Bill Glenn, 74; director helped launch soap opera ‘The Young and the Restless’

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.”