Tag: soap opera

TV Interview!

Interview with J. Eddie Peck of “The Young and The Restless” on CBS by Suzanne 7/24/25

It was awesome to speak with J. Eddie! I used to watch him play Cole on “Young and The Restless” 32 years ago when he first appeared in 1993. I’d been watching the show since 1986, when I was in college. Like many young people back then, I picked up the soap habit in college – between classes or while at home on vacation.  He’s incredibly handsome and made a good couple with all of the women they paired him up with, especially Victoria (played then by Heather Tom); her mom, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott); and Ashley (Shari Shattuck and then Eileen Davidson back then). It was wonderful that they brought him back last year, not only to reunite him with Victoria (now played by Amelia Heinle), but to show that they have a long-lost daughter, Claire (Hayley Erin).  Heinle and Peck had immediate chemistry; they’d previously played lovers Jake and Mia on “All My Children” in 2003.

Unfortunately, the powers-that-be on Y&R wrote Cole out by killing him off with Legionnaires’ disease in early July. This was very disappointing to fans of his, and of fans of the couple Cole and Victoria, and their family with Claire. That happens quite often on the soaps, and in TV in general, usually do to cutting costs, or contract negotiations, or because of some other reason – they don’t let us know these things.  Peck was originally brought in for a short-term return, so it was great when they decided to keep him around longer and give him story. We wish it had lasted longer! Perhaps one day they’ll bring him back. As they always say, you’re never really dead in the soaps.

We had a very nice, long chat. I hope you enjoy it! There are also quite a few other questions that I didn’t have time to ask, but he kindly answered them via email.

TRANSCRIPT (not finished proofreading this yet)

Suzanne: So it’s great to see you.

JEP: Thank you, Suzanne. It’s a pleasure to be on with you today and I, I appreciate you reaching out to do [this].

Suzanne: Oh, yeah.  Well, first off, let me get something out of the way that I’m sure all your fans are asking. Do you know why “Young and the Restless” decided to kill off Cole?

JEP: Oh, wow. That’s, uh. Excuse me. Um, that’s a really good question. Um, well first,  Suzanne, it, it, it took me by surprise.

Suzanne: Right?

JEP: Obviously when Cole– (thank you, son) when Cole got sick, or started with the cough,  my first thought was,  “he’s gonna have this cough. He’s gonna get sick. He might get really sick ’cause it’s lingering for a long time.” I know the fans,  fans, viewers,  were very,  keen to, Hey, we’ve seen this before. I think they’re gonna write this character off.  me, on the other hand, I, I really had a lot of faith,  that, um, it was working well for Cole and I. Over at the show, I really felt like,  it was starting to really click with,  Amelia Heinle, who plays Victoria, and the relationship with Claire. I just thought there was a really nice family dynamic that may have been slightly a different tone than some of the other family. Relationships. I just felt like we, we, we had a certain unique uniqueness to us.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: And I felt like,  all of the goods were there, if you will, all of the history, right….three, you know, good actors, lots of history, lots of stuff to work with. So I felt like this was gonna be something that they were going to utilize to,  move Cole into the tack house, which. It seemed as though we were going in that direction.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: And then,  um, Victoria would nurse Cole back to health and that would, that would quickly speed up their relationship.

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: So they could take us to a different place in their relationship.

Suzanne: Yeah.

JEP: And possibly even, you know, remarry, that sort of thing.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: So, uh. Actually that was not the intent and it never really was the intent. That was me, the wishful actor thinking, Hey, this is working. Yeah, for what it really was.  Josh Griffin, our executive producer, head writer, he had given me a call and he was so, so kind and gracious and, and  and just,  just really a very, very heartfelt conversation that we had. And he says, you know, J. Eddie, we only intended on bringing you back for a couple of days. You know, we saw you at the 50th and everybody got to talk and said, Wow, J. Eddie, you look great.

Suzanne: Gee.

JEP: It was a lot of chatter. And, and the fans have wanted Cole to come back for some time and, you know, due to the 50th, they brought a lot of people back for cameos and things. So I looked as though, Hey, we’re gonna stay back for a couple of days. This might be interesting and fun.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: And, um. Then he said, but we liked you. You know, we like the dynamic with you and Amelia and Haley. And he said, and we just really liked you. He said, I just, I love what you did and I just continued to write for you. So,  and, and so really, um, everything beyond that two days, Suzanne was really a gift.  And something, I’m very, very grateful for. And,  it’s been really, really nice, you know, at this time in my life to be able to go back and play the role that I love so much. And,  so I’m very, very grateful for that. And he did his thing. I think, you know, Josh says, we gotta kill Cole, to take Victoria and Claire where we need them to go.

