Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) on General Hospital (GH), recently hosted Lauralee Bell (Christine “Cricket” Williams) from The Young and the Restless on his State of Mindpodcast. The duo discussed the pain of parents with Alzheimer’s.
Discussing Alzheimer’s
After the initial greetings on Sunday, and a bit of talk about being on TV shows, Maurice and Lauralee discussed Alzheimer’s. Maurice reminded the Y&R actress that his dad had passed away from the illness. However, he “developed pancreatic cancer,” and that killed him fast. So, he “didn’t suffer.” In a way, the GH star was glad for his mom that she didn’t have to watch him deteriorate.
Lauralee Bell, on the other hand, didn’t have that shield with her dad, William J. Bell, the daytime drama creator. Lauralee talked about how he had been a “fun guy” and “easy to please.” The soap star also mentioned how her dad fell ill in the years when medical professionals termed it “dementia.” She explained that “they weren’t wanting to say Alzheimer’s because that sounded worse…We were hearing a lot about dementia early stages.”
During his life, her father had to remember cast names and real names, and that could be hard when socializing. But, once the dementia started, her father “went silent and…for months he didn’t say a word but he [still] smiled.”
Never Angry, But Confused
Maurice Benard heard how Lauralee Bell felt it was “a huge gift” because she “never saw him angry.” Still, her mom had to be alert to his actions. Laura added, “I know my mom had to deal with him waking up in the middle of the night and getting dressed and walking out the door…taking the car keys.”
The real-life Christine “Cricket” Williams told Maurice that mostly her father “would kind of have a little bit of a blank stare and would be led around.” However, he didn’t “say much or anything, really.” While he might see photos of anniversaries, he seemed to have a “glassy” look, but he never “got angry or demanded to know who the people with him were.”
The Blank Stares & TV
Before he passed away, Lauralee reminisced about how her dad “watched movies all day.” He’d talk about people and plots, but he wasn’t “exactly sure who he was talking about.” However, Laura Lee felt pleased because William J. Bell seemed to get some comfort from “watching movies.”
In a way, although The Young and the Restless star wouldn’t give medical advice, she did comment on how sometimes, things would come back to her dad. Like, a “Frank Sinatra song.” As for the Sonny Corinthos actor, he recalled that his father also liked and responded to music on occasion, and sometimes even did a little dance.
Can you relate to the heartbreak of parents who suffer from Alzheimer’s? Did music help them like it did with Maurice Benard? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for all your General Hospital cast news and updates.
