Peter Bergman: Soap Shows’ Actor Biography

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ctor Peter Bergman took over the role of Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless from Terry Lester in 1989. As the head of the Abbott family, Jack’s nemesis is Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). Divorced five times, this survivor is as well acquainted with failure as he is success. Terry Lester originated the role in 1980.

Born Peter Michael Bergman on June 11, 1953 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Bergman is the son of a US Naval Officer. By the time he was in eighth grade, the Bergman family had relocated nine times.

Bergman graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1974, after which he took to the stage in regional theater productions. He also appeared in TV commercials, and was the second actor to say the iconic line, “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV,” in a spot for Vicks Formula 44 cough medicine.

Using Peter Bergman as his professional name, the actor’s first TV role was a guest turn on Kojack in 1976. In 1980, he won the role of Dr. Cliff Warner on ABC’s All My Children and worked opposite Taylor Miller’s Nina Cortlandt. Cliff and Nina are often described as AMC‘s first super couple.

In 1976, Bergman married actress Christine Ebersol, who soap fans may remember as Lily Darnell on Ryan’s Hope from 1977 to 1980, and Maxie McDermott on One Life to Live from 1983 to 1985. Bergman and Ebersol divorced in 1981. In 1985, Bergman remarried. He and his wife Mariellen live on an island off Newport Beach, CA. The couple has two grown children, Connor and Clare, and two Golden Retrievers, Chester and Finley.

For his work on All My Children, Bergman was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama series in 1983. As Jack Abbott on Y&R, Bergman has been nominated for the same award more years than not, and won the award in 1991, 1992, 1993, and 2002.

Peter Bergman stars as Y&R’s Jack Abbott, weekdays on CBS. Leave a comment in the section below, or in our brand new soap forums. For more The Young and the Restless spoilers and news updates, join the conversation on Soap Shows’ Y&R Facebook page. Follow SoapShows on Twitter, for ’round-the-clock Genoa City updates. Follow writer Cindy McLennan on Twitter, too.