Suzanne: Ah.

JEP: So I don’t know exactly what that means.

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: But I do believe that there’s obviously gonna be a big story, you know, a big setup for those characters. And, and Cole was kind of the sacrificial lamb, I guess, if you will, to propel those characters emotionally, you know, where [it] can take them, so…

Suzanne:  Yeah.

JEP: They’ll do their ride, and I wish that was along for it, but, you know, yeah. Again, I’m grateful for the 20 months that I did get.

Suzanne: Well, even though they did kill him off, they could bring him back because it’s a soap and anything’s possible, right?

JEP: Yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s been,  there’s been a lot of chatter , even when,  you know, it was first learned, over at the show,  I had at least half the directors come to me and say, “Ah, you’ll be back,” but who knows? You know what I mean? Who knows? I mean, that’s fine. I mean, listen, I, I certainly can’t guess any of this stuff.

Suzanne:  Yeah.

JEP: And so, yeah, who knows.You know, I mean, Josh is very, very creative. If he ever woke up in the middle of the night, says, you know what? And may, Hmm, that might’ve been a mistake. Let’s bring that cowboy back.

Suzanne: Yeah.

JEP: You know, so, yeah.

Suzanne: And I mean, I could say this because people say that about me, but you don’t look your age at all, so….

JEP: Oh, yeah. Thank you.

Suzanne: I mean, they can easily bring you back in 10 years. You’ll still look great.

JEP: Oh, well, I don’t know about that, but, um, you know, when I went back for the 50th, I made a big mistake, Suzanne, when I went back for the 50th, I was so anxious to take my wife, you know.  We were really excited and whatnot, and she says, “You know what?  You don’t want to take me. Take Austin” – my son, my oldest son, and really, Austin’s like, “Dad, I’d love to go. This might be my only chance to ever go with you, you know, for something like that. Sure. I’d love to go.” Well, Suzanne — and he’s not in the room so I can say this — My son is six foot seven, and better looking than [me] on my best day in life. So I take this guy that completely upstages me. I mean, if you can look all over the internet, and there’s all these pictures of him at the 50th, and he’s not an actor, you know, he’s kind of a, I hate to say “struggling musician”, but,  you know, somewhat of a struggling musician and he is all over the place. ’cause simply because the people are like, my gosh, who is that six?

Suzanne: Is he the one that was wearing the mustache and beard in the picture you sent me?

JEP: Yeah.

Suzanne: Yeah. You know.

JEP: Oh yeah, yeah. That’s him.

Suzanne: He looked a little bit, and I can’t remember the actor’s name. Don um, Don… something… that used to play Brad on “Young and the Restless.”

JEP: Oh, Don Diamont….

Suzanne: Yeah. And he’s on “The Bold And The Beautiful” with that same facial hair.

Yes. He looks a lot like him.  yeah. Yeah. He has a bit of, a bit of a bit of that,  a bit of that, that, yeah. He has blackness in his black hair. Yeah, he is very dark. Yeah.

Suzanne: So tell us, um. How it came about. Let’s go back a little bit to 2023, when you returned to as Cole after 26 years.

Hard to believe it was 26 years. You see, I’m gonna interrupt you. Oh, doggie. Hi baby. Aww.

Suzanne: There’s your little baby

is a rescue that I’ve had eight months and I just adore him. He is such a sweet boy. I love him so much.

Suzanne: Boy, he’s so cute.

Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt, Chris.

No, that’s fine. You can always interrupt.

You’re just looking up at me. Daddy, you’re ignoring me. You’re not talking with me.

Suzanne: I put mine in the back room because she’ll bark.  She might.

JEP: Oh yeah. Well, I’ve got, I’ve got a house full of dogs here. They must, I’m so sorry. Must than mine. You were asking, you were asking me a question. I’m so sorry.

Suzanne:  No, that’s okay. How did it come about back in, 2023 when they asked to come on the show?

JEP: Oh, well, yeah, that’s a good question.  Again,  you know, Y&R had its 50th anniversary, and they had a special event.

Suzanne:  Right.

JEP: And, uh. You know, I’d been off the show at that time. I was off the show about 23 and a half years.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: And they hadn’t seen me in a long time. Well, I shouldn’t say that. I mean, they, they have invited me back for anniversaries and things like that.  They’ve been really nice to me over the years and always invited me back. But they hadn’t seen me at that in that time. I don’t know, maybe in about five years or something like that. So when I showed up and everything, my son and I, we went…  my son’s very western…  we went wearing our Western gear.  Just, you know, let’s just, let’s kind of go, let’s just go being us, you know, I don’t have to dress looking all soapy. And, and I think it just kind brought more attention and just people went, “Well, who…? Oh hey, that’s J. Eddie. Oh, oh my gosh, that’s Jay Eddie.” And, you know, so a lot of the network people saw me and, uh, and this and that, and they kinda got the idea, “Wow, we ought to bring him back for the Blast From The Past event.”

