On March 26, 1998, The Young and the Restless’s 25th Silver Anniversary, the show’s company gathered outside the red TV City awning at the studio facility to bury a time capsule. At the ceremony, Melody Thomas Scott, who portrays Nikki Newman, gave a heartfelt speech. On Wednesday, March 1, as the show kicks off its 50th Golden Anniversary, Y&R assembled to unearth the capsule. Once again, the eloquent Scott spoke.
Melody Thomas Scott: Time in a Bottle
“I was here for the, I guess I have to say, ‘burial ceremony’ 25 years ago, March 26, 1998,” Scott began. “I’m very excited to open it to see what’s inside. Also celebrating a milestone is Y&R’s landlord, TV City, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary and has been home to Y&R for its entire run, which,” the actress comedically quipped, “is longer than any relationship in Genoa City.”
Cast members in attendance for the opening included Lauralee Bell (Christine), Michael Damian (Danny), Jason Thompson (Billy), Melissa Ordway (Abby), Conner Floyd (Chance), Sharon Case (Sharon), Camryn Grimes (Mariah), Bryton James (Devon), among others. Scott welcomed ceremony attendee Barbara Irwin, co-author of two Y&R tomes — “The Young and the Restless, Special Silver Anniversary Collector’s Edition” and “The Young and the Restless: Most Memorable Moments.” “We appreciate you so much, Barbara,” Scott warmly said.
Esther Valentine: To the Rescue
Before the capsule was opened, Scott invited Kate Linder, who was decked out in Esther Valentine’s gone-but-never-forgotten maid’s uniform and carrying her character’s trademark feather duster, to clean off the capsule. “I wonder what Mrs. C. would say about this?” Linder queried in character, referring to Katherine Chancellor, played by the late, great Jeanne Cooper. “Oh, I don’t know,” Scott replied with a lilt in her voice.
“How’s this?” Linder inquired after giving the capsule a dusting. “Well. It’s a little better, Esther,” Scott quipped in character. “Thank you — 25 years of dirt is hard to clean.”
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Melody Thomas Scott Enlists Some Muscle
Next, Sean Dominic (Nate) and Christian Le Blanc (Michael) were called to lift the capsule, open it and present the contents that were buried 25 years ago. “We are the two strongest men on The Young and the Restless,” quipped Le Blanc, who reports that the capsule weighed about 50 lbs. “It was pretty heavy, but…we used our legs,” Dominic says. Inside the capsule was a script from Y&R’s first episode, March 26, 1973, and a signed script from March 26, 1998, the show’s Silver Anniversary.
You can see in the Instagram post below script signatures from past Y&R stars Scott Reeves (Ryan), Alex Donnelley (Diane), Shari Shattuck (Ashley), Shemar Moore (Malcolm), Doug Davidson (Paul), Tricia Cast (Nina), the late Candice Daly (Veronica), Heath Kizzier (Josh), Sabryn Genet (Tricia), and former producers Ed Scott (now Supervising Producer, The Bold and the Beautiful), David Shaughnessy, and Nancy Bradley Wiard.
Y&R Buried Treasures
The script is also signed by current cast members Peter Bergman (Jack), Eric Braeden (Victor), Melody Thomas Scott, Sharon Case (Sharon), and Joshua Morrow (Nicholas). Also adding his “John Hancock” was Bill Bell, the show’s creator, the man who helmed the show as head writer for 25 years. Bell was also Y&R’s senior executive producer for much of that time. Other items include mock newspapers used on the show featuring storylines, including Nicholas Newman’s arrest for shooting Matt Clark (Eddie Cibrian), Paul Williams’s presumed death, and the shooting of Victor Newman.
Other items in the capsule included a Y&R 25th Silver Anniversary silver medallion, a mock Jabot Cosmetics product, cast photos, a copy of the book “Cooking With The Young and the Restless” by Robert Waldron and Martha Hollis, and the last typewriter ball used by former head writer Kay Alden on her IBM Selectric typewriter — remember those?
Watch for upcoming Soap Hub stories on two special messages included in the capsule from both Bill Bell and Jeanne Cooper.
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