Longtime fans of The Young and the Restless won't want to miss this Thursday's episode of the CBS drama, as it pays homage to Jerry Douglas, who passed away after a brief illness on November 9, 2021. The actor spent more than a quarter of a century in the shoes of iconic Genoa City patriarch John Abbott, the father of current lead characters Jack (Peter Bergman), Ashley (Eileen Davidson), Traci (Beth Maitland), and Billy (Jason Thompson).
From 1982 until John's unfortunate death in 2006, Douglas was a Y&R staple that viewers across the nation admired, respected, and loved; that adoration carried on over the next decade as he continued to make appearances as John's ghost, who served as a guiding hand to the character's children as they faced various difficult circumstances.
Douglas' mark on Y&R was indelible, and the show is honoring his legacy by featuring a special episode filled with flashbacks of classic John Abbott moments. The Thursday, June 22, episode will also feature a guest appearance by the late actor's wife, author and television personality Kym Douglas, who will be appearing as Zelda Wilford, a woman who shares a special connection to the Abbott family.
Kym is no stranger to television, having appeared on a variety of series, including L.A. Law, In Living Color, and Y&R's sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful, where she played the role of Sharon in 2017. The Michigan native is also a well-known lifestyle and beauty expert who's been a regular on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and frequently appears on Hallmark's Home & Family.
Soap Central caught up with Kym to talk about Y&R's special episode dedicated to her husband of 37 years, what it felt like for her to return to Douglas' longtime stomping grounds, why soap opera stars outlast Hollywood stars beauty-wise, and why she believes being middle-aged is only just the beginning of life.
Soap Central: It's so wonderful that you're starring in this special episode of Y&R dedicated to your late husband. Wonderful, but also quite emotional, I imagine?
Kym Douglas: Oh, my goodness, if you only knew. I've been on a lot of live TV shows and on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for many years and on a show called Home & Family, and there have always been things that came up, whether I was talking about my health journey, my battle with breast cancer, or going through infertility with my son, [Hunter] -- I share all of that on live TV with people, but honestly, Kambra, this was so touching and so emotional. The Young and the Restless has been such a big part of not only my life but our family's life. Hunter grew up on the set; when he was going to see daddy at work, he was running around Jabot and the Abbott mansion. That was where he went to play. And I went over lines just about every night of my life for 37 years with Jerry; I've been every Y&R character known to man. And it was Jerry's legacy. He was John Abbott. There was so much a part of him that was the character and vice versa. So, being there -- and I haven't said this to anybody -- but it truly was such a struggle to keep it together because I wanted to burst out crying probably 20 times throughout the day.
Soap Central: I can imagine, because of the memories you just mentioned and, again, the fact that they're doing this special episode dedicated to him. What do you think about the way the show is honoring Jerry?
Douglas: I think it is so beautiful. I have to give a big shout-out to Y&R's executive producer and head writer, Josh Griffith, because he's the one who came up with this idea, and you know, if you are going to have somebody on that's going to have something to say about what's going on with the Abbott family, it's such a nice connection to have me, because I was such a big part of the show on the outskirts. I know every character. Eileen Davidson, who plays Ashley, is one of my dearest friends; Beth Maitland, who plays Traci, is another dear friend; Peter Bergman, who plays Jack Abbott, lived four doors down from us all of Hunter's growing-up years. We would go trick-or-treating to Mariellen's and his house and then sit there with them. Jerry and Peter would have breakfast at Coral Tree two times a week down the street. These were our neighbors, our friends, and who Jerry worked with. So, it's just such a tight connection, and I think it was a brilliant idea by Josh, and I couldn't thank him enough... I was doing different shows and segments and going on with my life, and [the call from Y&R] was just so out of the blue. It came out of absolutely nowhere. Literally -- and forgive the pun -- it fell out of heaven.
Soap Central: How did you feel about guest-starring in the episode? You are no stranger to appearing on television, obviously, and it wasn't your first soap opera rodeo, either, since you appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful, but this was a very different thing.
Douglas: You're so right -- I've done some sitcoms, I've [done] the famed Second City improv group, I did The Bold and the Beautiful, and I've been on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 19 years standing next to the comedy genius who's Ellen, and she would never rehearse. We never memorized one thing, ever, in 19 years. So, the difference was, oh my gosh, I've got twelve pages, I'm memorizing, I'm in scenes with several different people, I want to honor the writing and say them word for word, so I was petrified!
Soap Central: Well, it's a good thing you had practiced lines with Jerry all those years! You had a leg up on how to do it.
Douglas: Exactly! He was helping me, even when he wasn't here.
