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Y&R’s Peter Bergman Talks 30 Years Of Jack Abbott, His Co-Stars, And His Gratitude

Photo: CBS

When you think of the world of daytime drama, you can’t get any better than this man.  And, this week, three-time Daytime Emmy winner, Peter Bergman celebrates his 30th anniversary in the pivotal and now iconic role of Jack Abbott on CBS’ The Young and the Restless.

To mark the occasion, viewers are in for an emotional standalone episode on Monday, November 25th, when Jack’s sister, Traci (Beth Maitland) hands him the completed manuscript of the memoir she has been working on about the Abbott clan, and lets Jack be the first to read it.  As he goes through it, Jack recalls the ups and the downs of his life.  Get ready for some flashbacks and have the hankies ready!

Throughout the years, we have witnessed Jack do anything possible to keep control of the family business (Jabot Cosmetics).  We have watched his longstanding feud with Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), and how Jack spiraled out of control to a pain pill addiction.  As for Jack’s love life, well, that has not always been too successful.  There have been many wives and many divorces through the years.  But for Jack, it’s all about family … from his sons, to his siblings … to his mother and father, and while there has been often rivalry, there has also been deep love and affection.  All of this and more has offered 21-time Emmy nominee and soap vet, Bergman a palette to bring his honed acting skills and passion for the genre to each and every episode in which he appears.

Many a soap fan also knows that Peter got his soap star in New York as Dr. Cliff Warner on ABC’s All My Children, but who knew back then that a career-defining role was eventually going to be waiting for him in Hollywood.

Michael Fairman TV chatted with Peter as he reflects on his time in Genoa City from:  his beginnings on Y&R replacing another talented actor, Terry Lester, to his Abbott family co-stars; to what this milestone means to him, to how he felt about taping the episode in his honor, and what life lessons he has learned along the way.

While we have had the good fortune to interview Peter many times over the years, this was an extra special conversation that we hope you will enjoy as we salute the one and only Mr. Bergman.

Photo: JPI

How have you liked all of the attention that has come your way surrounding your 30th anniversary on Y&R?  I know you well enough to know you don’t often like all the pomp and circumstance.  However, it’s been great to see you get the acknowledgements through: your own upcoming special Y&R standalone episode that airs Monday, your visit to The Talk recently, the satellite media tour you just did with CBS affiliate markets around the country, interviews with the press, and that very cool photo shoot spread in CBS Watch!

PETER:  (Laughs) You know, it’s so funny.  My wife, Mariellen said to me more than once in the last couple of weeks, “All of this stuff  keeps coming up, and you’ve not made a big deal of this at home,” and it’s true.  I feel like we just celebrated 25.  That seems like just 2 years ago.  But, here we are again.  Approaching all of this, CBS, Matt Kane (publicist, Y&R) and Melissa Burton (publicist, CBS) said, “So, what do we want to do?  A cake and a party?”  I said, “No, no, no.  I feel like we just did that.  Let’s just go low-key.”  So, their version of low-key is somewhat different than my version of low-key. (Laughs)  I have my own episode, and have been on talk shows galore, and have done interviews with the likes of you, and everything over 30 years.  Actually, I have to be honest, it has been great fun.  It’s surprising how much fun I’ve had.  Some of the conversations are just about wonderful memories that I have been forced to look at and cherish.  So here are a couple insights from that. I was asked, “What did you see in 30 years of tape?”  I saw a lot of storypoints that we could talk about, but I also saw all of these friendships that I have made and that I value so much.  I remember when I first got to the job.  I was this New York snob thinking, “What am I doing in this God-forsaken, cultural vacuum of a town (referring to Hollywood)?”  Oh, if only I had just embraced it from the moment I got here.  People were probably being exceedingly friendly and welcoming to me, and I didn’t even see it.  I was so busy being at malcontent.  It lasted for a long time.  I kept our apartment for 7 years in New York.  It was so clear though, that Y&R was becoming one of those gigs.  But, I still held on to that apartment, just in case, because once this thing is over, I am out of here! (Laughs)

Photo: JPI

Truth be told, when I moved out to L.A, from New York I felt the same way.  I was ready to hightail it back the first chance I could.  I also should have embraced it earlier. Looking back on it now, what would you have done differently?