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: So I got a call maybe a couple of months later, and YR was doing their very first Blast From The Past. And I’d asked Kathy Thomas, “Who else is doing the Blast From The Past?”  She says, “Well, you’re the first one we called.” I said, “Oh, great. Okay.” So II did that. They brought back alumni from —

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: From B&B, “Young and the Restless”, and by far, I was the longest person to be off the show, so I really– I told my wife, I said, I don’t really know if I want to go to this Blast From The Past.  She says, “Well, why?” I said, “It’s gonna be embarrassing,” I said, “because no one is gonna know who I am.” I’d been off the show almost 24 years at that point. And I said, “No one’s gonna know me. It’s gonna be embarrassing.” So Suzanne, when I showed up, thankfully it was amazing how many fans were our fans back in the nineties and were Cole fans back then. And I got a very, very unexpected reception.

Suzanne: Oh.

JEP: And um, so, uh. You know, um, I guess I didn’t know this, but what I was told by another producer is that before that even happened, Josh already said, I wanna bring J. Eddie Peck back for something. I’ve gotta figure out what it is, right? And then about, oh, a couple of days after this Blast From The Past, one of these soap predictors that we see on YouTube – that predicts what’s going on?

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: And a reputable one, said, “J. Eddie Peck is coming back to Young and Restless.” And whenever that announcement came out, my phone lit up.

Suzanne: Oh wow.

JEP: And I was like, “Oh my gosh. I hope Y&R doesn’t think that I’m announcing that I’m going back to Y&R.”  I hope they don’t think I’m that guy.

Suzanne: Yeah.

JEP: And my phone just looks… I immediately get on my social media, and I said, “Hey, not going back to Young and Restless. I don’t know what the rumor is. I don’t know why anyone would say that. I’m not in talks with Y&R. I’m not going back to Y&R. Not happening, but thanks for asking. You know, thanks for inquiring” and so, about two weeks after that… So, I would say it was around, August 18th or 20th, I get a call. I’m sitting on my patio having a coffee. My son was visiting again, so I’m having a coffee with my wife and my son. And it’s Greg Salmon, casting director of Y&R.  He says, J. Eddie. this is Greg. Are you getting my messages?” I said, “No, Greg. What messages?” He said, “Well, I’ve been emailing you, and I’ve left you messages. And he says, “Listen. We wanna bring you back to the show.” He said, “Are you interested?” And I just start laughing. I’m laughing and I, and I’m shedding tears. So I said, “Oh, great. This is hilarious.” I said, “This rumor got out a couple of weeks ago .”I said, “I guess it’s true! I’m the last one to know.” See, here I am, Suzanne. I’m the last one to know that I’m going back to the show, and I’m the last one to know, “Hey, stupid, you’re fired.”

Suzanne: That’s funny. But anyway, there are so many rumors out there, all the time about…

JEP: Yeah.

Suzanne: About soaps and actors.

JEP: Yeah.

Suzanne: Yeah, there are. I mean, I always tell people, Don’t believe anything at all until you see it in a verified publication because you just don’t know, and it’s just speculation most of the time. Even if it turns out to be true, it’s not necessarily true [when you read it] and you shouldn’t depend on it and spread it.

JEP: Well. It’s like you said, oftentimes it’s speculative.

Suzanne: Well,  yeah.

JEP: You know, maybe, maybe something is a rumor or a thought, but then, you know, once it gets out there, people may think it’s gonna happen, right?

Suzanne: Yeah, exactly. So, well, so you had a great deal of chemistry with everyone on the show, particularly Haley, who played Cole’s daughter —

JEP: Thank you.

Suzanne: Claire, and Amelia, who plays Victoria, the love of Cole’s life.

JEP: Yes.

Suzanne: Can you talk about working with them?

JEP: Oh, well. Yeah.  I will start off with Haley. Haley is — I think she’s about the age or so — she’s somewhere between my two adult sons, and… I don’t have a daughter, but,  I mean, for maybe the second day that I worked with her, I just really felt a connection with her in a fatherly way. And I think what that is, is she’s such a special young lady, you know?  She’s a mother, a wife. She’s classy, she’s unique.  I feel like Haley has a maturity and, almost like a throwback to another era.

Suzanne: Hmm.

