Recently, there have been a few mentions of the character Leslie Brooks on The Young and the Restless. Veteran fans of the show know exactly who she is but Soap Hub can offer a bit of background on the accomplished pianist for relatively newer viewers to the show.
The Early The Young and the Restless Years
Actress Janice Lynde originated the role of Leslie Brooks and she appeared in the premiere episode of The Young and the Restless. Soon, Leslie fell for Genoa City newcomer Brad Elliot (Tom Hallick), who landed a job at the Genoa City Chronicle, the newspaper owned by Leslie’s father Stuart Brooks (Robert Colbert).
Leslie battled her own sister Lorie (Jaime Lyn Bauer) for Brad’s affections. A jealous Lorie intercepted Leslie’s letters to Brad and managed to make Leslie think that she (Lorie) and Brad had made love. That resulted in Leslie having a mental breakdown while she was in New York doing a pianist performance.
Stuart learned Leslie was in an institution and brought her back to Genoa City. Next, Lorie discovered that Brad was a surgeon who changed his identity after he operated on his own son, who died on the operating table. Leslie helped Brad discover that his son’s death wasn’t his fault. He and Leslie married.
Y&R: Leslie Brooks Moves Forward With A New Love
Alas, the couple didn’t live happily ever after on The Young and the Restless. While temporarily blind, Brad accidentally hit a pregnant Leslie (now played by Victoria Mallory) with a suitcase causing her to miscarry. Brad filed for divorce and moved away from Genoa City. Next, Leslie became involved in a love quadrangle with her sister and brothers Lance Prentiss (John McCook; Dennis Cole) and Lucas Prentiss (Tom Ligon).
Leslie became pregnant with Lance’s son – Brooks Lucas Prentiss (André Gower) – but Lucas married Leslie and claimed that the boy was his so that Lance and Lorie could reunite. Sadly, Leslie suffered another breakdown after splitting from Lucas (whom she didn’t truly love) and Lorie realized that Lance was Brooks’s father. Leslie developed amnesia and temporarily took on a new identity. Eventually, Lorie and Lucas told Leslie who she truly was. Leslie, however, didn’t want to be a mother to Brooks, so she gave custody of her son to Lorie.
Leslie dated lawyer Robert Laurence (Peter Brown), who defended Lorie after she was accused of pushing Lance and Lucas’s mother Vanessa (K.T. Stevens) to her death (in reality, she had committed suicide and had hoped to frame Lorie for her “murder”). After Robert’s institutionalized ex-wife Claire (Suzanne Zenor) regained her faculties, Leslie decided to return to Europe.
Leslie has returned to The Young and the Restless a few times over the years — she attended Victor’s (Eric Braeden) and Nikki’s (Melody Thomas Scott) first wedding; Leslie and Lorie made a brief appearance in 2018 for The Young and the Restless’s 45th anniversary. Now that she’s been mentioned twice, is it possible that we’ll see Leslie once more? Stay tuned to find out!
The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on Y&R spoilers.
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