7. Two Real-Life Siblings Played A Married Couple
Heather Tom played Victoria Newman from 1990 to 2003 while her brother David was cast as Billy Abbot from 1999 to 2014. Fortunately for the real-life siblings, their characters didn’t become romantic until after Heather had left the role and was replaced by Amelia Heinle. (LittleThings)
8. Jeanne Cooper Was The Longest-Performing Actress On The Show Until Her Death
In 1973, Jeanne starred as Katherine Chancellor for four decades, with the occasional substitute filling in along the way. Her final performance was May 3, 2013, just five days before she passed away on May 8, 2013. Jeanne’s death was written into the series with her actual son, Corbin Bernson, playing the priest who officiated her funeral as Father Todd. (LittleThings)
9. One Actress Portrayed Two Different Characters Simultaneously
In 1983, Veleka Gray portrayed two different characters simultaneously: Patti’s psychiatrist Dr. Sharon Reaves, and hotel manicurist Ruby. Unusually, the characters were neither look-a-likes nor related, they were involved in different storylines, and shared no scenes together.
10. Forever Fans
Former talk show hostess Oprah Winfrey said she was a huge fan of The Young and the Restless (1973) and that “Kay Chancellor”–Cooper’s character–was her favorite. Baseball Hall of Fame Shortstop Cal Ripken is also one of the show’s biggest fans.
11. American Bandstand?
Michael Damian was spotted on American Bandstand by Y&R producers who created the role of rocker Danny Romalotti specifically for him.
12. Additional Celebrity Cast Members
Tom Selleck, David Hasselhoff, Eva Longoria, Shemar Moore and Paul Walker have all been members of the Y&R cast.
13. Additional Celebrity Guests Unknowns
Wayne Gretzky, Pat Benatar, Little Richard, Enrique Iglesias and Katy Perry have all guested on the show.
13. The Series Explored Social Issues
Jennifer Brooks (Played by Dorothy Green) underwent the first mastectomy on a soap opera. Despite having a mastectomy, character Jennifer died of breast cancer in 1977.
Other social issue storylines included bulimia, alcoholism, and cancer. Lesbianism was also touched on by Katherine Chancellor, who flirts with Jill while drunk in 1974 and has a brief relationship with Joann Curtis (Kay Heberle) in 1977. Other story situations other than explicit sexual themes such as premarital intercourse and impotence, incest, and rape.
(Source: WTKR.com and IMDb and LittleThings)