JEP: She’s not your typical young lady of her age. She’s not even your typical actor of her age. You know, she has a really wonderful, wonderful quality about her, and I just found it endearing, and I just connected in…when I say connected, I mean, Cole just really connected with what she was giving me [as an actor], and um, I’ve always had in my mind the history of where Cole was, what’s happened in his life, his loves… His disappointments. I knew that Cole never had children over the years. I knew that Cole never had a deep, meaningful relationship when he was gone all of that time. That was truly always the way that I had seen him in my mind. And it was uncanny how the writers picked up on his history exactly the way that I had seen it. And,  you know, because they could have easily said, well, Cole was married and divorced and he lost his wife.

Suzanne: Right?

JEP: And, you know, all different kinds of things. I knew that he had never had a deep, meaningful relationship. And,  they actually brought that up in a conversation between Cole and Victoria one day. She had said to him,  “Well, Cole, you’re a, a professor at Oxford and you must have run across and had a number of relationships and things of that nature,” and he said, “Well, I had a trist or two, but I never really had any deep, meaningful relationship, and that truly is the way I always saw this character.  I always saw him… even when he was married to Ashley, [whom] he cared a great deal for, but his true love was always Victoria. And that’s why he went, you know, he went outside his marriage…He, I just, I think so much was just the way I played him, the way that Bill wrote him, that even back in the day, I was always trying to steer it back to Victoria, even when I was working with Ashley.

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: And, and I really enjoyed working with those actresses,  Shari and Eileen… I loved it, and I loved the Ashley character. Wonderful character.

Suzanne: Right. She’s great.

JEP: Yeah. But, um. I felt Cole’s heart was always with Victoria. And so when Amelia took over that role in, [2004], just prior to that, She was on “All My Children” [as Mia].

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: And I had several different love interests on “All My Children” for the time that I was there.

Suzanne: Sure.

JEP: But Amelia was my last one. And Cole, or excuse me –Jake and Mia actually got engaged right just before I left the show, so there was a connection there, there was a night, there was a friendship there that Amelia and I had, and I thought we had a really nice chemistry on that show, just from absolutely, from the get go.There was just some nice chemistry there.

Suzanne: So yeah, I watched that one too, so I–

JEP: Oh, good. Oh, wonderful. Well, thank you for even remembering. It was so long ago.

Suzanne: It was a long time ago.

JEP: Yeah, it was, it was long ago. But, but anyway, um, yeah, I absolutely believed that all the goods were there. You know, if they had chose to go more that direction and for a longer period of time, I just really believed that Cole’s relationship with Claire, and the chemistry, that the three of us had, which is, eh, it was fun.

Suzanne: It was, it was unique, I think, and I think it worked.

JEP: The other thing too, Suzanne, is that I hate to use the word designed, but I guess you could say that I saw a path for Cole. Um, his personality, his history, his love and devotion. He’s a hopeless romantic. He has a sense of humor. He’s a strong male who will fight for the deaths for his family and anything he believes in. I knew I had the fire in the belly, if you will, as an actor, just like I do as a father and a husband in real life. And,  I knew that I could make that character very, very interesting if I had the opportunity to do more with it. And especially at this time in my life. You know, this time in my life, I’m a very different person

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: Than I what I was 20, 25 years ago. You know, fatherhood and life and ups and downs, and reinventing myself – as I had to do when I left acting. All these kinds of things, you know, have deepened me as a person, and it’s kind of shaped me into a different person than who I was in the 1990s.

Suzanne: Well, that’s, I guess that’s the best of what happens to us as we get older and mature and we–

JEP: Yeah. Fully become better people.

Suzanne: Absolutely.

JEP: Absolutely. And I think that’s what makes it so interesting, you know, for all actors, as we all get, get older, I think…motherhood, for the ladies that I’ve worked with, whether it was Amelia, whether it was Heather Tom, you know.  I know, as Heather, whom I worked all those years ago, she was just this young–  this young lady with this tremendous amount of talent. I know that she, she’s a different person today. You know, she’s had a very long, successful marriage and she’s a mother and all the years of experience and her close relationship with her mother and things that she had, and all these things really shape all of us. And I think that’s what makes daytime such a dynamic medium is that we see these characters grow and evolve from their youth and through their trials and tribulations to hopefully [become] seasoned, mature, interesting people.

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: And it’s not just the characters, it’s us, too, [and] that’s what makes the storylines so much more compelling and more interesting in this medium than anywhere else.  And that is, that we see and experience the life that these characters go through and how that changes them.

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: And generally for the better character.

Suzanne: The character development is great… has always been great on soaps. Anyway, is there anything else that you’d like to tell us about working on the show, and if you have any funny behind-the-scenes stories?

JEP: Well, let me think here. Funny and behind-the-scenes…

Suzanne: You know, anything you’re allowed to tell.

JEP: Yeah, exactly. Well, you know, at Y&R, I think I grew up a lot.  By the time I got toY&R, even in the nineties, you know. When I was on Days of our Lives, we were stinkers, you know, and especially me. I had to be one of the worst. (Bye honey. My wife’s checking out. ) I had to be one of the worst when it came to just doing stupid pranks, stupid stuff. But my fellow actor buddies on the show. Oh gosh. I hate to even tell some of the stuff I used to do. But anyway, yeah, over there, there was a lot of, you know, we were just young, younger guys and,  just a lot of crazy stuff. I know we did have showers in our dressing rooms, and, of course, why not? We always had a shower in the dressing room, so if you choose to shower at work and shower in the dressing room… “All My Children”, we did not have showers in a dressing room.

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: And at days,  most of the time I was there.. actually, I was one of the few people who did have a shower in a dressing room because I had Redd Foxx’s dressing room,  which meant you had to walk through a whole ‘nother empty stage to get to the main stage. And a lot of the actors went, “Mike, I don’t wanna walk that far.  Just, just gimme one of the close rooms.” And I was like, “Wait a minute. That room’s got a shower, and it’s got a steam. I take it, I want that room. I don’t care how far I gotta walk.” But before I took that room, Suzanne, there was a downstairs area that– most of us guys were downstairs. Most all of us were. And we’d have to shower, you know, down in the community shower and whatnot.  You didn’t have a separate stall, but, and I think there was just two showers. There might have been one. I think there was two. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. There was two. And,  so when, you know, Michael Easton or Robert Mailhouse, when they would be in their showering or whatever, man, I’d, I’d sneak down there.  I’d sneak in there and I’d grab, they’d have freezing cold water. I could get that outside in the hallway, not the tap, but really, really cold stuff. They’d be in their shower and I’d be dousing them with the cold water — just mean, stupid stuff, you know?

Suzanne: Yeah, yeah.

JEP: And then a lot of other funny stuff that I, I really can’t tell, but,  we were always cutting up and doing things.  What it was at Y&R, you know, for whatever reason,  it wasn’t as juvenile as  what I was allowed to be on some of the other shows. Again, I was more mature, so where by the time I went to “All My Children,” I wasn’t doing any shenanigans. And then, you know, after I left Days and went to Y&R, there were no shenanigans.  I’m trying to think of,  if the other folks did stuff.

Suzanne: You know, I heard that the actor that plays Nick, um…

JEP: Oh yeah. He is a practical joke. Nick is,  yeah, Josh is,  Josh is hilarious. He’s, he’s very, very funny. He’s, he’s a very special individual. Um, I just have so much respect for Josh because I remember when he came in his very first day, and he, Josh, was originally from Oklahoma, and he had been living out in the LA area in the valley for a short amount of time.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: And,  going to school, playing basketball for our junior college. (And I got Pilgrim saying, he’s just handing me his ball, handing me his bosses. Come on, dad’s ball time.) Hopefully he’ll stop. But anyway,  I remember when Josh first came in and. I wanna say he was 19, I think he was 19 years old. He was pretty young. You know, those first scenes, I was doing those first scenes with him. He [played] Victoria’s brother…But I was gonna say, he’s just a great guy with a tremendous sense of humor.  All of the younger guys on the show are all super special. I mean, they’re just, they’re great guys. They’re great individuals. Um. Pots of gold. Everybody’s a just a really good person. Everybody’s so solid. I’ve said to my sons, when I look at my cast members, these are people that are fortunate, but these aren’t people who got lucky.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: These are people that are so special and unique. [They] have a multitude of gifts and qualities, which put them in a position to where they could win that special job. And then when they won that special job, they grew from there and they improved and they were professional and they’ve hung on, you know, to those roles. And trust me when I tell you that these are not just lucky people who happen to land on a soap. I think that. Sometimes there were those people maybe 30 years ago or more. But, I really think, especially with our cast over at Y&R

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: These are really talented, deserving,  people  that have these coveted jobs and roles and characters that we love. You know, they’re wonderful. I’m a huge fan of my cast on that show, as it was every cast that I ever worked with.

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: They’re just really special talented people that don’t take anything for granted. They’re professional. People know their stuff. They show up prepared. There’s no slacking, they’re good. I have seen people that, I don’t wanna say slacked off, but maybe weren’t as professional prepared, you know?

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: And that’s not slacking. It’s just like some people just have a problem getting that material down, Suzanne. It’s hard to deliver it. Well, and the people I work with are a lot better at it than I am. They’re really, really good at it. And they’re tremendous and, anyway, but funny stories…Let’s see. Do I have anything? I’m sure you know that there are, um. But I can’t. I can’t.

