News
J. Eddie Peck Exits The Young and the Restless and Shares Fan Enthusiasm, “Made This Return Deeply Meaningful For Me”
One of the good guys had left the building. On today’s July 3rd episode of The Young and the Restless, Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck) succumbed to Legionnaires’ disease, and had one last goodbye with his daughter, Claire (who ran out of the hospital room) and the love of his life, Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle), with whom he shared one last kiss before he passed.
This ends the latest run of J. Eddie Peck as Cole Howard, who first appeared on Y&R back in 1993-1999 and then happily returned in 2023 as part of the Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) storyline. It was there that it was revealed that Cole and Victoria’s daughter known as Eve (now Claire, played by Hayley Erin) with whom they thought has died, was actually stolen from them in the hospital after Victoria gave birth. Jordan kidnapped her and raised Claire all of her life, until the truth came to light.
On Thursday, J. Eddie also took to his Instagram to share his heartfelt sentiments as his time at the top-rated soap opera came to its conclusion on-air. Throughout his years away, Peck was always hoping one day he would get to return to the show that he loved working at.

Courtesy/CBS
Peck wrote: “Just a quick shout out as Cole takes his last breath on the show today — and with that, this chapter of my journey on The Young and the Restless comes to a close. I want to thank all of you — my fans, friends, and Y&R family — for welcoming me back with such incredible warmth and support. Your messages, posts and enthusiasm made this return deeply meaningful for me. I’ll do a lil follow up with a video later today or this eve. Much love, ❤️”

Photo: JPI
Throughout his daytime career, J. Eddie has also played the roles of Jake Martin on All My Children, Howard “Hawk” Hawkins on Days of our Lives, Tommy McKay on Dallas, and Roger Grimes on Dynasty, among numerous other TV and film roles.
So, are you sad to see J. Eddie Peck written-off The Young and the Restless as Cole Howard? Did you reach for the hankies when he passed away? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
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His death didn’t seem necessary and it was shoddily written but Amelia Heinle can break your heart with no words.
I cried my eyes out I wanted to see the love story continue with Victoria and their daughter not fair
I wanted to see the fruition of the love that Cole and Victoria shared. I cried my eyes out seeing him gasp for breath as he spoke to his daughter, Claire, and asked Victoria to kiss him before he died. Cole was a good and kind guy. I wish that in some way he could reemerge on the Young & The Restless.
I was not sad at all that Cole left. I still believe that he lied about Claire. Do not believe she is Victoria’s daughter. Do not care for her at all. Wish she would leave, also
You know this is not true life right!!!!?? I cried like always when he died and it was so nice seeing him again on the show! We will miss you! BEEN WATCHING SINCE I Was 16 when it first. Been with yall from day 1. What a ride! Love you all!
Hayley Erin but especially Amelia Heinle did a great job today despite the show not giving the actors much to work with in the story. I felt their pain.
Liked Victoria and Cole together again – not sure why they were not given much storyline. Amelia has hardly been on the screen, much like Sharon in the past few years, and then Sharon got a frontline storyline, so hoping that Victoria will now have one too, but what that will be is hard to figure out. She did have a nice interaction with Nate recently, so maybe they are moving in that direction. Amelia is fantastic, and deserves a true love. Just please don’t pair her with new Cane for I still think that Billy Flynn and Courtney Hope would be fantastic, and maybe that would open up Victoria and Billy returning to one another.
I want Claire and Chance get together
I hope Claire doesn’t end up with Holden
ugh!
This is 50 percent of the reason I got hooked in recently after the Jordan storyline resolved. They blow up Claire and Kyle and that will end my short lived viewership.
Kudos to the three actors. They did a great job. I wish this story had been given the respect it deserved and played out over several days since the Dumas story is so ridiculous. Poor Billy Flynn.
I’m pissed. Enough said.
They should kept him around
I wish Cole could have stayed on show with z
Victoria finally found love. Good relationship He’s gone to soon.
