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Jerry Douglas, the veteran actor best-known for playing Jabot Cosmetics tycoon John Abbott for 25 years on the soap opera “The Young and The Restless,” has died. He was 88.
His family confirmed that Douglas passed on Tuesday after a brief illness, TMZ reported Wednesday night. No cause of death has been disclosed at this time.
Douglas starred as the father of mainstay characters Jack, Ashely and Tracey Abbott in nearly 900 episodes of the CBS soap starting in 1981 until his character was killed off in 2016.
Born Gerald Rubenstein on Nov. 12, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts, he was the son of Eastern European immigrants. He enrolled in Brandeis University at 18 with hopes of earning a law degree in economics. However, eight months into law school, he gave up the books and started auditioning, according to his official IMBD bio.
Armed with leading man looks, he quickly scored his first breaks with TV guest roles on popular 1960s shows such as “The Untouchables” and “The Donna Reed Show.”
In addition to his signature soap role, Douglas also appeared in guest spots on classic ’70s series including “Mission: Impossible,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “The Rockford Files,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Quincy M.E.,” “Melrose Place” and “Cold Case.”
On the big screen, he stole scenes in character roles in Faye Dunaway’s “Mommie Dearest,” Chuck Norris’ “Good Guys Wear Black” and Oliver Stone’s “JFK.”
News of his death comes just one month after Douglas’ family and a bevy of “Y&R” co-stars gathered to celebrate his upcoming 89th birthday.
His longtime co-star, actress Lauralee Bell, posted to Instagram at the time: “Feel so lucky to have been included in this unbelievably special birthday lunch for Jerry Douglas! Thank you @peterbergmanyr and @eileendavidsonofficial so much! I will cherish this afternoon always.”
The heartfelt post has nearly 20,000 likes and scores of comments from fans and fellow actors.
Douglas is survived by his wife of three decades, Kym Douglas, and three children: Jod, Hunter and Avra.
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