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: No, they cannot for anything. You know, I will say that, in the nineties and everything, um, I used to socialize a lot more with a cast.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: And, you know, we’d go to the Emmy’s and we’d all go hang out and go out to dinner and go out dancing and all those kinda things and–

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: And even over the show, you know, I used to socialize a lot with the cast and, and maybe, I don’t know what it is now, but… This time coming back?  I’m friends, but I never really socialized, you know?  Probably ’cause most of the people who do the socializing, you know, were younger than me, and I’m that guy that would finish up with work and, say, “Oh my gosh, I’d love to go do this. Or I’d love to go meet a friend for a while. I gotta race home…” Because I was always rescuing dogs, you know?

Suzanne: Right, right.

JEP: Oh, I can’t leave my wife with. 15 million dogs at the house. I gotta, I gotta rush home.

Suzanne: And how long have you been doing the dog fostering and rescue?

JEP: Um, well, my mother had an animal rescue, when I grew up as a boy in Joplin, Missouri.  So, she kind of initiated me with that when I would get home from school. If I didn’t have sports after school,  then I was, I was racing home to bottle-feed, to clean up after the puppies, or clean the kennels or do something, or, she’d say,” Hey, I need you to go with me. We’re gonna go pick up a doll.”

Suzanne: She trained you and all that.

JEP: She trained me with all that. Exactly. That’s good. But what she really did was that she opened my eyes to the plight of the dogs. You know, we have the same issues today that we did in the 1970s, which is spaying and neutering, educating – get getting people to spay and neuter their animals. We have overpopulation.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm

We have dogs  that are going in the shelter situations, and the shelters are overrun all over the country. And obviously, a lot of shelters euthanize, and that’s what we have out here inL.A. You know, most euthanize. And what I try to do is I try to help find the homes, and place, and bring attention to the dogs that are on the 72-hour list.  So, you know. My time is limited.

Suzanne: Mm-hmm.

JEP: And there’s a lot of things that I want to do at this time in my life. I’m 66 years old, and I wanna make the best use of my time while I have my health and things. But to be honest with you, Suzanne, my wife and I are up every single night, following the plight of these dogs. We get alerts and things of the situations and dogs that are critical. We just can’t– you can’t turn your back on it.

Suzanne: Right.

JEP: You know, it’s just not something that I can just walk away from and, oh gee, that’s a bad problem. And I can’t, and I just feel compelled to try to, to do more,  to try to help these animals, to educate people more, too. So I am trying to, more so than, “Hey, I’m gonna try to place and find a home for this particular dog,” which I do a lot of, but I’ve exhausted my Rolodex. I’ve exhausted every friend, family [member] — people see me coming, you know, on area over area. So place the dog, can we help it? Can we keep it?  Can we foster it? You know?

Suzanne: Yeah.

JEP: So what I’m trying to do now is, I’m trying to do fundraising. I’m trying to  expand more on the education of people throughout my entire area and things. We have a lot of folks in Los Angeles that are from all over the world, and folks from all over the world have different cultures, and different cultures that the way in which they view spaying and neutering and things of that nature. So there’s an educational campaign, that I really think that we need to do. And I’m working with that. I’m working with raising money, particularly for my shelter here in Santa Clarita.  I did a fundraiser here about four months ago that, thankfully, I had some really nice people that did the heavy lifting.

Suzanne: Good

JEP:  That really did the most of the work for me. But we were able to raise some good money. Then I’m involved with another,  philanthropist-type of person here,  within my community. And we have a big gala coming up on November 1st.

Suzanne: Well, thank you so much.

Here are the rest of the questions that we didn’t have time for:

Suzanne: How did you get into the Airbnb business? Have you ever booked any soaps fans (either inadvertently or on purpose)?

JEP: I had remodel and resale experience. One son is in commercial real estate, the other has history in residential. At the beginning of the pandemic we set our sights on finding the worst house in a nice neighborhood with a great location. Within a few weeks, we found it: a corner lot with a city view.

My son, Austin, created the interior and exterior design, and I got to work—taking the house down to the studs and rebuilding what we call a rustic mid/century farmhouse—remodeled inside and out, including re-plastering the pool and landscape.

The house is very quiet and private. A nice alternative for those looking to avoid hustle and bustle of Los Angeles while being just 7 minutes from Six Flags Magic Mountain, 25 minutes to Universal Studios and an hour from Disneyland during low traffic times.