Soap Central: What was it like going back to the Y&R set? I know you said Hunter basically grew up there, so what was it like for you to be back there?
Douglas: It was, again, very emotional and very, very touching. They still have the Jabot set, which, to me, in my mind -- The Young and the Restless doesn't feel this way, but just in my own personal opinion, it's like if you owned Revlon... So, they still have Jabot, and that's John Abbott -- the first initials of his first name and last name put together. So, that set still being there [was touching], and the Abbott mansion being there, all of the pictures around of him with all of the children. I could feel his presence all around us. Hunter sat behind a desk of his dad's with his pictures in front of him. We sat under the sign of Jabot. Everything had a meaning to it, and for the first time in my life, it wasn't just going in and doing a job; it was going and keeping my husband's legacy alive and making sure my son knew what a mark his father made in the industry and in the business.
Soap Central: The fans love, love, love, love, love that the show is honoring Jerry. They loved him, and they loved John Abbott. The passion that soap fans, in particular, have for the characters, for the actors, is so strong because they become like family to them.
Douglas: One hundred percent. And I'll tell you the difference -- when I was at E! Entertainment, I interviewed a ton of movie stars and celebrities, and they are all fabulous, from George Clooney to Brad to Pitt to whoever. But you see them on the screen for a movie, or maybe you go see their movie five times in a row, but then that's the end. But someone like Jerry was on and in your living room through generations. Sometimes we'd have a grandmother and a mother and a daughter all come to us and say, "We've watched you for three generations." And here's the other thing I think is so important for such a time as this, is that the character of John Abbott that [Y&R creator] Bill Bell so beautifully wrote all those years ago, he never wavered; he always stayed true to his convictions and his moral compass. And I think in this day and age, where our politicians, our athletes, our actors, whatever it is, we get disappointed a lot by these people that we look up to, but there's this one man and this one character that never wavered. When Jack Abbott, John's son, did something wrong, he loved him, but wrong was wrong, and "You shouldn't be doing that, Jack, and I don't like it, and you are going to have the consequences. I still love you, you're my son, but this is wrong." Or whatever was right was right, and he was going to do it no matter what, because he had made a promise to somebody in the business world, and "I will follow through." I just don't know that we have that many people that we can really look up to like that anymore.
Soap Central: I wanted to ask you what your favorite John Abbott moments were over the years; does that count as one, that he stayed true...
Douglas: He always stayed true, and his moral compass was always on point; he never wavered on that, whether it was his family members, his business, his love interests -- whatever it was, he always had integrity, and I loved that. And I loved some of the scenes, especially that he did with Ashley. Those always seemed to hold a special place in John Abbott's heart, and some of those scenes were the most precious. But I'll give you an insider secret -- over the 40 years, the things that people would come up to us and say the most when I was with him was, "We love the family breakfast scenes in the Abbott dining room." I wonder if that's because, and I'll be honest with you, Hunter was an athlete, he was leaving early to go to football practice, Jerry was running off to the set, I was going off to do The Ellen Show or whatever, and I'm not trying to make out like we were the perfect family, but Jerry made a rule in our home -- he always wanted us to sit down and have family dinner together as often as we could. Now, did we do it every day? No. Was it always applicable? No. But we would try to three to four nights a week until Hunter went to college, for 18 years. And we really truly did sit down as a family, and I think that is why the Abbott breakfast scenes were so true and so great for Jerry, because it was something he implemented in his own life, and he had growing up. So, I would say we loved the Abbott breakfast scenes. And the other thing that the fans would come up and say to him is, many men and many athletes, which I thought was interesting, not the normal person you think is a soap opera watcher, would come up to him and say -- gosh, this is a little emotional -- they would come up to him and say things like, "I never had a father in my life, but watching The Young and the Restless with my grandmother when she was taking care of me as a little boy taught me how to be a dad, taught me how to be a father. And John Abbott, you taught me how to be a good man." And that, more than any Emmy, more than any award, more than any other accolade, a star on the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard, none of it touched like when somebody would come up to Jerry and say something like that.
Soap Central: Oh, my goodness, because that is life changing. It could literally change somebody's life if they are able to learn, have an example like that and pass it on to their children.
Douglas: Yeah.
Soap Central: There are a lot of flashbacks in the episode. Did you get to see any of them or relive any of the moments yourself?
