The Young and the Restless is a famous soap opera. Since its premiere in March 1973, the CBS show has entertained fans with its drama and romance stories from Genoa City. As the show prepares its 50th-anniversary celebration, here are some fun facts.
One surprising fact about ‘The Young and the Restless’ is the Newman and Abbotts weren’t part of the original cast
The Newman and Abbott families have become synonymous with The Young and the Restless. But many fans may be surprised that neither family was part of the original cast. When the show debuted on Mar. 26, 1973, it focused on the Foster and the Brooks.
In the early days, viewers watched the saga of sisters Leslie and Lorie Brooks (Janice Lynde and Jaime Lyn Bauer) and Jill Foster (Jess Walton). It wasn’t until 1980 that the writers introduced the iconic characters Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) and John Abbott (Jerry Douglas). Victor and John’s families have grown over the years, and now their children carry the family legacy.
The show initially had a different name
William J. Bell is a pioneer in the soap opera world. After working as a co-creator and writer for Another World, Bell decided to branch out on his own. In 1972, Bell and his wife, Lee Phillip Bell, began creating a new soap opera for CBS.
The Genoa City serial was initially going to be called The Innocent Years. Bell’s idea for the name came from his belief that young Americans had lost their innocence. “We were confronted with the very disturbing reality that young America had lost much of its innocence,” Bell explained to Mary Cassata, author of The Young and the Restless: Most Memorable Moments.
Although The Innocent Years was a good name, Bell switched it to its iconic name, The Young and the Restless. Bell said the new name “reflected the youth and mood of the early seventies.”
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‘The Young and the Restless’ wrote Jeanne Cooper’s face-lift into the show
There’s been plenty of memorable moments during the show’s 50-season run. One particular storyline in 1984 had the show making history. Jeanne Cooper, who played Katherine Chancellor, decided to have a face-lift. The procedure would cause her to be absent, and the producers devised an innovative idea.
According to IMDB.com, Bell decided to write Cooper’s face-lift into the show by having Katherine undergo plastic surgery. Footage of Cooper’s surgery was incorporated into the episode and was the first plastic surgery procedure featured in a soap opera. Viewers watched in awe as the actor and character underwent the transformation.
‘The Young and the Restless’ fact Beth Maitland and Tracey E. Bregman were the first actors to win Daytime Emmys
The Young and the Restless has a talented cast honored with many awards. The top prize in the soap opera world is a Daytime Emmy. Every year daytime’s top stars hope to add their names to the list of winners.
Peter Bergman, Braeden, and Eileen Davidson are soap opera actors who won Daytime Emmys. As for the first winners from The Young and the Restless, that honor goes to Beth Maitland and Tracy E. Bregman. In 1985, Maitland and Bregman took home Daytime Emmys for their performances.
Maitland, who plays Traci Abbott won for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Later Bregman would win for Outstanding Younger Actress.