Last year the house was booked 92% of the time, and we’ve met some wonderful people from every continent in the world. To your question: Yes, I have been recognized a few times. A few months ago I dropped-in to clean the pool. The female guest walked outside, I waved “hello,” she took a long pause then ran back inside the house. After a few minutes a man comes out and shyly says: “I know this is crazy, but my wife is convinced you’re the actor, JEP on the Young and the Restless?” I think even he was surprised when I said, “Yes.” I was pretty sure they were both wondering why an actor on her show is cleaning the pool? I said, “It’s a family biz and we are very hands on. I’m the guy who fixes everything and does the pools.”

The B&B business takes a lot of work. When something breaks—and it will, it’s gotta be remedied right away. There are days when I rather be acting on B&B than be the AirBnB biz. But this is about doing business ventures with my sons, and nothing is more rewarding than that.

Suzanne: I saw a video on your Instagram where you said something like, you would like to go to another soap. Are you going out for auditions in general?

JEP: I think what I mentioned was I’d love to work on another soap. It’s hard to beat the daytime medium when it comes to finding roles with depth. So yes, I love to work on any of the daytime shows. Whether it be B&B, GH, reprising my role of Hawk Hawkins on Days, or creating a new one on “Beyond The Gates.”

Suzanne: Some questions from fans:

Monica wants to know what your favorite storyline on Y&R was?

JEP: Without a doubt, my favorite storyline on the “Young and the Restless” was the early days when Cole and Victoria discovered one another, fell in love, only to marry and find out that they were half brother and sister.

I got a call from Bill Bell one night telling me that he loved the chemistry between Heather Tom and I (when Cole and Vic first met in the tack house where Cole lived). I said, “Oh that’s great. I really enjoy working with her, but we are brother and sister.” Bill followed with: “Hey, you don’t worry about that. That’s my job. You just keep doing what you’re doing—I like you two together. You’re the first actor to have chemistry with the kid, and I’ll figure out how to make it work.” Of course, we know the rest of the story, Victor exhumed Cole’s mother (Eve) from the grave, did a DNA test, and as it turned out, Cole was NOT Victor’s so,n and he and Victoria were reunited. That made much of the audience happy and I was glad to be working with such a brilliant young lady. Heather’s depth was far beyond her years, and I loved working with her. Bill Bell’s stories through the 90s were wonderful, and I was honored to be a part of that era.

Suzanne: Eva writes Y&R recaps for our site. She asks if you have any kind of message for the fans that miss you on Y&R?

JEP: When I got the call from Josh Griffith that he was going to kill Cole, it caught me by such surprise that all I could think about was how grateful I was to have the opportunity to come back and play the role for 20 months. And now, after some time has gone by, it’s really hit me on how much I enjoyed Cole’s return and sad to see it end in his death. Reading viewer comments—some of which are fans from the 90s—touched me deeply. It made me feel I’d left some kind of mark on the show, and at the end of the day, that’s what all of us actors are hoping for.

I think I had over 7,000 comments for two short posts that I put out on my departure. I announced I was going to read every one of them, and I did. It took me about 3 1/2 weeks to read them all. So my message to the fans : Thanks so much for your kind, heartfelt words of support that have helped me feel a little better about Cole’s demise. Wishing you and your family the very best! ❤️

Suzanne: Janet asks, “Where does your next adventure take you to?”

JEP: I’m not sure…and it’s kind of exciting not knowing, really, what lies ahead. I do know that whether it’s on another show, a Lifetime movie, or my own YouTube channel—which I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, I promise I will bring heart, depth and worthy content that our Y&R viewers deserve.

Suzanne: Chris wants to know where you would have liked to see the dynamic of Claire, Victoria and Cole go in the future?

JEP: Hey Chris, thanks for your question. Yeah, I would have liked to have seen the story go exactly in the direction that me as the actor and Cole as the character were hoping and pushing for since Cole’s return to GC. Obviously, Cole’s first priority is the health and well-being of his daughter, Claire, followed by his unconditional support for helping Victoria reach whatever goals she was after in her life. As far as Cole, Victoria was the love of his life since leaving Genoa City 24 years earlier. He never forgot about his one true love and was never able to move on and find a fulfilling relationship. As Cole once told Victoria, “Yeah, sure, I had a tryst with a colleague every now and then, but nothing that ever went anywhere.” Cole’s wish was to remarry Victoria and become the family unit that he always wanted with his daughter, Claire.

Suzanne: Chris also asks, “If you have a dream job or role to play, what would that be?”

JEP: Chris, I became an actor because I wanted to tell stories. I wanted to play characters with depth, heart, and passion. Characters that were appealing, unpredictable, within stories that inspire people to hopefully become better people.

I also have a rather deep sense of humor. I like to bring some level of humor to all my characters . Unfortunately, this time around there wasn’t much room for humor, romance or courtship. The depth of Claire’s story, Aunt Jordan, and Victoria dealing with it all, left little opportunity for Cole’s personality to shine. If there was room, I would have brought it, and it would have been a lot harder for them to get rid of me, I can promise you that.