PETER:  Oh, if I could do it all over again, the first day, I would have sold the New York apartment, bought a surf board, bought a set of golf clubs, joined a tennis club, embraced California, reached out to my cast members, welcomed them into my life.  I didn’t do any of those things, and I am a little embarrassed by that because look at what it tuned into.  I have joked before that I was dragged kicking and screaming to the best thing that has ever happened to me.  These past couple of weeks have been a reminder that that’s actually true.

Photo: JPI

I remember when you first took over the role of Jack Abbott.  You were a recast taking over the part last played by Terry Lester.  What I always loved about all of our conversations, or conversations that I’ve seen you do with others, is that you always say that you feel a connection to those performers who come onto Y&R or any other soap, who have to step into the shoes of a character previously played by another actor.

PETER:  That’s right. I do indeed.  I am their best friend.  I make sure I find anyone who finds themselves in that situation and I have a conversation with them; for instance: Mark Grossman (Adam, Y&R) just the other day.  I said, “Mark, you’ve been here long enough.  You’ve now established Adam.  You don’t have to look back at what anyone else did with this character.  Now we have to tell Mark Grossman’s version of Adam,” and he did welcome that advice because yeah, it’s a hard thing to do.  It’s a hard thing to step into a role that’s been played by someone else before

Knowing that, was there trepidation on your part once you got the role of Jack?

PETER:  Oh, yeah.  I’m telling you, every prop person, every set decorator, every lighting person knew more about Jack Abbott than I did.  It was daunting.  It was really daunting.  I’d try something, “Eh, I’m going to try this,” and they’d cut it short and go, “No, no,” and they were right!  They were helping to guide me towards making this my own, but we do this in baby steps.  I’m just amazingly grateful.  This has been a time of gratitude, and it has surprised me.

Photo Credit: JPI

When you found out that Y&R was going to air a 30th anniversary episode in honor of you and the character of Jack Abbott, what was your reaction to that?

PETER:  My first reaction was some reluctance, “Is that going to be interesting at all?” and my second reaction was, “Wow!  That’s pretty damn flattering.”  I’m genuinely honored and flattered by that.  That really touched me.

In the anniversary episode that viewers will see on Monday, was there a scene that you did that just either gut-punched you … or made you think about something that transpired over the years differently, or was just so emotional for you?

PETER:  There were several that gut-punched me.  There were a few emotional highlights of stories, and emotional peaks of stories in there.  If I had to pick one thing to take away from it, and this is kind of curious because I was surprised by this. I watched my relationship with so many different people and thought about how they’ve changed or grown.  I watched scenes with Phyllis, and thought, “This is probably Jack’s most painful loss.”  There is something just inherently oil and water with them.  This old money, somewhat straight-laced guy, and this crazy-ass girl from the other side of the tracks, like no woman he ever met at the country club.  I watched those scenes, and I thought, “Wow, that is terrific,” and I thought of it from Jack’s perspective, and I thought, “These two people never got out of love.  It just got too painful between them.”  That really stood out to me.  There were scenes that I saw a lot of Jack exposed in.  He covers himself pretty well with lots of people.  He was pretty exposed for a while.  He doesn’t give it away to just anybody.  I watched those scenes and there was an emotional honestly in there that was kind of startling.

Photo: JPI

Jack has had been married several times, and had five divorces along the way.  Some of the women in his life have included: Sharon, Nikki, Luan, Patty, Jill, and Phyllis.

PETER:  That’s right.  There was Patty.  Nikki a couple of times.  There were a few women, and every one of them changed Jack.  The Jack that I watched in the progression of this show… … the Jack when I first got there … was a pretty selfish guy.  He was out for himself and pretty much through Nikki and then through others, learned compassion.  Jack earned empathy in a way he hadn’t before, and we watched him build a conscience in the progress of telling Jack’s story.

At this point, Jack needs to have a woman in is life that can be one of the great loves and relationships of his lifetime.  Do you think he’d be prepared for that now?

