Eric Braeden retirement rumors gain steam

For those who did not get the first, second, or third memos let me state for the record. Neither Eric Braden nor Victor Newman plan on retiring. The soap veteran of 41 years has stated in person as well as in his memoir, "I'll Be Damned" that if you retire you die. For whatever reason fans of The Young and the Restless keep pushing the rumor that the end is near for Victor Newman and his portrayer. Only one week ago Braeden reiterated his position to Soap O0pera Digest and it was repeated in People.com.

At that time the living legend said that he loves his family, his friends, and castmates, and does not plan to retire. Celebrity Cheat Sheet quotee actor as saying that he has been the bad guy more than 120 times but saw possibilities with Victor Newman and decided to take the role. The retirement rumors spring up so often one has to wonder if "the mustache" is igniting this fire himself in order to remain relevant. Braeden has said so many times that he is not going anywhere that everyone should have received the message loud and clear. Here we are again, however discussing this issue which was last addressed in 2020 during the 40-year celebration of the soap vet on The Young and the Restless.

Eric Braeden was quoted as saying the following: "I feel very loyal to The Young and the Restless, very beholden to Victor and very beholden to the audience who has supported us for all those years,” he said to People magazine. “I intend to stay as long as I can. I’ve always looked for meaning in acting,” he added. “But I’ve learned to understand that the essence of what we do is to entertain, to make people happy. Melody Thomas Scott, who plays Nikki, I adore her, love her. She has put up with me and I sometimes am not the easiest guy to get along with, sometimes.”

Braeden says that he is loyal to The Young and the Restless and beholden to the fans who have supported him through the years. He said he turned 80 on April 3rd and is very happy to have done so. The actor also stated that he will stay with the CBS daytime drama for as long as he can. The issue of Eric Braeden deciding not to retire should be off the table at this point but it will probably be revisited every year as long as he continues to work on Y&R. His character Victor is not as front and center as he used to be but remains very much in charge of the situations that are surrounding him.

Currently, Victor is dealing with his daughter Faith who crashed a truck while driving drunk. He will also soon need to help his son Adam who is being framed by Chelsea. Victoria is now running Newman Enterprises but her dad was pulling the strings to help Adam win the deal with Ashland Locke. If viewers are paying attention they will notice that most scenes with Eric Braeden are now with him sitting down and there is nothing wrong with this. The actor is rolling with the punches of growing older and not the things he did 40 years ago.

This is commendable and why viewers love this man so much. He owns who he is and does not try to reinvent himself for anyone. Neither Eric nor Victor is trying to act younger than his age. Both men command respect for who they are in the here and now and this should be a lesson for us all. Braeden is also fiercely loyal to his castmates and has gone to bat more than once for Doug Davidson who portrays Paul Williams. For some reason, neither the pleas of Braeden nor the loyal fans have caused the powers that be to bring Paul back to Genoa City on a regular basis.

Best of luck to Eric and Victor in all their future endeavors. Perhaps like actor Kirk Douglas they will be around when they are in their 10th decade on this planet. One loyal fan said recently on social media that the entertainer and his alter ego will probably die in the saddle and I believe they would not have it any other way. Please spread the news that real retirement is not an option for either the Newman patriarch nor his portrayer. Those who love them are eagerly awaiting to see what they do next.