Thom Bierdz, who played Phillip Chancellor III on The Young and the Restless from 1986-89 and again in 2009, has written a tell-all memoir titled Young, Gay and Restless.
The tome is now available for or by going to Thom Bierdz’s website. In the first of this two-part interview, Bierdz explained why he was writing the book and what the climate was for him in the 1980s as a gay actor on daytime.
In part two, below, Bierdz addresses Phillip’s surprise resurrection in 2009 after dying on-camera and theorizes as to why his character exited once more so soon after his return.
Note: Young, Gay and Restless contains nude photographs and sexually explicit language.
Read on to hear more from the actor, who has written a provocative and revealing memoir!
What do you think? Post a comment!
Were you told why your story ended in 2009? It was such a shock to see that Phillip was alive and another shock when he left town again not long after.
I wish I knew more information. Maria Arena Bell [executive producer/head writer] seemed to be gung-ho about it. When we had conversations what was to be expected, I thought she and I agreed that there’d be a gay romance [for Phillip] and that also she was going to promote my paintings because that’s how I was making my living.
Phillip was going to be a painter [too], but we were going to push that off for a little while.
My understanding is that it was going to be a thicker role than it turned out to be. I don’t know why it was diminished. Other than I’m just assuming, you know, maybe some angry mail [came in] at a homosexual mention on a soap opera. Maybe that scared them off?
Do you still watch the show? Camryn Grimes (Mariah) won an Emmy for playing a storyline in which her character’s been questioning who she is and what she wants out of life. There’s support…but also backlash.
Oh, there is? No, I don’t …continue reading on the next page —>
Share this: