45 Years: The Young and the Restless celebrates Eric Braeden

The Young and the Restless wouldn’t be the same without The Great Victor Newman, and for the cast and crew, the same is felt about Eric Braeden. Friends and family gathered at the studio yesterday to celebrate the beloved actor’s 45th Anniversary on the show.

Eric Braeden: 45 years on The Young and the Restless

A celebration was held on Friday to honor Eric Braeden’s 45th anniversary of being on The Young and the Restless. The character first appeared in Genoa City on the episode that aired on February 8th, 1980.

During the luncheon, fellow cast members shared memories and stories about Braeden, reminiscing about favorite scenes and how they met.

Braeden shared that he had never expected to spend the majority of his career in one role. There was a scene when his character, Victor Newman, explained to Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) about his childhood. He credited (creator) Bill Bell for giving him a background that he identified with, and said that from that moment on is when he fell in love with playing Victor. After that scene, he went to his dressing room and called his wife to say that he was going to stay.

Now, 45 years later, the legendary actor is cherished behind the scenes. His costars took to social media to share their photos of the celebration. “There is no character on TV like Victor Newman. And no man on earth like Mr. Eric Braeden,” commented Elizabeth Hendrickson, who plays Chloe Mitchell. “Happy 45 years to this legend. I adore you, sir,” said Courtney Hope (Sally Spectra) on her photos.

In a video shared by CBS, Joshua Morrow told the story of his first introduction to the man who would be his father on Y&R. Morrow’s character, Nicholas Newman, had just been subject to SORAS (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome). Morrow explained, “They walked me into his dressing room. They said, ‘Hey, this is Joshua Morrow. He’s going to be playing your son now.’ And they had just aged me from a baby to a 20-year-old. And he just looked at me and went, ‘How bizarre.’”

Bryton James, who plays Devon Hamilton, spoke a message to his costar. “The first thing I learned from you was to listen. Because my first day on set was with you, and you changed every single line you said from rehearsal to the take,” Bryton shared.

In an interview on the Michael Fairman Channel after the luncheon, he was “very touched” by everyone’s kind words.

Watch Eric Braeden on The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS or stream on Paramount Plus.