The Young and the Restless turns 45 today! In honor of this milestone, Soap Hub takes a look back at 10 of the show’s most memorable stories over the last four and a half decades!
10. Sheila kidnaps Scotty. Deranged nurse Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) stole Lauren’s (Tracey Bregman) son and replaced him with an infant who later died. Sheila’s been presumed dead more than once, but manages to rise from the ashes.
9. Drucilla’s journey. Feeling unloved, Dru (Victoria Rowell) ran away from home, eventually reaching out to her aunt Mamie (Veronica Redd). She turned her life around and married Neil (Kristoff St. John). Just how far Dru had come was examined in a dramatic showdown with her mother, Lillie Belle (Norma Donaldson).
8. Lorie vs. Leslie. Lorie (Jaime Lyn Bauer) competed against her sister Leslie (Janice Lynde) throughout their lives. Things reached a crescendo when she wrote a novel titled In My Sister’s Shadow, detailing what it was like having a successful sibling.
7. Kept in a cage. Brad’s deranged ex-wife Lisa wanted him back so she had him kidnapped and locked him in a cage. Jack (Terry Lester) helped Brad (Don Diamont) escape, but not before Traci (Beth Maitland) divorced her absent husband.
6. Vanessa’s bungee jump. Terminally ill Vanessa (K.T. Stevens) hated her daughter-in-law Lorie so much she framed her for pushing her to her death off a balcony. Fortunately, Lorie was exonerated.
5. Nathan’s affair. Nathan (Adam Lazarre-White) cheated on his wife Olivia (Tonya Lee Williams) with Keesha (Wanda Acuna). The betrayal took on new heights when Keesha was diagnosed with HIV. Nathan and Olivia tested negative, but the tale brought awareness of HIV/AIDS to Y&R’s audience.
4. Hurricane Phyllis. Chris (Lauralee Bell) and Danny’s (Michael Damian) marriage ended after Danny had a fling with Phyllis (then Michelle Stafford; now Gina Tognoni), who became pregnant with his son. Phylllis’ lies were exposed (Danny was NOT the father!), but Danny won legal custody of the boy.
3. Kay and Jill’s feud. Katherine (Jeanne Cooper) drove off a cliff with her husband Phillip (Donnelly Rhodes) as a passenger. He died, preventing him from marrying Jill (then Brenda Dickson; now, Jess Walton), who was carrying his son. The women eventually buried their feud many years later before Kay passed away.
2. Jack and Nikki’s son dies. Victor (Eric Braeden) argued with a pregnant Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) over their daughter, Victoria (then Heather Tom; now Amelia Heinle). Nikki then gave premature birth to her son with Jack (Peter Bergman), and the baby soon died. Later, Jack held the infant child who received his late son’s heart.
1. The George Rawlins Murder Mystery. This crime novel come to life story helped propel Y&R to the top spot in the ratings.
Paul (Doug Davidson) fought to clear his name after his pal George (Jonathan Farwell) was murdered. It looked like George’s beautiful young wife Sandy, whom Paul knew as Cassandra (Nina Arvesen), was the culprit. The killer was actually Adrian Hunter (Mark Derwin).
The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for airtimes.
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