PETER:  Oh yes.  Strangely enough, I think he’s more prepared for that now than ever before.  Part of Jack’s problem always with these women is that all of these women paid for Dina’s sins.  He expected every one of them to leave.  It was almost a foregone conclusion.  The most important woman of his life left when he was 14, and one by one all these other women left him.

Photo: JPI

Is there someone in a primetime series, motion pictures, daytime, the theatre, who would you love to see play your love interest on Y&R?

PETER:  Who would I love to see play my love interest?  Gosh, I wish I had an answer to that.  I think just bring her on.  I’ll make it work.  I think that’s a side of Jack that we haven’t gotten to see for a while, and I agree with you.  I think now, he actually might be ready for a two-way relationship that isn’t all about him, that is based on some truth, that is based on looking out for someone else as much as he looks out for himself.  I think he is more ready for that now than he has ever been.  We’ll see if they are ready to invest in that, and if that is something they’re ready to see.

You’ve had 21 Daytime Emmy nominations in acting categories, but I want to nominate you for “Best Chair-Throwing in a Daytime Drama Series”.

PETER:  (Laughs)  You can only do it in one take.  They don’t have several sheets of glass, so it had better work when you do it.

Remember; when you did that now classic chair throw in the showdown between Jack and Victor (Eric Braeden)?

PETER:  Yes, The first one was with Eric Braeden.  My favorite part of that story is Mike Denney was directing it, and I pulled Mike aside as we were blocking it.  I said, “Wouldn’t there be just crazy wind at that level, that high up?   Wouldn’t the wind be nuts?” and Mike had like three fans brought in, and I looked over, and Eric Braeden’s hair was everywhere.  Mine had blown from one part of my scalp to the other. (Laughs)  It was this wind storm that made it all the more dramatic.  I loved the finished product of that, and I got to have a little hand in it.

Photo: JPI

And the second was more recent when Jack finds out about Ashley’s duplicity and throws the chair threw the glass at Jabot

PETER:  The second chair throwing through a window with Ashley was just pure animal, anger, disgust, revulsion, everything black in Jack coming out that way, and that stupid glass shouldn’t have been there in the first place, but we put that in.  (Laughs)

I can’t wait for the next chair throw!

PETER:  I’m practicing just in case!

Photo: JPI

I’m going to name a few cast members of the Abbott clan, and if you could just give me a few words about working with each of them through the years that would be great.  Let’s start with Beth Maitland (Traci).

PETER:  Beth Maitland, the beating heart and soul of the Abbott family, the conscious of the Abbotts, the keeper of the family secrets, she knows everything, and she’s kept it to herself.  A generous, kind, thoughtful, hard-working, and really responsible friend.

Eileen Davidson (Ashley) …

PETER:  Eileen Davidson… exotic, smart as a whip, and a lot funnier than most people know.  She makes me laugh until I cry.  She is at once beautiful and funny, and that is a lethal combination.

Photo: JPI

Jerry Douglas (John) …

PETER:  Jerry Douglas… just a sweet, sweet man who has always had such ease in playing my father that it made it easy to be his son.  He was a generous actor that way.

Jason Thompson (Billy) …

PETER:  Jason Thompson … naturally cool.  There are two things that Jason has that seem to be contradictory.  He is cool and at the same time warm-loving and…. just sweet.  Kind.  That doesn’t happen.  There is a cool about Jason that has always been there.  It just comes totally naturally to him, and at the same time you see this love and warmth and genuine kindness.

Photo:JPI

Marla Adams (Dina) …

PETER:  Marla Adams, that sweetheart of a woman who loves to break into song at a moment’s notice, just makes me smile, and from the moment she came back is a daily reminder to be grateful for work, to be grateful for this job.  She is a walking reminder that we are lucky, lucky actors, and she is a very talented woman.

Photo JPI

Michael Mealor (Kyle) …

PETER:  Michael Mealor, a 28-year-old man with the soul of a 50-year-old man.  He is so evolved.  He is so bright, asks smart questions. Michael is a wise, wise man for his age and experience.  He constantly surprises me.  He constantly amazes me, and all of that with a sense of humor is a cool thing.