Douglas: No. I think they were protecting me, and I'm going to be honest: I didn't want to watch the show on Thursday alone. My son, Hunter, just recently moved to New York, and I thought, "I'm going to be sitting in my home, in my living room, watching this show alone, and if I see or hear Jerry, I don't know what's going to happen." So, my girlfriends all rallied around me, and on Thursday, at 11 in the morning, they're all arriving, and they're all wearing soap opera queen outfits, and we're having croissants and quiches and mimosas, and we're going to all watch together. So, if I have a breakdown, it'll be okay, because I'm going to be surrounded by twelve of my closest friends.
Soap Central: That's such a beautiful idea! And I will bet that some of our readers, now that they know you're doing this, will join you and do that exact same thing on Thursday during the episode.
Douglas: Oh! Wouldn't that be wonderful! We can have parties all over. I love that.
Soap Central: What can you say about the character of Zelda? We want to be surprised on Thursday, but I'd love to know what you can say about her and how she fits into the episode.
Douglas: I would tell you about it, but then I'd probably have to kill you because [the powers that be] will kill me! [Laughs] I have to be very secretive, but I will tell you this: I never thought of myself as a Zelda; I'm a Kym, I'm a Kelly, I'm a Kathy. But it's really fun -- when I got the script, Zelda is fun, and she is no-nonsense. I think she's been through some things in her life, and I think she sees through some of the things that some of the "perfect" Abbotts are doing, and I got a sense of strength from Zelda. And I've been through some bad things recently myself, whether it's stage three breast cancer, losing my husband, moving my only child to New York, and there's a little bit of Zelda in all of us, I think. Sometimes it's hidden, though. But I really like her -- she's strong, she's tough, she's very different from the Kym Douglas that I've shown all these years, and she's seen some things, and she's tied to the Abbotts in a very unique way.
Soap Central: What do you think Jerry would have thought of Zelda?
Douglas: [Laughs] I think he would have laughed and said, "You go knock it out of the park, baby. You go do it." He was my biggest cheerleader. He never, ever deterred me. He always wanted me to go for my dreams. He was a self-made man, his dad was a ragman from Boston, he was born on the wrong side of the tracks in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and ironically, when I moved my son these last two weeks to New York, we looked at 100 apartments, and the only one that became available was the one in Chelsea.
Soap Central: Oh, wow. This has been a rough few weeks for you! I didn't realize that in addition to filming this episode, you moved Hunter to New York at about the same time. Goodness.
Douglas: Literally, yeah, all of it at the same time. Honestly, I just feel like it's kind of been orchestrated from above that Josh Griffith would think about him, the timing of it, when I shot it. Father's Day was just on Sunday, and this was Hunter's first year without his dad, and that this episode airs just a few days later is all so perfectly synchronized from above.
Soap Central: I'd love to know what kind of welcome the cast gave you when you came to film this episode.
Douglas: Oh, my gosh. Well, I'm going to tell you exactly what happened. So, I was nervous, and I brought 554 outfits, because they said, "We have wardrobe for you, but you might want to bring a few outfits that you feel comfortable in." So, I emptied out my closet, which was ridiculous, and I got there early, which I never do because I'm a night owl, and I pulled into the empty CBS Television City parking lot, and the first car that pulls up as I'm emptying out my entire wardrobe is Eileen Davidson, and she pulls next to me in the empty parking lot, gets out of her car, we don't say a word, and we just start hugging in the parking lot at 5:30 in the morning, alone, at CBS. That's how it started. So, she hugged me, and she just said, "I didn't know until I read the script that it was you, and I couldn't be happier, and Jerry is here with us, so let's go do this for Jerry." And that started it, and then Beth and I did our first scene, and she had a picture of Jerry on her phone sitting next to us as we did the scene, and then Peter came into the dressing room and started hugging Hunter and reminiscing about when he was a little boy, coming to his house and so on and so forth, and makeup artists came by to tell him different stories about Jerry, and lighting guys. I mean, I can't even tell you -- it was like something out of a dream. It was beautiful in every single solitary way.
Soap Central: Do we need to give a special shout-out to Y&R's makeup team, because it sounds like they were maybe fixing tears throughout the whole episode!
Douglas: [Laughs] Yes, yes! Their hair and makeup team is second to none. They are just amazing. And by the way, even though I brought in 585 dresses, the first dress that the wardrobe stylist, Tony Lorito, the first dress he showed me, it fit like a glove, and that's what I wore, even though I brought 585 of my own dresses.
Soap Central: Well, that is a big testament to him then! A lot of our readers are familiar with you because they watch other daytime series, including Home & Family and Ellen, so, they know you are a beauty expert. That being said, did you learn any beauty tricks or tips from your time at Y&R?
