In 1989, after exiting All My Children where he played heroic Cliff, Peter Bergman secured an audition for the role of bad boy Jack Abbott. He landed the coveted gig and immediately made the part his own. Today, YR will honor Bergman with a look back at Jack’s life to honor his 30th anniversary in Genoa City.
Soap Hub is commemorating this happy occasion by looking back at six of Bergman’s most powerful stories/story arcs on YR.
Jack was determined to win Jabot Cosmetics back from rival Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). His scheme was to wed Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and use her as a bargaining chip to get his dad’s company back.
But first, he had to break up Nikki and Jim Grainger (John O’Hurley). Jack paid a Colonnade Room server to play Victor and Nikki’s love them, Through the Eyes of Love. Jim’s jealousy after seeing Victor and Nikki dance led to their split, paving the way for Jack.
Jack fell for Nikki for real, which put a crimp in his plan to use her in his battle against Victor. After Nikki gave birth to their premature infant, who died, Jack was devastated. Soon, a woman showed up with a baby at Jabot. Jack was put off by this stranger until he found out that her little boy had been given his late son’s heart.
Victor was ripping into Jack after finding out he was up to no good when the mustached mogul collapsed. Jack had a choice — call for help or walk out of the room and leave Victor to die. He chose the latter and, adding insult to injury, Jack accidentally on purpose kicked Victor’s hand as he callously exited.
Jack was thrust into three romances in the mid-1990s. First, he was reunited with Luan (the late Elizabeth Sung), his love from Vietnam and the mother of his long-lost son Keemo (Phillip Moon).
Luan’s untimely death made him prey to manipulative and dangerous Mari Jo Mason (Diana Barton). After Mari Jo was carted away, Jack reconnected with former fling Diane (Alex Donnelley).
Ignoring stepmother Gloria’s (Judith Chapman) genuine feelings for John, Jack blamed the gold-digger for his …continue reading on the next page —>
Ignoring stepmother Gloria’s (Judith Chapman) genuine feelings for John, Jack blamed the gold-digger for his father’s untimely death. First, Jack made sure Gloria got the time of John’s memorial wrong. Then, he placed her belongings in trash bags and threw them — and her — out of the Abbott mansion.
In the mid-2000s, Jack was legally barred from owning Jabot, so in a move worthy of Abby Ewing (Knots Landing), Jack set up a dummy company named House of Kim and used that to regain Jabot!
Next, Jack and ex-love Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) were trapped in an elevator where he helped her deliver a baby girl, Summer (Hunter King). In a twist, Jack turned out not to be the dad!
Soap Hub joins Peter Bergman’s fans, YR colleagues, and the whole daytime community in wishing the actor a happy anniversary as he celebrates three decades of playing Jack Abbott. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for air times.
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