Photo: JPI

What do you think your longtime castmate, the late Kristoff St. John (Ex-Neil) would say to you if he were here for your 30th anniversary with Y&R?

PETER:  Oh, Kristoff St. John was always so generous with accolades, with commendations, with compliments.  I think Kristoff would look at this as a great thing for me, and a great thing for him, and a great thing for the show.  He was just that generous.  I miss him on a regular basis.  That was a generous, generous heart, and a tragic end to a vibrant life.

In story, and just in time for your 30th, Jack is back as the CEO of Jabot.  Billy has resigned, and now upon learning Theo (Tyler Johnson) is family, Jack gets Theo to stay in Genoa City and not go to Paris to work with Ashley and become part of the Jabot team.  Will Jack thrive this time as CEO?

PETER:  Yes, Jack is back to taking the reins at Jabot.  I think that is as it should be.  I think it is very hard for the audience or anyone to see, “Wait Jabot without Jack? I’m not sure what that is.”  So, yes, I’m happy to be back and happy to be working regularly with Michael Mealor and Hunter King (Summer) and the whole gang over there, and now Theo.  Tyler Johnson is just fantastic.  What a really neat guy… a young philosopher who is well-read and has this curious, curious mind that makes us all smile.

Photo: JPI

When did you know that the Victor/Jack feud was lightning in a bottle?

PETER:  I think it snuck up on me.  Ten years in, I realized, “Wait a second, this actually is a rivalry for the ages.”  I knew very early on that Victor Newman’s presence in Jack’s life made Jack a more interesting character.  I fully understood that and a great credit to Eric Braeden and what he and I got to establish together (what he established first of all with Terry Lester and what he and I got to continue).  So, this enduring rivalry is a now part of, I think, television history.  I don’t know if there is any rivalry that has lasted this long on one show … ever.

Which of these Jack nicknames is your favorite?  “Jackie”, which his family calls him, “Jackie Boy”, which John Abbott called him, “Jacko”, which Brad Carlton called him, and “Goddamn Jack Abbott” which is what Victor called him! (Laughs)  And, there is of course, “Smiling Jack” as the character has been referred to over time.

PETER:  I hear the name “Jackie”, and it is only used by my on-screen sisters and so that makes me smile.  They call me “Jackie” a lot.  “Smiling Jack”, I never fought that, but “Jackie” always feels good.

Photo: F. Scott Schafer/CBSWatch!

You know when people say, “Peter Bergman” the words associated with that are: “class act”, “respect”, “gracious” and “one helluva an actor”  So in closing, what would you want to say to the fans that have supported you and loved your character for 30 years on this show? 

PETER:  I am so grateful, and genuinely surprised with the way the audience has connected with my friend Jack Abbott.  I am so grateful that they have allowed Jack to grow and change.  I am so grateful that the audience always wants to know Jack’s side of the story, and just those things make it possible for me to do the greatest job that anyone could ever have.  I have the greatest job thanks to all of those qualities in the people who watch the show.

Share your thoughts on 30 years of memorable performances of Peter Bergman and your favorite Jack Abbott moments via the comment section below.  But first, check out the promo for Monday’s standalone episode of Y&R in honor of Bergman, a video shared with international broadcasters and the media of the milestone, and one of Peter’s Daytime Emmy-winning moments.

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Petter deserves high praise for his Jack role..
30 years WOW half a lifetime, he is very committed.

but– (always a but lol)

His character is so wimpy..
Jack is a sucker
The best word to describe the Jack character is-
…..GULLIBLE …
 
The Abbot family is BLAH in comparison to the rockin’ Newman family..
Anyways..
Jack wouldn’t be Jack without Victor who wouldn’t be Victor without Jack.. (figure that one out lol)

CONGRATULATIONS PETTER !! FOR 30 GREAT YEARS!!
Y&R WOULDN’T BE what it is WITHOUT YOU !!

He has such a distinctive look & voice & even though he’s played Jack on Y&R for so long I still, every time I see his face I can’t help but think of Cliff & Nina on All My Children. I can hear him on that show! A part of me will always think of him as Cliff who I loved so much as an 18 yr old, ha. Y&R was lucky to get him & he’s been lucky to stay there! ALL GOOD!

