Born Gerald Rubenstein in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Douglas began his acting career after graduating from Brandeis University. In March 1982, he took on his most famous role—on the daytime CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless, where he portrayed cosmetics titan John Abbott. From 1982 to his last appearance in 2016, John was married and divorced six times to four woman, most notably his two marriages to the manipulative Jill Foster Abbott. Even the death of his character, who was killed off in 2006, didn’t end his run as John Abbott. Douglas returned from time to time as a ghost checking in on his three children, John, Ashley and Traci. “Our show was lucky to have an actor of his caliber join the Y&R cast and introduce the audience to the iconic Abbott family,” wrote Y&R executive producer Anthony Morina in a statement. “His contribution to the legacy of Y&R as Abbott family patriarch John Abbott is still felt to this day. He will be sorely missed.” Although best known for his work on The Young and the Restless, Douglas acted in more than 100 films and TV shows, including The Donna Reed Show, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Untouchables, The Streets of San Francisco, Cold Case, Melrose Place, Oliver Stone’s JFK and Arrested Development. He was a prolific artist who wrote plays and screenplays and even recorded an album, The Best Is Yet To Come. Douglas is survived by his wife of 36 years, Kym Douglas and children Jod, Hunter and Avra. In 2014, on Peter Bergman’s 25th anniversary on The Young and the Restless, Douglas said, “This is a very special place to me. I’m not here often now, but my heart’s always here.” Here are some of the best memories and tributes to Jerry Douglas. Next, sad movies to watch on Netflix right now.
