Family, an outdoor extravaganza with a cast of 800. After moving to the United States, Glenn continued to direct a multitude of programs including a revival of the series "You Are There" with Walter Cronkite, "The ABC Mystery Series", "The Adams Chronicles" for PBS, "Behind the Scenes" for CBS, and a special variety show featuring major Hollywood celebrities entitled "100 Bicentennial Minutes". Daytime television became a permanent home to Glenn when the late William J. Bell, who co-created "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" with his wife, Lee Phillip Bell, hired him to launch the start of both shows. Glenn directed episodes one through five of "The Bold and the Beautiful", in March 1987 and stayed with the show in the capacity of Senior Director and Executive in Charge of Production through 1988. Glenn's other daytime directing credits include "Capitol", "Santa Barbara", and "One Life to Live". Additionally, Glenn created Romance Theater and served as executive producer. Glenn is survived by cousin Eleanor Glenn and family in Ottowa, Canada and a host of close friends and created family in Palm Springs, CA, Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY. A memorial service is tentatively scheduled for July 10, 2007 in Malibu, CA. Published in The Desert Sun on 6/26/2007.