Gloria most definitely the best chemistry he ever had was with Taylor Miller/Nina !!! They were what in those times they called a Super Couple!

He is who you think he is, a nice, warm individual who somehow got to shine in the gloom and doom of Hollywood! Peter, I wish you 30 more years of anything you wish for!

What a classy guy. Peter is fabulous and Jack. Congratulations on 30 years at Y&R!!!

I love him; and I loved him as Cliff on AMC.
Congratulations, “Jackie.”

Watching the episode today, the writers missed a perfect potential storyline. Rather than Theo being the son of a dead unseen brother, he should have been the John who received the heart transplant from Jack and Niki’s baby… That would have made the entire Summer connection even more interesting…

great actor and a class act

Congratulations Peter. You took Jack Abbott and made him your own. You are Jack Abbott. May you have many more years on Y&R

Interviews

The Young and the Restless’ Michael Damian On Christine/Danny/Phyllis: “It’s a Fun Triangle Story That They’re Having Us Do, Because It’s Very Retro”

This week on The Young and the Restless, while Danny (Michael Damian) and Christine (Lauralee Bell) hit the sheets, and Phyllis (Michele Stafford) sets off an alarm as payback (literally!), the top-rated CBS soap opera continues to weave the tale of these three characters decades later, finding themselves in very familiar territory with each other.

We know that Christine and Phyllis are basically, mortal enemies, while Danny, who has been the man in the middle, has had a past with both women. However, it is Christine who has been, for all intent and purposes the love of his life.  But, will Phyllis’ machinations make it near to impossible for Danny and Christine to be together? Stay tuned.

Last week, Michael and his real-life wife, Janeen Damian visited the Michael Fairman Channel promoting their #1 streaming film on Netflix, Irish Wish starring Lindsay Lohan. The film was produced by the Damians, while Janeen directed it and co-wrote the romantic story. Michael is featured on the Irish Wish soundtrack performing his track, Wild Irish Heart.

Photo: Netflix

During the conversation, Michael shared what it has been like revisiting the Christine/Danny/Phyllis triangle years later. Damian addressed the fans on the livestream, who inquired. “It’s a fun triangle story that they’re having us do, because it’s very retro. And I think it’s fun to bring that nostalgia, retro thing back.”

Photo: JPI

Recalling a tender moment between Danny on the piano alone with Christine (during the standalone episode which honored Lauralee Bell’s 40th anniversary with Y&R), Michael expressed, “I think what they’re doing is so smart, and they’re reconnecting a lot of the fans to a lot of the story. I mean, we’re talking years and years of story.”

Photo: JPI

The longtime Y&R fan favorite, added, “I’m really glad they did the thing on the piano because people have been asking, ‘Why are you not doing any music? Why are you not singing? Where’s your band?’ You know what I mean? Janeen is asking the same thing, ‘Why aren’t you singing something on the show?’ The last time I sang on the show was when we thought Phyllis was dead. So, you know, that didn’t count. (Laughs)

One of the funniest moment in the revisiting of the triangle occurred when Phyllis and Christine were arguing over Danny, and he was right there in the room with them. The two women got so engrossed in their fight, they forgot he was there, and thus he walked out of the room.

Photo: JPI

Michael revealed, he liked that scene too! “They’re fighting. They’re arguing and Danny’s like, ‘Listen, I’m over here. Please stop it.” And then they don’t stop,” Damian recalled. “And so Danny just grabs his coat, picks up his sheet music, because he was working on a song. He goes to the door. In the scene, I even look back to see if they are even noticing me leave, and then I just left. That one was pretty funny. I’ll be honest. I was laughing out in the hallway when I left. I was thinking, ‘Should I slam the door? But then if I slam the door, they still have dialogue.’ They’re still talking and they would’ve turned, and then it would’ve ruined it. So, I just gently closed the door and left.

Photo: JPI

During the livestream, Damian teased he has some upcoming scenes with longtime Y&R co-star Beth Maitland (Traci), “I just worked with Beth Maitland actually the other day, and that was really fun. I can’t wait for people to see that show.”

Check out the the Michael Fairman Channel chat with Michael and Janeen Damian below.

