"In my opinion, John Bell performed an extremely important role then, and also later, in generally supporting - thereby making respectable - the apparently "fringe" activities of such people as Karolyhazy, Bohm, [Philip M.] Pearle, Ghirardi, and many others (including myself) in suggesting schemes that go beyond standard quantum mechanics, in the intended direction of realism. No physicist could doubt the scientific credentials of John Bell. The fact that he was prepared to go out of his way to support research of this kind gave it a previously unaccustomed status."