Eric Braeden's friendship with the late Dabney Coleman helped make The Young and the Restless history

The Young and the Restless star Eric Braeden pays tribute to the famous friend who helped him become Victor Newman.

Hollywood icon Dabney Coleman, known for his roles in films like 9 to 5 and Tootsie, passed away on May 16, 2024, at the age of 92. Coleman helped make a generation of movie fans laugh, but he also changed the course of soap history, thanks to his friendship with The Young and the Restless legend Eric Braeden.

Braeden, who began playing Victor Newman on Y&R in 1980, shared a decades-long friendship with Coleman and took to Instagram to pay tribute to the actor -- and credit him with making Braeden take the role that changed his life.

"My old friend, Dabney Coleman, just passed!" Braeden wrote while sharing two photos of himself and Coleman from just a few years ago. "Upon his recommendation did I decide to do Y&R! Dabney was 92! A great actor, great friend and tennis player! REST IN PEACE, my friend!!!"

The snaps Braeden posted are from the Y&R set while filming the 40th-anniversary celebration for Newman Enterprises, which coincided with Braeden's 40th anniversary on the CBS soap. Coleman visited the set to help honor Braeden and Victor. At the time, Braeden reflected on what led him to become an actor, as well as how he finally settled in soaps after years of primetime and movie roles.

"I have a friend called Dabney Coleman who was in Tootsie and then, 9 to 5, and many other films," Braeden said in an official Y&R Instagram video. He went on to describe Coleman as "a great comedic actor [and a] great dramatic actor."

Coleman had his own soap experience on the short-lived soap Bright Promise in 1971. Two years after he encouraged Braeden to become Victor, Coleman took another journey into the soap world -- sort of -- when he starred in the Dustin Hoffman hit Tootsie. Coleman played the cantankerous and sexist director of the fictional soap opera Southwest General. In the movie, Carlisle was stunned when one of the actresses he came onto, Dorothy Michaels, revealed himself as actor Michael Dorsey. That plot sounds like it can fit right in with Victor's Genoa City life on Y&R.

In 1982, Coleman joined the soap world himself -- sort of -- when he starred in the Dustin Hoffman hit Tootsie. Coleman played the cantankerous and sexist director of the fictional soap opera Southwest General. In the movie, Carlisle was stunned when one of the actresses he hit on, Dorothy Michaels, revealed himself as actor Michael Dorsey. That plot sounds like it can fit right in with Victor's Genoa City life on Y&R.

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Did you know Dabney Coleman impacted Eric Braeden's decision around taking the role of Victor Newman? Do you remember Dabney Coleman in Tootsie? 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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