Now, let us know, are you rooting for Danny and Christine? Do you think Phyllis will continue to be a disruptor in this relationship and somehow worm her way back into Dannys good graces? Share your thoughts in the comment section. But first check out this sneak peek for this week’s Y&R featuring the trio.

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Days Of Our Lives

Days of our Lives Star Blake Berris Chats On the Everett Lynch/Bobby Stein Mystery, Working with His New Co-Stars, and the Last Christmas Episode with Bill Hayes

On Days of our Lives, the return of Blake Berris is making for some very intriguing drama, with the audience guessing just which way the story will go.

When Berris arrived back on Days of our Lives, after previously playing Nick Fallon, he was taking on the new role of Everett Lynch, who has a past with Stephanie Johnson (Abigail Klein) and Jada Hunter (Elia Cantu). Only, as it has been revealed, the past he had with Jada was under the name “Bobby Stein,” who from what we can tell was far from a nice guy.

Blake visited the Michael Fairman Channel for a livestream interview this week, where fans in the live chat were weighing-on what could be the truth about the guy – is he a split personality suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder? Did the accident that cost him a year of his life in a coma, never happen? Recently, someone set fire to the beloved Horton house. Fans are suspecting it would have been “Bobby” who is working for Clyde Weston (James Read). Others believe that Everett/Bobby could actually be Clyde’s son. With upcoming therapy sessions with Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) about to start, things are about to get more juicy in Salem.

Photo: JPI

Here are just a few excerpts from our conversation with Blake on a myriad of Everett/Bobby subjects. Make sure to check out the full interview for more.

Did you know that they were going to make Everett Lynch a Jewish character? This is only the second time in the history of the show that they have even had a Jewish character on the canvas. Didn’t they reveal this at the Horton family Christmas episode?

BLAKE: No, they never asked me. I am half-Jewish on my dad’s side. There was never like, ‘You’re Jewish, right? We can call you Jewish on the show?’ At the Horton Christmas, “They made a real point of it, yeah.”

And now the new ‘character’ is “Bobby Stein” …

BLAKE: “Right, and that suggests more Jewish, and then Lynch must be coming from somewhere else, maybe the mother. I was so curious because I think the show has been historically, I’m gonna say, Catholic more than like Wasps. With the Bradys there’s this sort of Irish influence, and then the DiMeras, that’s Italian. So, we’ve got Catholics sort of on both sides that are dominant. Now I, “represent”.

Photo: JPI

What has it been like working with Abigail Klein?

BLAKE: I think she is extraordinary. We start off sort of frosty, or she’s frosty with me, like she doesn’t want to let me in. And then, for a while things are going really well. I just could not adore Abigail more. She’s such a good actor. I could always rely on her to bring me back into a scene and be there in this emotionally, supportive way.

Photo: JPI

Everett and Chad seemed to be becoming friend-ish, when all went awry when at the PCPD interrogation room, Everett let him know about Elia and Bobby Stein, and Chad let him have it for worming his way back in to Stephanie’s life.

BLAKE: Billy would call us the ‘disgusting brothers’ and that’s a reference from Succession, because all of a sudden they’re just so chummy with each other. It’s like all of a sudden we just had this like ‘Bernstein and Woodward’, sort of dynamic duo. I think that Everett really started to think of Chad as a friend and feels sort of disappointed, and he feels, “Oh, it’s that easy? I just needed to have some other identity and now you’re a fair-weather friend?”‘

Photo: JPI

In recent scenes, Jada sees Bobby Stein for the first time, and we see you and Elia Cantu share scenes with each other for the first time. What is it like working with Elia?

BLAKE: She’s fire, man. She comes in hot and she tells you the way it’s going to be. I think early on, we were trying to suss each other out and the more we worked together, the more comfortable you get with somebody. I think actors do this sometimes with each other; if there’s spice on screen, you like to keep some of what you have on-screen in your (real-life) interactions because it helps … it helps the work.  Eventually, we just sort of wore each other down and we’re like, ‘I actually totally get you, and you’re great.'”

Did you know that they were going to make Everett Lynch a Jewish character? This is only the second time in the history of the show that they have even had a Jewish character and didn’t they reveal this at the Horton family Christmas episode?

