The Young and the Restless is continuing to celebrate the show’s golden anniversary (the show turned 50 in March) with a special episode honoring the late Jerry Douglas’ character John Abbott. Even though Douglas appeared in scenes as Jack’s (Peter Bergman) conscience up until 2016, the show was never the same after John was killed off a decade earlier.
Y&R invited Kym Douglas, Jerry’s widow, to appear in the episode, set to air Thursday, June 22, as Zelda, a woman with ties to the Abbott family, Traci (Beth Maitland) in particular. Kym Douglas is familiar to TV viewers from her appearances as a regular correspondent on both Ellen, where she was friends with the late Stephen “tWitch” Boss, and the Hallmark Channel series Home & Family.
Kym, a breast cancer survivor, has suffered a lot of loss these last few years both personally and professionally. However, she keeps an upbeat persona as she explores what’s next in life and honors her late husband Jerry, the TV dad many viewers wished they’d had.
Jerry and I would always chat about Massachusetts as we were both from there. Jerry was born in Chelsea, MA.
Kym Douglas: You’re going to freak out, but guess where I took [Jerry’s and my son] Hunter recently in New York? We were looking around for a place for him to live as his job moved him to New York, and we found the perfect place for him in Chelsea. I live for signs like this. It makes me feel that Jerry is still involved in all of this. Every morning I wake up and ask for signs from God as to what I should do.
Most people only knew Jerry as John Abbott, but occasionally, he’ll pop up on an old episodic series including Police Woman, The Rookies, The Bionic Woman, or Mission: Impossible as either a heavy or some other character. He was also in Mommie Dearest in a scene opposite Faye Dunaway (Joan Crawford) as a radio announcer.
I know! Funny enough, maybe three or four weeks ago, Hunter was at his office working late on a weekend, and he had the TV on watching basketball. The game ends. It’s over, and he’s still working. He took a break, looked up at the TV, and saw a Cold Case episode in which Jerry played a man who was in jail. It was one of the last things he’d ever done. Hunter said to me, “I don’t believe in signs, but what are the chances I’d look up at just that moment and Dad would be on the screen?” It was almost like Jerry was on his shoulder saying, “I’m with you, and this move to New York will be good for you.”
How did this come about with you playing a role on Y&R?
I was getting emails from folks at Y&R about how much they missed Jerry, and out of the blue, [the show’s publicist] Matt Kane reached out to me and said that Y&R was doing an episode honoring Jerry. He said that there’s a character named Zelda and we all thought who better to play this than you? Would I be interested? I was there in five minutes! Hunter came with me. It was one of the most beautiful days of my life. Jerry’s photo as John is still all over the Abbott family home set and at Jabot Cosmetics. For Hunter to see his dad’s place of work and see him still there, his legacy, was just so touching. I have pictures of him sitting behind his dad’s desk.
I did scenes with [among others] Beth [Maitland, Traci, John’s daughter]. She showed me a photo of Jerry and her that she keeps on her phone. So many people at Y&R came up to me and shared stories and memories of Jerry. Jerry loved working with [crew member] Luis Godinez, Jr., and now, his son, Chico, works there. Chico came down off the boom and hugged Hunter and told him how much his dad meant to him.
So many people shared stories about Jerry and also how the character of John Abbott helped them through certain situations. John kept his moral compass throughout so many ups and downs. There aren’t many “John Abbott” characters on TV these days. [Y&R’s creator/sr. executive producer/head writer] Bill Bell created a character who never wavered in his moral compass – no matter what his kids did. If Jack [Peter Bergman], John’s son, did something wrong, John would point that out. I don’t think we have those kind of role models as much anymore.
Many soap fans turn to soap opera characters and consider them as surrogate parents or role models.
Yes. John Abbott was a father figure in their lives. There are characters in movies like that, but you only see that movie once. John Abbott was in their living room for decades. Professional athletes would come up to Jerry and say, “I didn’t have a role model, but you showed me how to be a dad to my kids.” Viewers would say to him, “We learned how to be a father through you.”
Jerry was at Hunter’s college graduation a few years ago.
Yes. What I love is that both John and Jerry would have done the same thing. Jerry was fighting throat cancer and a lot of physical ailments at the time. But he walked all the stairs at USC Stadium in the hot sun. Jerry said, “Kym, I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
Had you ever been on Y&R before this?
Yes. Bill Bell had cast me on the show many years ago. I was Kym, the secretary to attorney Michael Crawford played by Colby Chester. I was also on Bold and the Beautiful at Spencer Publications. This is something I’d love to continue to pursue.
What can you say about Zelda?
She knows all of the Abbotts from long ago. She’s known them for many years. She has a special relationship with [Traci], and she’ll encourage this person. That was wonderful to play. I felt good about that.
What are your memories of the late Stephen “tWitch” Boss from your time on Ellen? He hinted in an interview with me just over a year ago that there was talk of him getting his own talk show.
[Stephen] and I saw each other quite often. I brought him to Home & Family. I believe that there was a show in the works for him. I know [his wife] Allison [Houlker, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars] very well. They were a wonderful family, so happy. I know his kids adored him. They had a beautiful home, a great life. If you had given me a million dollars, I never would have picked him as someone in my life who was unhappy. It’s so important to check on people.
This special episode of Y&R is a wonderful way to keep both John and Jerry’s memory alive.
Yes. Hunter and I are keeping his legacy alive and we always will. We’re starting a charity based on Jerry’s love of reading. Jerry would read hardcover books every three days. He loved books so much. We’re going to do a kind of a library for underserved communities that don’t have a lot of books to introduce young kids to books. It’ll be another way to turn something devastating into something productive that can honor him and keep his memory alive.
What would you like to do next?
What a good question. My positive answer is “I’m open to everything. I’m leaving it in God’s hands. Bring it to me. Whatever comes my way.” [There are] a few things that have landed in my lap. I got a call from Fox and Friends and Outnumbered to be on their show in New York. I did a few days. They said, “We love you. We think you’re great.” Then, they saw I was in New York [from my social media]. They asked if I could come in the next day and do Fox and Friends again. I did.
I have a wonderful literary agent, Jan Miller; she did my first book. She’s approached me to write a devotional book for women over 50 on how they can look and feel their very best. Also, I do a podcast [called Your Daily Dose With Kym Douglas] for Saint John’s hospital, which helped save my life from Stage 3 breast cancer. It has advice that you may not be able to get if you can’t pay a ton of money and sit down with a doctor. I talk about getting your colon checked. When should women get a mammogram? What about skin cancer? It’s another example of me trying to turn a negative into a positive. I want to keep other people and me healthy. “Here are ways I’m doing it, so why don’t you join me?”
Do you have any special shoutouts to Y&R for having you on the show to celebrate both Jerry and John?
Yes! I want to thank [executive producer/head writer] Josh Griffith. He came down to set on the day I was working and met Hunter and spoke with him. I want to give him a big thanks and shout out to him and everyone at Y&R for thinking of me and giving me this opportunity. My training was in comedy. I was in Second City with Molly Shannon [Saturday Night Live]. Josh is lucky when I was taping that I didn’t break out into some improv!