I agree 100%!!! I loved Cole & Victoria!!!
It was such a joy to have Cole back. I’m gutted that they killed him off. I wish there was a way to bring him back or to send him to B&B. He and Vic had such perfect chemistry. I’ll be crying about this episode for a long while. it was gut wrenching. Congratulations to the actors. Bad decision, management.
They could bring him back. He was out of town for awhile. Maybe he saw something and needed to be put in Witness Protection. Fake death to make sure his family was safe.
Good idea!!!
Lol, good comeback! You should write for the show!
Your right they should have never killed Cole off that being said it is a soap opera so if they ever want to bring him back they can just say he was in a coma until they could find a cure
BRING COLE BSCK
AGREE 10000%
Writer’s are brainless!!!
Absolutely no reason to kill him off. I loved him & Victoria together. Funny to remember when he slept with Nikki back in the day. Such history.
Ewwwww.. icky
I hate that we have a good character and you had to take him away. It’s really good sometimes to see people play good people on a show. I love the story and that the family had gotten back together. I think you made a big mistake by letting him go. Not sure I’m going to watch it anymore
The writing of the various story lines of Y & R have gotten completely redundant and ridiculous over the last couple of years. I have watched this soap since my early 30’s and I am now 73. I am just about at the point that I am going to stop. 40+ years is enough; besides most of the good actors on this soap (Braeden, Scott, Case etc.) are getting older like myself and are probably reaching the point that they want to or should hang it up. This soap needs to come to a graceful end.
YES I AGREE THEH NEED NEW WRITERS BRING COLE BACK SO.E HOW
He didn’t need to be let go, he was one of the good guys. I thought Nate was going to save him, as it was told in a previous show.
First of all, “What great acting!”. I am so very sorry to see J Eddie leave, after being gone for so long! I really liked your character, Cole.
This scene drew tears from my eyes. It reminded me of when I lost my 26 yo son in 2020. I thought i grieved his death, but this scene drew something out of me that needed to be released. Y and R lost a beautiful, Loving family.
J Eddie I pray nothing but the best for you in all your future endeavors!!!
Bring Cole back, Victoria needs a win. I watched the show when Nicki was pregnant with her. You can kill him off later. Give us 75ers a reason to watch.we still matter.
I was very glad to see Cole come back. I really enjoyed his acting seem very sincere. I hated to see him go, but I understand stories lines must end but he was very professional very sincere. I believe everybody will miss him very much. I know I will. And yes, I use a lot of Kleenex watch them.
Enjoyed Cole’s return but I don’t get why he had to die. Seems like no point.
That was the saddest. I was in tears for sure it was not what I would of wanted me I thought that was a great lil family.
I think it is time Victoria have a little happiness. I would like to have seen that for her with Cole but no you killed him off. If mean old Victor can have a loving rellationship why not Victoria. Disappounted in Cole being written off.
I AGREE
Im so sad he left . I was hoping Bictoria would finally have someone and be happy. Felt bad for Claire loosing her Dad
I always liked J, peck sorry he had to die though now hes gone for good .ill miss him much luck for future
I don’t like the fact that they killed Cole off!!! Claire was just beginning to get to know her father!!!
Why did they kill off Cole
Bcuz he’s a terrible actor and his character was totally unnecessary !!
agree. No chemistry with Victoria either.
Loved Cole and really sad that the writers brought him back and have now let him die!
Poor Victoria never catches a break … EVER!!
And Claire does did deserve to lose her dad after just being reunited with him. Terrible decision by writers of Y and R!!!
Why can’t Victoria ever be happy she so deserved her happiness. Sick of this show writing of the good giys
Bring Cole back. Their are a couple of others you could get rid of. We need a little happiness in this world right now.
Cole passed away? OMG! I feel so bad for Victoria and Claire.
Cole died? Oh, WOW! I feel so bad for Victoria and Claire. I was hoping that Vicky would finally have her happily ever after with Cole; and now he’s gone. And poor Claire! She’d finally gotten to know both her parents in a space of two years; now she’s lost her father.