Douglas: Listen, over the years, I have taken so many secret beauty tips from the soap opera queens. Whether it's Eileen Davidson or Tracey Bregman [Lauren Fenmore] or Susan Lucci [ex-Erica Kane, All My Children] or Deidre Hall [Marlena Evans, Days of our Lives]. I'm sorry, but I've interviewed all these movie stars close up, and none of them compare with the longevity of the soap queens, how they stay looking so good for so long. It's not like, oh, for a few years they are stunning and they're gorgeous, but "Oh, what happened? Did you see her?" They just go on and on and on! I learned so many of their tips: Always take off your makeup every single night. I am a spokesperson for a company called Womaness, which is a company built for women by women over 40. They have a vitamin C cream that I use, and they say to mix that with your sunscreen -- and one of the biggest things is keeping sunscreen on, and all the soap stars do, and that's one of the ways they protect themselves -- and if you put [the Womaness vitamin C cream] underneath it, it makes the sunscreen SPF more effective. So, always taking off your makeup, always wearing sunscreen, and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. And this is from me, not from them, because I don't know if anybody ever does anything, but from me, I've noticed that [it's better] when I go and do little tweaks -- a little filler, a little Botox, a little microneedling -- here and there over the years rather than let yourself go and then all of a sudden do a crazy face lift like some of these movie stars do, because then you don't look like yourself. So, the soap stars tend to just do little things over the years that keep them looking fresh and fabulous, and I think they all look great.
Soap Central: You mentioned the company Womaness. Why did you decide to become a spokesperson for them?
Douglas: They're really affordable, they're in Target and Ulta, and the reason I'm their spokesperson and am investing in the company is because they are hormone free and they're chemical free. Because I went through stage three breast cancer, I am really, really diligent on clean and healthy makeup and skincare. I won't use anything that has hormones or parabens.
Soap Central: I also love the fact that you've been advocating for middle-aged women and inspiring them to live full lives and be their best and healthiest. Why do you find it important to speak to this audience in particular?
Douglas: Well, first off, I am that -- I am well over 50. And secondly, I was raised by my mother, who was a former beauty queen in Scotland... and she taught me very, very young to take care of my skin and to always look my very best. When my mom was growing up, when you hit 40, you were pretty much done. But she never adhered to that. She was a homemaker and a wife, which was wonderful, but the only place she would ever go to have her beauty or whatever was our church on Sundays. All the other women in their 40s and 50s would be in Peter Pan collars and sensible shoes, and my mom would come in in her high heel Louboutins and her hair all done, and she was like, "Why not? I'm not dead; I'm 40!" So, I watched her do that, and I thought, "Why not? I'm going to do the same." But I feel like society is just now jumping on that bandwagon. I'll give you a couple of examples: Martha Stewart was on the cover of Sports Illustrated recently; Jane Fonda is the rom-com queen; and Alfre Woodard and Helen Mirren are in-demand Hollywood actresses in the film world. Now, none of these women are under 55. So, I think society is finally realizing that we're just getting started in middle age! My son just left, I am just getting to where I can wake up in the morning and go take a Pilates class and go for a walk and take a long bath and start taking care of myself, and on my bucket list, be on The Young and the Restless! I mean, come on! How great is that?!
Soap Central: Before I have to let you go, is there anything that you'd like to say to Y&R fans about Jerry or the support that they've given you over the years?
Douglas: I just want to say that The Young and the Restless truly is my family. I have a small family, just Hunter and I, so they are my family. It was a refuge and a place of wonderful memories for my husband; he loved going there, he went there every day, he memorized every line, and he was John Abbott. He really was. So, I am forever grateful to the entire Bell family. I talk to Lauralee [Bell, Christine Blair] at least once a week. I love Bradley [Bell, executive producer and head writer of The Bold and the Beautiful] and Billy. The Bell family is so very important to me. And this show gives me so much and has been such a big part of my life, so what a wonderful opportunity. And from above, I know Bill Bell probably produced this entire episode and Jerry was running lines with me and cheering me on from the sidelines. So, thank you.
Soap Central: Thank you so much, Kym. And we will all be wearing our soap opera queen outfits and joining you with mimosas during Thursday's episode!
Douglas: Oh, that would be so wonderful! I have ostrich feathers... and I'll have my fake cigarette, and I'm taking a drag on my invisible cigarette right now between my fingers. [Laughs] It's going to be so fun.
The special episode honoring Jerry Douglas and John Abbott will air Thursday, June 22.
You can follow Kym on Instagram at: @KymDouglas
What do you think about our interview with Kym Douglas? What are your thoughts on the way Y&R is honoring Jerry Douglas and his longtime character, John Abbott? We want to hear from you -- and there are many ways you can share your thoughts.
