Soap Opera
‘Young and the Restless’ Legend Eric Braeden Reveals ‘One of the Few Men’ He’s Trusted
Eric Braeden honors late co-star Kristoff St. John, remembering the ‘Young and the Restless’ legend as one of the few men he truly trusted and an essential part of the show.
The Young and the Restless’ Eric Braeden is a daytime legend in his own right, bringing The Great Victor Newman to life since 1980 and still going strong. During his 46 years in Genoa City, he has forged close bonds with numerous co-stars, but his friendship with one late co-star was a special one he will always hold dear.
Eric Braeden Remembers Kristoff St. John
In a simple social media post, Braeden shared an old photo of himself and the late Kristoff St. John, who played Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless from 1991 until his sudden death in 2019. He captioned the photo: “One of the few men I trusted, KRISTOFF ST JOHN!”
Soon after St. John’s 2019 passing, Braeden honored the actor in an interview with People.
“He was a wonderful actor to work with, he was so damn good and so instinctive as an actor,” Braeden said. “He had empathy. I think good actors all have empathy. He was just one of the good guys. You didn’t have to say much for him to understand. He was one of the essential pieces that made our show successful.”
St. John died on February 3, 2019, at the age of 52, as a result of heart disease combined with alcohol use, according to CBS News. St. John had also been struggling with mental health issues after the death of his son, Julian, by suicide in 2014.
Braeden addressed his friend’s grief in his interview with People. “I think we all sort of tiptoed around what obviously weighed most heavily on his heart and his soul — and that is the death of his son,” the actor said. “How do you discuss something so fundamentally tragic as that with even a friend? You don’t want to touch that wound.”
On-screen, Neil was one of Victor’s closest friends and a mentee whom the businessman took under his wings when Neil first arrived in Genoa City. When the cast had to film Neil’s funeral months after St. John passed, it was apparent that Braeden had the same affection for the actor as Victor had for the character St. John played for 28 years.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus.
