After the shocking firing of Richard Burgi, Y&R hired a new actor to fill in the role of Ashland Locke.
This past week, the Y&R cast welcomed Robert Newman to the show as he took over the role
of the infamous NewYorker businessman on the show.
The former Guiding Light actor, Robert Newman, made his debut on Y&R on Wednesday, February 9.
Although viewers seemed skeptical about the recast initially, fans have come to adore
his performance, with many of them already jumping on board with the new actor.
There’s still a lot to explore about Robert as the new Ashland Locke on Y&R.
But before that, there are some things you need to know about the actor’s personal
life, which we have listed for you in this video.
Watch till the end and find out how Robert landed this thrilling role on Y&R.
Younger Y&R audience may not know but Robert Newman is a very popular star in the soap opera world.
He ruled the roost on a former CBS soap, Guiding Light, for nearly three decades, during which
he became widely popular as Reva’s soulmate, Joshua Lewis.
He was also famous for playing the role of Prescott Harrell on General Hospital and Kirk
Cranston on the NBC soap, Santa Barbara, a role he took over after the original actor
Joseph Bottoms left the soap.
Robert was last seen on daytime television in September 2009 during Guiding Light’s final episode.
After twelve years, the actor got a chance to be back in the daytime industry as Y&R
went ahead with Ashand’s surprise recast.
So it’s normal if many of you don’t know who Robert Newman is actually.
That’s why we are here to give you some quick interesting facts about the actor.
Let’s take a look.
Number 1 Robert is 63 years old at present and has
been married to his wife Britt Helfer for more than 35 years.
Britt is also an actress, best known for playing the role of Lily Slater on ABC’s Loving.
The pair has two children - son Connor and daughter Kendal - and a grandson named Leo Robert.
Number 2 Britt currently owns an interior design company called BNDC.
While not busy filming, Robert likes keeping himself busy working for his wife’s company.
He does bookkeeping and also put his handyman skill to work at the shop.
Number 3 For his portrayal as Joshua Lewis on Guiding
Light, Robert was twice nominated for Daytime Emmy.
He lost the first one to his current co-star Peter Bergman (Jack, Y&R) in 2002 and the
second one to Anthony Geary (Luke, General Hospital) in 2006.
Number 4 Although he may have lost a Daytime Emmy to
Peter Bergman, the two actors are very good friends in real life.
They met outside the Y&R set while doing public appearances when the SAG and AFTRA unions merged.
Robert was on the Board of Directors of one of the unions.
Number 5 Robert has been long friends with Eric Braeden as well.
He has been a big fan of Eric since his days on The Rat Patrol.
They’ve met and chatted at the Daytime Emmys.
Robert could not have been happier to be cast in such a big daytime show.
He was aware that he had some big shoes to fill at Y&R which obviously scared him.
“I'm scared to death, of course, but I think that's healthy.
It'll be a new adventure and I'm feeling pretty blessed to have the opportunity,” he wrote on Facebook.
Needless to say, Robert prepared extensively for the role and he is totally killing it on Y&R.
Before leaving, you can check out our other video where we disclosed the real reason why
Richard Burgi was fired from Y&R.
You can find the link at the end of this video.