The cast and crew of CBS’s THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS will pay tribute to the show’s longest-tenured star, Jeanne Cooper, in a special episode on Tuesday, May 28th.
Cast members, friends and family of the beloved actress will gather on set next week to shoot a celebration of the life of their late friend who passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 84. Cooper, the Emmy Award-winning actress who portrayed Katherine Chancellor for more than 39 years, was the show’s longest-running cast member. She joined the soap about six months after its premiere in 1973 and remained a central character for most of those 39 years.
As part of the tribute episode, the cast of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS will share their favorite memories of working with Cooper, along with personal recollections of their friendships with her. Additionally, interviews with Cooper from the show’s recent 40th anniversary and classic clips of her years on the daytime drama will be included.
“Jeanne Cooper was a legend and we want to give her the tribute she deserves,” said Angelica McDaniel, Senior Vice President, Daytime CBS. “The cast will honor their longtime friend, family member and co-worker in the greatest way possible, as we celebrate her life and vibrant spirit and share it with the audience who loved her as much as we did.”
Cooper’s final scenes as Katherine Chancellor aired last Friday. Our last glimpse of her character followed a conversation with her longtime rival Jill, played by Jess Walton. In the storyline, Chancellor had just returned home from the hospital where she had been treated for a brain tumor. As Katherine was about to retire for the night, Jill asked if she could help the frail older woman up the stairs. The ever-fiesty, independent Katherine declined the offer, and, after a pause, said, “Good night.” She was then shown ascending the stairs.
It wasn’t written to be Cooper’s final scene, according to a staffer with the show, but it certainly played like a fitting final appearance for her.
Daytime shows are normally taped up to a month in advance or more; Cooper’s final scenes were recorded on March 26th, which happened to be the program’s 40th anniversary date.
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, recently nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Drama, has been the #1-rated daytime drama for more than 24 years. Set your DVR for the special tribute episode, Tuesday, May 28th in its normal 12:30pm-1:30pm time slot, immediately following LIVE 5 NEWS AT NOON.
That changes after today, when Moss tapes his final scenes.
They appeared as actors, not their characters, to promote the Jabot cosmetics line.
On Thursday, during THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, the characters of Jack and Lauren travel from Genoa City, Wisconsin, to Los Angeles to appear on THE TALK. In that episode, they’ll be promoting the fictional version of Jabot Cosmetics while being interviewed by Julie Chen, Leah Remini, Holly Robinson Peete, Sara Gilbert and Sharon Osbourne, the female hosts of THE TALK, appearing as themselves.
But unlike last week’s ACC TOURNAMENT carried by LIVE 5 WCSC, MARCH MADNESS won’t make you miss anything on your soaps: CBS, which is carrying the NCAA Tournament across the Network, isn’t producing soap episodes for those two days. That means that when soaps resume next Monday, they’ll pick up right where they left off this Wednesday before basketball.
The 38-year-old soap has been the number one daytime show for 22 years, so its renewal isn’t really a surprise, but a three year deal signed this early in the season should at least come as welcome relief for soap fans who’ve seen some mixed signals about the future of their favorite genre.