BLAKE: No, they never asked me. I am half-Jewish on my dad’s side. There was never like, ‘You’re Jewish, right? We can call you Jewish on the show?’ At the Horton Christmas, “They made a real point of it, yeah.”

And now the new ‘character’ is “Bobby Stein” …

BLAKE: “Right, and that suggests more Jewish, and then Lynch must be coming from somewhere else, maybe the mother. I was so curious because I think the show has been historically, I’m gonna say, Catholic more than like Wasps. With the Bradys there’s this sort of Irish influence, and then the DiMeras, that’s Italian. So we’ve got Catholics sort of on both sides that are dominant. Now I, “represent”.

Photo: JPI

You were on set and in the annual Horton Christmas episode which sadly marked the last for Days of our Lives legendary Bill Hayes, who passed away in January of this year.  What do you recall of that tape day?

BLAKE: It was the Christmas episode when we were watching Susan (Julie) and Bill, say ‘Merry Christmas.’  And there was something about it that just felt like it could be the last time. I mean, it wrecked us all on set. Bill gets so choked up and there was something really profound about the moment. They kiss each other as they have so many times before on the show. It was just beautiful. It felt beautiful to be there for that last Christmas. He’s just such an icon. Every time I’d see him, he was so with it … he knew my name, he knew his lines. What an incredible, incredible man.

Photo: JPI

Fans will get to see Everett in therapy sessions with Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall)? Would you say she is helping the guy?

BLAKE: Deidre’s always making jokes about Marlena, ‘She’s the worst therapist in the world’ (Laughs) I remember in the first therapy session, we almost couldn’t get through the scenes because it’s just so clear that Everett has a litany of very profound psychological issues that he is going to have to work through. He’ll keep coming back. This guy’s gonna pay the bills!

Photo: JPI

Viewers are waiting to see how they mystery of Everett Lynch/Bobby Stein plays out. What can you say as a tease for what’s to come?

BLAKE: As far as a tease, I would say, you have all these characters sort of, trying to wake up the ‘sleeping giant’ in a way. I think it’s safe to say that like if you poke a bear, the bear might wake up.

Watch the livestream chat with Blake in full below.

Now let us know, what do you think is going with Everett/Bobby? What has happened to him in his past? Share your theories in the comment section below, and make sure to catch Days of our Lives next week on Peacock for more to his story.

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Interviews

Y&R’s Melody Thomas Scott Talks on 45 Years as Nikki Newman, the Keys to Playing Drunk, And Those Genoa City Relationships

February is ‘Nikki Newman Month’ in soapland as the The Young and the Restless iconic Melody Thomas Scott celebrates her 45th anniversary in her leading role.

My how time flies! Nikki has had numerous marriages, and some to the same man, battled her addiction to alcohol too many times to count (and we loved it all), and faced so much heartache in the process.

Currently, on all-new episodes of the top-rated CBS daytime drama series, Nikki can’t quite get a grip as Jordan (Colleen Zenk) is out there and in the middle of her next master plot to make Nikki suffer, all the while Nikki is drinking again. Thanks to the heinous plot concocted by Jordan and Claire (Hayley Erin) that revealed itself last November.

Photo: JPI

In a special conversation for You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, Melody shared her thoughts on a myriad of subjects including: her current story, those long tape days at Victor and Nikki’s weddings, why she plays drunk better than anyone on television, plus we take a mini-deep dive into Nikki’s past.

Y&R fans were stunned when the powers-that-be had Nikki kidnapped and then hooked her up to an IV of booze. Just how much did Melody know of the story going in? She elaborated, “I knew Nikki would be terrorized. That’s all that I knew. I thought that sounded like great fun. I didn’t know for a little bit that she was going to fall off the wagon in the process of it. And then when I heard how it would happen, I was thrilled to bits. I did kind of want to have a little leader (or crawl) down at the bottom of the screen saying, ‘Hey, people don’t put an IV with vodka in your arm because that will kill you.’ But, poetic license, I suppose.”

