If you’re a fan of Danny and Cricket from the good old days on The Young and the Restless, you’re not alone. Lauralee Bell, who plays Christine/Cricket, shares with Soap Hub that there’s a diehard supporter of her and Michael Damian, who plays Danny. And she’s got the tapes to back it up!
Lauralee Bell: Heard It Through the Grapevine
Today, we’re in a digital world but diehard soap fans likely still have boxes of VHS tapes that we recorded our shows on back in the 1980s and 1990s. That’s when Danny and Christine were a top couple on Y&R and their reunion has prompted devotee Brenda Grapevine to voice her love for the popular duo.
“There is a Danny/Cricket fan [Brenda Grapevine] who has literally changed Michael’s and my life,” Bell tells Soap Hub. “Every single day, she has a themed clip to the show that she posts.” For example, in honor of folks changing their clocks for Daylight Savings Time, Grapevine edited some clips together that had, for example, Danny and Cricket waking up late. “We look forward to these daily surprise [posts],” Bell says. “They’re so creative.”
Traditionally, actors don’t have the steel trap mind that most fans do when it comes to remember specifics about storylines, climactic scenes, and memorable moments. “We have forgotten so much of these scenes,” Bells says. However, thanks to Grapevine’s Instagram page in honor of Danny and Cricket, their portrayers and account followers can relive these moments.
“I’ve had people from France reach out to me who haven’t watched the show in a while but now they’re back watching and in groups, too,” Bell says. “It’s very cute.”
Bell and Damian happened to be working on a day that Grapevine had organized a viewing party so the two actors decided to pop in and surprise their supporters digitally. Coincidentally, it was when Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) was really getting in the way of the former married duo. “We had to tape that day so we could only do 10 minutes but we hopped on and it was great seeing everyone,” Bell says.
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Bell can’t emphasize enough how much she and Damian have enjoyed revisiting classic Danny and Chris moments. The two were quite happy before Phyllis set her sights on the rock star when he was performing on Broadway. Bell recalls seeing the every day, fun, scenarios that her late father, William J. Bell, Y&R’s creator, head writer, and senior executive producer would create for the couple. “Back then, we had a kitchen set [in our home] so we could cook,” she says. “Danny and Cricket were so romantic. You were drawn into their young love affair.”
Bell is touched that Grapevine spends so much time editing videos. When she learned that the Danny and Cricket fan was in Los Angeles, she made sure that she got to visit the studio. “She got a lot of content for her page while she was here,” Bell says. “She goes above and beyond.”
It’s folks like Grapevine that make Lauralee Bell grateful that Y&R has been renewed for another four years. The devoted fans are out there. “It’s possible to maintain and even grow an audience when you have people who are so passionate about the show,” Bell points out. “She doesn’t ‘need’ to do this. How can you not thank her?”
Danny and Christine fans who’ve been anxious to see the couple leave Phyllis in the dust and be happy again won’t want to miss the week of March 25 for some must-see Danny/Christine scenes!
In the meantime, many happy past moments can be seen on Grapevine’s page. She has episodes cataloged by date and storyline. Ask her if she can call up Danny and Cricket doing something specific — like riding in a helicopter — and she can likely do it. Grapevine brings highly organized skills to her passion. “It’s amazing,” Bell says. “I still use Post-its for everything!”
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