MORE INFO: Y&R Official Site Clip of Cole, Victoria and Claire saying goodbye

EDDIE PECK (Entertainment Bio)

A veteran actor of eight television series; actor, producer, writer, director and host, J. Eddie Peck has both domestic and international appeal. Once known by millions of viewers around the world due to his thirteen-year stint in daytime television as Cole Howard on CBS’s number one daytime drama, The Young and the Restless, Hawk Hawkins on NBC’s Days of Our Lives, and as Dr. Jake Martin on ABC’s, All My Children. In addition, his starring roles on Dallas and Dynasty are still aired throughout the world. In fact, J. Eddie is one of the very few actors to have a front-burner storyline on two primetime series simultaneously.

Peck has also starred in fourteen films and several hit Movies-of-the-Week. One being the major release dance movie, Lambada, a Gene Siskel “top ten” rental pick-of-the- year. The film was an idea J. Eddie pitched and sold to the studio as a writer, and was later cast as the film’s lead. Peck also starred with the Olsen Twins in the lighthearted comedy, To Grandmother’s House We Go, one of ABCs most successful TV movies of the 90’s, and still a holiday classic today.

Eddie recurred as the world’s “second” smartest human in the role of scientist, Adam Baylin on ABC Family’s all-time highest rated series, KYLE XY. Originally hired for a two-episode guest star, the show opted to bring Peck’s character back from the dead enabling him to return in seventeen of the last 27 episodes.

Once voted by “Teen Magazine” as “TV’s Sexiest New Star,” JEP is one of a small few daytime male stars to shoot the cover of “TV Guide” magazine. He also appeared on eleven daytime covers within his first twelve months on The Young and the Restless, as well as over 75 National magazine covers throughout his daytime career.

While at CBS, the network approached the actor about an “at home special” featuring Peck and his family on their California horse ranch. Originally slated for daytime viewing, CBS later decided to air the show as a prime-time special. The show caught the attention of the network’s executives, and as a result J. Eddie was soon hired by the network, and approved by the pageant owner, Donald Trump, to host the Miss Teen USA, and later, the Miss USA, which proved to be the highest rated USA Pageant in CBS history.

Eddie has also been a guest on over 50-television talk shows, including The Today Show, GMA, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Good Day LA, Regis and Kathie Lee, and Donahue. The former disc jockey also enjoys holding the mic, having hosted for E-Entertainment’s Pure Soap and Along for the Ride with J. Eddie Peck, an equestrian lifestyle show which he created and executive produced. In addition, Peck served as guest correspondent for Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Crook and Chase, as well as a celebrity panelist on 22 episodes of the syndicated game show, Match Game.

 Eddie’s created scripted and unscripted programming as well. He’s sold or optioned several feature scripts; a one-hour scripted drama, as well as a one-hour pilot for Animal Planet. Currently, he is in development with “Flippin’ The Bird,” a reality pilot featuring an interesting cast of characters and their vintage-aircraft restoration business out of Ozark, Missouri. Also in 2023, J. Eddie co-stars in Bright Ideas, a Ronn Head-directed, independent comedy currently hitting film festivals and expecting a distribution deal within the year.

From the executive level in entertainment, J. Eddie was brought on by TAMD Multimedia Corporation from 2009 to 2010 as Senior VP of Acquisitions. Mr. Peck expanded his executive level work outside the studio realm when he was hired from 2012 to 2016 as the CEO & President of the national financial services company, AmeriPrem LLC. In addition, he served a five-year term as consultant and national spokesman for the healthcare company, AmeriPlan USA.

Outside of entertainment J. Eddie’s lifelong passion for building and remodeling to restoring old cars and trucks, J.Eddie is usually juggling several projects at a time. Most of all, he enjoys doing all of the above with his wife, Sonya, and their two adult sons. The kid who booked a national commercial within his first 24 hours in Hollywood because they liked his “Ozark Twang,” is still the same guy today — only a little less accent, and a few more credits.

In October of 2023, J. Eddie Peck reprised his role of Cole Howard on CBS’s number one daytime drama, The Young and the Restless. Cole’s managed to rekindle his relationship with his former wife and long-time love interest, Victoria Newman, played by Amelia Heinle.

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, the #1 daytime drama for over 30 consecutive years, is a continuing drama revolving around the loves, enmities, hopes and fears of the residents of the fictional Midwestern town of Genoa City.

The series, currently in its 52^nd season, airs on the CBS Television Network, and is available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.

CAST (alphabetically):

Proofread and Edited by Brenda

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