Photo: JPI

Melody also weighed-in on if she thinks Nikki will stop drinking anytime soon, expressing, “She just can’t get out of this. Then of course, Jordan’s not letting her out very easily. Just when Nikki thinks she is mentally strong enough to never take another drink, well, of course she does, because something else happens. I think it’s also a learning point for people who are watching the show who may have an addiction problem. Now, I could be wrong, but I think it’d be highly unusual for somebody to be just mentally strong to be able to stop.”

If you wondered if Melody enjoys playing a drunk Nikki, look no more, “I do. That’s simply for selfish reasons,” she shared. “That’s for my enjoyment. I take great pleasure in it. It’s fun for me, and just the process of pretending to be drunk. I love the end result. I try not to do too much because there’s nothing worse when an actor is overplaying drunk. So you have to kind of keep it a little bit underneath (the surface). However, sometimes because of Jordan, Nikki does get much sloppier than I normally would play it.”

Photo: JPI

In recent episodes, it seems that Jack (Peter Bergman) and Nikki are gravitating more to each other, as both are drawn together through their shared experiences with addiction. Victor (Eric Braeden) is not happy that his arch-nemesis is helping Nikki try to stay sober. Could Melody see Jack and Nikki becoming romantic again? “I love Peter. I mean, Peter was my second favorite husband on Y&R. It would be wonderful, but I don’t know if the fans would go for that,” she explained. “They’re so invested in Niktor that I think they would really be upset about that unless Victor did something really crummy, then I could buy that.”

Photo: JPI

One of the more ‘out there’ stories during Melody’s 45-year run, was when Nikki was paired with Crazy Edward, and he took her home to meet his mother … who was in an urn! You would think maybe Melody didn’t like the story .. but think again! “Bill Bell (co-creator, Y&R) was writing the show in those days, and Bill kept that information pretty tight. I don’t remember us knowing even a week in advance. Maybe, we would get our scripts, three or four days in advance and that was it. You knew nothing about future story, but I loved the story,” she raved. “It was almost Hitchcockian, shall we say. The actor who played Crazy Edward, Paul Tulley was so magnificent and such a sweetheart. We loved working with each other so much, but man, when that red light came on the camera, he scared the you-know-what out of me. He was absolutely terrifying. But then, the minute the scene was over, we’re fooling around and laughing and everything. He was so good. So good!”

Photo: JPI

According to Melody, the pairing of Victor and Nikki was not something she, nor Eric Braeden, initially thought would made sense: “I was a little terrified when I heard that he and I would be doing scenes. I thought, ‘What, what?’ He also wondered, ‘What am I going to be doing working with that young kid, that snotty kid?’ We had no idea what Bill Bell saw. He had a vision with us and somehow knew that we would have chemistry. It didn’t take Bill long to show us in the scripts why he put us together. Then, we started to see it. Although, it was hard to imagine at first, certainly we knew it worked by the time Nikki had baby number one during the ‘Who’s the father?’ storyline. Nikki and Victor weren’t even married yet. So, we did figure it out pretty early on.”

Photo: JPI

From her early years as Nikki Reed, Melody reflected back on some major story points in her character’s history, relating, “I actually did like her in the very beginning when she was just a little brat living with her sister and her father, who of course ended up trying to rape her…  and she had hit him over the head with a lamp … and he died. I did not care for the stripping storyline at all. Only because I knew that I didn’t have the natural dancing ability. I wasn’t fluid enough to really look good up there stripping. I know they hired wonderful choreographers and everything for me, but I just didn’t feel worthy of being up there … I guess is what it was. Of course, now I look back on it and I think, ‘Oh, I guess it wasn’t too bad.’ Later, there was a strip she did in the Colonnade Room. At the time, she was married to Jack. Victor’s sitting there with some other woman and she’s drunk. I saw that scene recently, and I thought it was great. I didn’t at the time, but looking back, I thought, ‘Wow, that was good.'”

Photo: CBS

Watch the full 45th anniversary conversation with Melody below.

Now let us know, are you enjoying Nikki being back on the bottle? Would you want to see Jack and Nikki try their relationship one more time? What has been your favorite storyline of Melody’s over the last 45 years on Y&R.  Let us know in the comment section.

 

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