I’ve always enjoyed seeing J Eddie Peck in the role of Cole on Y & R. I had been doing Cole and Victoria would become a couple again and finally have their happily ever after. Yesterday’s show was a real tear jersey. & the cause for his death touches close to home as my husband has severe lung issues and has had bouts of pneumonia. I wasn’t sure why Cole couldn’t be cured until they stated he had Legionaires Disease and I looked it up. I am thankful for the storyline as it brings to light something we weren’t aware of. The Legionaire bacteria is found in water but isn’t caught by drinking it, only through mists or sprays by breathing it in, which explains why distilled water is recommended for breathing devices such as c-pap or an oxygen bubbler or other breathing devices.
I will miss Cole on Y & R. I am glad they were able to get their daughter back and that she didn’t die at birth after all and that they were able to be a family unit, if only for this brief moment.
J Eddie Peck has always been a great actor and I hope to see him in more movies and other shows in the near future.
I was really hoping for a storyline where Cole and Victoria got married and lived a happy life
Bring Cole back soon We need him marry Victoria
THIS NOT RIGHT AT ALL
Victoria and Cole was good together! Every relationship she has gets blown up! I hate they wrote Cole off by dying! I really liked Cole! Since Cole died, I wish Victoria could end up with a sound relationship. It would be good if she and Billy could end up back together. They had a passionate relationship & they have beautiful kids together too so it would be good if they could end up back together; however, I’m sure if Victor has anything to do with it, they won’t!
I love Victor Newman though! If he ever leaves Young & the Restless for anything other than death, God forbid, I’d probably stop watching Y&R!
I really liked Cole. He was a calm and solid, wise presence to the show. Someone who had depth. He should have stayed on the show.
I’ll never understand why they kill good characters off. Write him out if you want to, although I wanted him to stay, but why make it impossible to bring him back?
They could have kept the Cole character still last on the show, Victoria and Cole could have gotten remarried and live happily ever after together with Claire as their daughter that they got back from Jordan.
They Could have kept the Cole character on the show and let Cole and Victoria remarry and live happily ever after as a family with their daughter Claire that they have got back from Jordan. This would have made more sense to do it this way.
Just so frustrated to see Kyle be so stupid!! If Claire did anything like that he would he furious!! Can’t wait until their off that Train!! Boring …..Rich should know to take a SAT phone!!
Josh Griffith should be ashamed. He put no effort into this storyline because he was too obsessed with France. Awful! That being said, Hayley Erin and especially Amelia crushed it with what little material they had. Amelia Heinle is a superstar.
I quit watching Y&R about a year ago due to time constraints on my end, as well as the recycled, redundant and repeated storylines on on the writers’ end. But I did tune in last week to watch the unveiling of the identity of the Aristotle Dumas story with Billy Flynn playing Cane Ashby. He was good but I see the cycle of regurgitation continued. My God, Phyllis seems even dizzier than before and I don’t know if it’s that is due to the maze or Stafford facing another storyline that promises to get her home only if she follows the circular maze that leaves her exactly where she began. I swear, that maze serves as a metaphor for the circular and lost pattern the Y&R writers have established these last few years. And sorry, yes, I’m going to continue with the negativity, the actor playing Cole on his death bed might as well have been in a skit from The Carol Brunette Show. At least then I would not feel guilty for laughing at his wooden and utterly ridiculously soapy delivery. PS. AH’s poignant and meaningful delivery made up for Roger Korman meets Will Ferrall’s ( Cole) satirical performance. She was brilliant.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).
On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.
Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC
HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT
Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”
Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”
Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Photo: ABC
DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES
In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”
Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”
You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.
Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.
According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.
Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene, Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.
WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?
Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”
The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”
MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE
In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.
Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.
So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
General Hospital
GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.
However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.
Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC
FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG
Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!
Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”
MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL
Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).
Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI
PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY
Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”
It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”
A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons
IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS
As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”
He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”
Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.”
So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.
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