Randall Theron Bell was born January 11, 1945, in Shelbyville, Kentucky, to Virginia H. and Kaufman E. Bell. He had one daughter, Esther Hart Bell. He was married to Pamela Stratacos Bell. He had two step-sons, Thomas Neil Eddins and Phillip Marc Eddins.
Judge Bell received his undergraduate degree from William & Mary in 1967. He graduated with Honours from Oxford University (B.A. Juris) in 1969 and (M.A.) in 1973. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1971.
From 1971 to 1973 he served as Special Counsel and Assistant Attorney General to the S.C. Attorney General’s Office. In 1973 he became a law professor here at the University and served until 1980. He was an Adjunct Professor from 1980 until 1983 while being in private practice. In 1983, he was elected Judge of the Court of Appeals for South Carolina and served until his election on May 25, 1994, as Associate Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. His intellect, scholarship and humanity were legendary.