I am sitting in a noontime faculty meeting that is winding down at Virginia Union University, stacking my papers and clearly preparing to head out the door, when someone says, “Randy, you’re in a hurry today.”
And then my daughter, Sarah, who is there because she also teaches at VUU, pipes up: “He has to get home to watch his soap opera.”
Regardless of the fact that it was true, that’s not a statement that a manly, virile, macho, testosterone-laden stud like myself ever wants to hear ring out in a crowded room — certainly not in a meeting of serious-minded educators.
“Actually,” I tell my laughing colleagues, “I’m having lunch with Victor Newman.”
That sounded better, and it was also true. Victor Newman is my favorite character on CBS’ The Young and the Restless, a manipulative, conniving, ruthless, intimidating corporate giant, leader of a worldwide conglomerate that has made him the wealthiest, most powerful businessman in the universe — in other words, just the type of hero for a manly, virile, macho, testosterone-laden college professor.
Years ago, I read a magazine article that identified Victor as the favorite television character of a huge percentage of residents of jails and prisons across America. A warden at one such establishment said something like “The hour that The Young and the Restless is on every day is the only time there’s quiet in this place, and the peace lasts as long as nobody says anything bad about Victor Newman.”
I can see why Victor is popular at the pen: Over the years, he’s been guilty of blackmail, kidnapping, bribery, coercion and enough adultery to make Tiger Woods look like a piker. He’s even imprisoned folks in his basement, and while he may or may not have actually murdered anyone, Victor has certainly left a man to die, tied to the mast of a sinking ship.
So what’s redeeming about Victor? Well, he’s just so darn cool. He’s clever, self-educated, self-made, and he always wins. He’s also big on family, except for the one son who clearly inherited too many of Victor’s ruthless genes. His constant battle with rival businessman Jack Abbott is always lively, and it provides some absolutely wonderful lines.
One of the head writers on The Young and the Restless is Scott Hamner, son of Virginia-born-and-raised author Earl Hamner Jr. The younger Hamner shares his father’s way with words (see The Waltons), the ability to sustain passionate and treacherous characters (see Falcon Crest), and the popular support of a devoted audience (The Young and the Restless is the No. 1 daytime soap opera).
Not only is the Y&R writing smart, but the acting is outstanding. Eric Braeden, who created Victor in 1980, is an Emmy Award winner who has appeared in nearly 30 TV shows and movies, mostly during his 30-year Victor stint. (He played John Jacob Astor, for instance, in Titanic.) Peter Bergman, who plays Jack Abbott, is also a brilliant actor.
When we’ve gone to Broadway shows over the years, Barb always points out cast members from various soaps, with puzzlement about why daytime actors don’t get more respect. Some who started in soaps, or at least appeared very early in their careers, and now get plenty of respect are Teri Hatcher, Kevin Bacon, James Earl Jones, Meg Ryan, Demi Moore, Christopher Reeve, Kathleen Turner, Tommy Lee Jones, Kelsey Grammer, Larry Hagman and Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon.
I’m a latecomer to Y&R myself, having developed an interest last year when I cut back on my administrative responsibilities and found time for a more leisurely lunch. Mind you, when I retire I won’t be spending my afternoons watching soaps, but an hour a day has turned out to be a pleasant, relaxing interlude.
Now if you’ll excuse me, having made my case for all manly, virile, macho, testosterone-laden soap-opera-watching studs, I — along with an impressive contingent of U.S. prison inmates — will be going to lunch with Victor Newman.
Randy Fitzgerald teaches modern American literature at Virginia Union University. He was a longtime public relations director at the University of Richmond and columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Contact him at
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