40 YEARS: Eric Braeden marks anniversary as Y&R's Victor Newman, special episodes to air

The Young and the Restless is gearing up to toast one of daytime's best-known performers. The inimitable Eric Braeden is celebrating 40 years of playing the Victor Newman.

It has been 40 years since Victor Newman made his first appearance on The Young and the Restless. In all of that time, Victor has been played by just one man, Emmy winner Eric Braeden. If, like us, you think an accomplishment of that caliber deserves a little celebration, then you're in luck.

The Young and the Restless will mark Braeden's milestone anniversary with three days of special episodes. The episodes will bring some familiar faces back to Genoa City, and, as every soap fan knows, an anniversary celebration is not complete without flashbacks. A Y&R rep tells Soap Central that there will be plenty of vintage clips shown during the three-day fete, some of which date all the way back to 1980.

Now, what about these special returns?

First, here's a little setup. The celebration kicks off when Nikki Newman (played by Melody Thomas Scott) hosts a glamorous gala to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Victor's company, Newman Enterprises. Cue the familiar faces. Returning for the celebration are Victor's grandson Noah Newman (Robert Adamson); his first wife, Julia (Meg Bennett); and Victor's brother, Matt Miller, played by Robert Parucha.

Here's a brief history of Victor Newman: Victor was born Christian Miller, first son to a poor and struggling family in Buffalo, New York. After his father, Albert, abandoned the family, his mother, Cora, believed that the only way they could survive would be to leave one of her two sons in an orphanage. Christian grew up there from the age of seven, always expecting his mother to return for him as she'd promised, until he gave up and ran away when he was in his teens. A self-made and self-educated man, he changed his name to Victor Newman because he had created a "new man" of himself. Victor arrived in Genoa City with his wife Julia to run Chancellor Industries for Katherine Chancellor. Later he created his own conglomerate, Newman Enterprises, and was considered the most powerful and wealthy businessman in town, or maybe even the world.

You can read all about Victor in our Who's Who in Genoa City section. A clip of one of his early scenes appears below for your Throwback Thursday (or any day) enjoyment.

Eric Braeden made his first Y&R appearance on February 8, 1980.

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The 50th Newman Enterprises celebration kicks off on Tuesday, February 18, and continues through Thursday, February 20. Be sure to set your DVRs, make sure your CBS All Access subscriptions are paid, or put in for some vacation days because you're not going to want to miss the celebration.

What is your favorite Victor Newman memory? What is the first Y&R episode that you remember Eric Braeden appearing in? Would you like to share a celebratory message in honor of Eric Braeden's 40th anniversary? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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