Many of the original cast members are out at the Young and the Restless.
However, there are a few actors without whom Y&R just wouldn’t be the same.
These are the actors who have been on the show for the longest time.
Let’s take a look back at these actors’ Y&R journeys as we disclose interesting facts
that you might not have known until now.
Doug Davidson may not make as frequent appearances on Y&R as in the past.
However, he is still the one who has the record of having the longest run on the soap.
Doug joined Y&R before any of his current co-stars like Eric Braeden and Peter Bergman.
In contrast to the current premise of Y&R, the soap focused on a few elite families like
the Williams and Chancellors in the past.
And Doug played one of the frontline characters, Paul Williams.
Promiscuous in his early years, Paul romanced several ladies in his youth, including Nikki
Newman, with whom he had a secret son.
Eventually, he found his soulmate in Christine, a model-turned-attorney, and got married to
her.
Despite the legacy, Paul has been receiving very little attention from the writers in
the past few years.
Apparently, Paul has not been fired but has been dropped to recurring status.
The changes took place under former head-writer Mal Young’s direction.
So when CBS ended up firing Young and appointed Josh Griffith as the new head writer at the
show, fans assumed that their favorite star would have more screen time.
Many of the actor’s fans, including fellow actor Eric Braeden, have frequently voiced
concerns on social media platforms but nothing seems to have changed.
Having joined Y&R just a few months after Doug Davidson, Melody Thomas Scott holds second
place on the list of the longest-serving Y&R stars, as of now.
She made her debut in February 1979 and recently celebrated her forty-second anniversary at
the show.
On the special occasion, Melody shared a few words with Soap Opera Digest earlier this
year.
she said.
Melody is the second actress to play this iconic role on Y&R.
She was an emergency recast who was hired after the original Nikki, Erica Hope, exited
the role.
As Melody revealed in her other interview, she was cast in a sitcom pilot at the same
time she was offered the role of Nikki.
She decided to go with the soap role as her agent had encouraged her to do so.
Her decision did not just set her career on a successful path but helped her meet her
future husband, Y&R executive producer Edward J. Scott.
Just one year after Melody joined Y&R, Eric Braeden also joined the soap playing the then-newly
created role of Victor Newman.
He took the role after Dabney Coleman, an actor and his tennis partner, encouraged him
to do so.
He was only supposed to make a guest appearance spanning for 2-3 months as per the soap’s
initial plans.
However, the character became an immediate hit and the role got upgraded to series regular
status.
Forty-one years later, Eric is still leading the show as one of the frontline characters.
The 80-year-old is still going headstrong on the show and shows no signs of slowing
down.
he said in his recent interview with People.
Braeden’s confidence is the result of self-discipline, something he has adhered to from the beginning.
He revealed in the interview that even to this day, he starts his mornings with “100
left-right combinations of 100 hooks, 100 uppercuts, and some planks.”
he added.
Kate Linder joined Y&R as a part of a one-day one-line role in 1982.
She was supposed to play a small part as show’s late icon Katherine Chancellor’s maid.
The character did not even have a name - she was simply just the maid of Katherine.
Even Linder had no idea that she would last this long on the show.
Recalling the time when Y&R’s then casting director, Tom Palmer, offered the role to
her, Linder said, She was told that she might get some bigger
opportunities down the line but she did not believe him.
Linder was not sure of her decision but she gave the role a try and here she is today
- still playing the role 39 years later.
she said.
From the day she took on the role of Esther to this day, Linder has been pulling off double
duty as a flight attendant for United Airlines.
Her former co-star, Jeanne Cooper, was the first person from the Y&R set to learn about
her dual career.
Beth Maitland is another significant member of the Y&R family, who represents one of the
soap’s prime families- the Abbotts.
Technically, Beth’s TV brother, Jack Abbott, was introduced way before her.
But the role was recast in 1989 with Peter Bergman, which makes her time on the soap
longer than that of Peter.
Beth joined Y&R in 1982 as a guest star.
Her role was also supposed to last for just two to three months.
However, she ended up signing a contract with the show.
She was initially offered a five-year contract with the show, following which the contract
was extended.
Once in 2007, Traci had a crossover appearance on Y&R’s sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful.
Although the role has never been recast, a child actress, Valentina Sky Gordon, was hired
in 2018 to play the younger version of the role.