Kay Alden
Encyclopedia
Kay Alden is a five-time Emmy award-winning television writer
and the former head writer
for the most-watched American
soap opera
, The Young and the Restless
. She is currently the co-head writer for The Bold and the Beautiful
.
Alden began writing for The Young and the Restless as a script writer in 1974 while researching her dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was promoted to associate head writer in 1987, then to co-head writer in 1997.
She took over as head writer the following year when series co-creator William J. Bell
stepped down from the position. With Alden as head writer, the show lost about two million viewers (most of the loss occurred in 2004 when Alden co-wrote the show with longtime Y&R scribe
and producer John F. Smith
), but all soap operas during that period experienced a similar scale of massive audience erosion.
She quit The Young and the Restless in late 2006, and was then hired by Brian Frons
, president of ABC Daytime
, to consult on its serials All My Children
, General Hospital
and One Life to Live
. She left ABC Daytime after declining All My Childrens head writer position in Spring 2007, and was hired by Bradley Bell
in May 2007 to be an associate head writer for another CBS Daytime
drama, The Bold and the Beautiful
. On July 18, 2008, it was announced that Alden would be appointed co-head writer of The Bold and the Beautiful in the coming weeks. http://www.soapcentral.com/bb/news/2008/0721-alden.php
During the WGA strike
she went under financial core status http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/la/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003797508 while working for The Bold and the Beautiful
.
There is a scholarship in Alden's name from Emporia State University
, in Emporia, Kansas
.
She has three grown children and lives with her husband in Illinois.
All My Children
One Life to Live
General Hospital
The Bold and the Beautiful
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1003798/awards
Writers Guild of America Award
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and the former head writer
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
for the most-watched American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
. She is currently the co-head writer for The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
.
Alden began writing for The Young and the Restless as a script writer in 1974 while researching her dissertation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was promoted to associate head writer in 1987, then to co-head writer in 1997.
She took over as head writer the following year when series co-creator William J. Bell
William J. Bell
William J. Bell was the creator and executive producer of the soap operas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.-Personal life:...
stepped down from the position. With Alden as head writer, the show lost about two million viewers (most of the loss occurred in 2004 when Alden co-wrote the show with longtime Y&R scribe
Scribe
A scribe is a person who writes books or documents by hand as a profession and helps the city keep track of its records. The profession, previously found in all literate cultures in some form, lost most of its importance and status with the advent of printing...
and producer John F. Smith
John F. Smith
John F. Smith is an American soap opera writer and producer. During the WGA strike, he chose financial core status with the WGA and continued working....
), but all soap operas during that period experienced a similar scale of massive audience erosion.
She quit The Young and the Restless in late 2006, and was then hired by Brian Frons
Brian Frons
Brian Frons is an American television executive, and president of ABC Daytime.- Educational background :Frons holds a Master of Science degree in Communications from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the State University of New York at Fredonia.-Television...
, president of ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...
, to consult on its serials All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
, General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
and One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
. She left ABC Daytime after declining All My Childrens head writer position in Spring 2007, and was hired by Bradley Bell
Bradley Bell
Bradley Bell is an American television writer and producer. Bell is a six-time Daytime Emmy Award winner and is executive producer and head writer for The Bold and the Beautiful, an American soap opera.-Career:...
in May 2007 to be an associate head writer for another CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime is a television programming block on CBS. It's the branding for the CBS Television Network's late morning and early afternoon programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows, and talk shows...
drama, The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
. On July 18, 2008, it was announced that Alden would be appointed co-head writer of The Bold and the Beautiful in the coming weeks. http://www.soapcentral.com/bb/news/2008/0721-alden.php
During the WGA strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
she went under financial core status http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/la/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003797508 while working for The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
.
There is a scholarship in Alden's name from Emporia State University
Emporia State University
Emporia State University is a university in the city of Emporia in Lyon County, Kansas, just east of the Flint Hills.- History :...
, in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 24,916. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 and 35 on the Kansas Turnpike...
.
She has three grown children and lives with her husband in Illinois.
Positions held
The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
- Script WriterScreenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
: 1974 - 1980 - Breakdown Writer: 1980 - 1987
- Script Editor: 1983 - 1985, 1986 – 1987
- Associate Head Writer: 1987 - 1997
- Co-Head WriterHead writerA head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
: 1997 - 1998, February 16 - December 22, 2006 - Head WriterHead writerA head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
: 1998 - February 15, 2006
All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
- Story ConsultantCreative consultantCreative consultant is a credit that has - particularly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have “doctored” a movie screenplay. It is often given by producers in lieu of official credit. Those given this credit in the television field work closely with an Executive Producer, Head...
December 2006 - April 2007
One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
- Story Consultant: December 2006 - April 2007
General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
- Story ConsultantCreative consultantCreative consultant is a credit that has - particularly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have “doctored” a movie screenplay. It is often given by producers in lieu of official credit. Those given this credit in the television field work closely with an Executive Producer, Head...
December 2006 - April 2007
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
- Co-Head Writer (2008 - Present)
- Associate Head Writer (August 6, 2007 - January 21, 2008; April 16, 2008 - 2008)
- Interim Head Writer (February 5, 2008 - April 15, 2008)
Awards and nominations
Daytime Emmy AwardDaytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1003798/awards
- Nominations, 2008, 2009, Best Writing The Bold and the Beautiful
- Nominations, 1976, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1990–1995, 1997–2001, 2003–2007, Best Writing, The Young and the Restless
- Wins, 1997, 2000, 2006, Best Writing, The Young and the Restless; 2010, Best Writing, The Bold and the Beautiful
Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
- Wins, 2002 & 2005, Best Writing, The Young and the Restless
- Nominations, 1999, 2001, 2006, Best Writing, The Young and the Restless
External links
- MIT Comparative Media Studies
- SunTimes
- Kay Alden Interview at Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....