Peter Bergman

[Paul Raven]

Peter Bergman celebrates his 20th year in the role of Jack Abbott on Y&R.

For 10 years prior to that he was Cliff on AMC.

Apparently,he came to AMC's attention when he auditioned for the role of Brad on OLTL.

The role of Cliff was originally supposed to be a recast of Jeff Martin.

Please share your memories,opinions etc of this daytime vet.

[Cat]

Wow, 20 years already!

I never saw him on AMC, so my experience with PB is only from Y&R. Terry Lester was a definitive Jack Abbott (Jack the lad!) but towards the latter part of his run, he seemed grumpy and bored, for reasons he indicated in soap interviews.

When Peter Bergman came on, he didn't have the nervous sexual energy that Lester had. He was much more patrician and seemed to embody the term "WASP" -- which, in many ways, is very befitting of the character. I loved Lester but Bergman did quickly click with me, not least because he reminded me of people I knew. Some may say he can veer towards the hammy and blowhardy but so can people IRL and for me, his portrayal was spot-on.

I've criticized in the past what I feel is Bergman's inability to generate a lot of sexual heat with his screen partners. I never saw any with Jill (and Jack & Jill were a lynchpin lust story on Y&R!), for instance. That is not to say that he does not have chemistry with other actors because he does. Loads. He and Jerry Douglas "feel" like father and son. Bergman really played up the idea that Jack really hero-worshipped his dad while also wanting to match him in terms of professional achievement.

Also, while Bergman may not have an overtly sexual side in his Jack repertoire, he does deliver when it comes to falling in love and then being rejected by the object of his affections. This was especially evident when Jack and Nikki were together. I personally loved Bergman's tender chemistry with MTS. No wonder TPTB keep writing him being devastated by Phyllis and, later, Sharon. Nobody can do that dawning look of realization, hurt and sorrow like PB.

Paul Raven, you asked about PB's contribution to what goes on-screen, so I won't discuss what happened when Victoria Rowell was on the show. Putting aside that huge source of tension and bitterness (which was disappointing for me to hear), I think PB is Y&R's lead man in all but the name. He is the show's MVP, is always present and doesn't check out of scenes like Eric Braeden can do sometimes. He makes others pick up their game around him. I was never into Shack, but I really think Sharon Case improved her acting, in part because she got scenes with him.

Noteworthy scenes:

Any confrontation with Victor. Namely:

-Throwing his chair throw the window of Jabot.

-Leaving Victor to die after a heart attack.

-Confronting Victor after the death of Nikki's baby. Interesting that he chose to forego tears in that scene, but it made it more impactful in a way.

Also, when John died. PB played that quiet devastation beautifully. And when Ghost John told Jack he was no longer coming "to visit." Jack was like a little kid in that goodbye scene.

[Cheap21]

he looks good for having been around that long. He has aged very well

[CSF]

I absolutely love Peter Bergman. He is by far one of the greatest actors on daytime television. I never really got to see him as Dr. Cliff Warner on AMC. That's a role I would have definitely loved to see him in. As for Jack Abbott, Terry Lister really defined the role, but PB made it his own very quickly. When I think of strong Y&R leading man, I definitely always considered Jack Abbott to be one of their most important players.

[Ann_SS]

I was shocked when AMC fired Peter, then one day watching Y&R, he popped up on the screen as Jack. I was blown away. It was so unexpected. I had not been reading the soap mags regularly in those days. Cliff was so different to Jack that I did not think that Peter would be able to pull it off, but he did. His Jack is different to Terry Lester's Jack. I have loved both incarnations of the characters. They both have strenghts and weaknesses. Bill Bell was small minded to fire Terry for speaking out, but Bell got damn lucky when he hired Peter. Peter is a good actor who has made me love Jack despite his horrible actions. Peter wells up and I'm sucked in and become all forgiving. I hope we get many more years of Peter as Jack on Y&R.

[DRW50]

Remember when Y&R used to be able to recast? And when they cared about Jack?

My favorite Jack story was with Luan.

[MarkH]

I hated hated hated that sappy Luan story, LOL.

I also hated Bergman for at least two years. He wasn't Jack. Jack was snarky, pouty, sexy, with the devil twinkling in his eyes. I really read none of this (except for the occasional "snarky") from Bergman.

Of course, eventually the role changed for Bergman (and his sappy pursuit of Nikki) and Bergman's prodigious skills started to truly wrap them themselves around Jack.

Now, I think he's irreplaceable. But for me the lesson is: "Don't judge a recast right away. Give a recast 24 months to truly inhabit the role". I'd say it took me a while to accept Jess Walton too...but not as long. I wasn't "feeling" the emotionally-detached Dickson's portrayal...really at any point after her return. I enjoyed the portrayal at times, and I loved aspects of the story (e.g., Lindsey snapping pics of Jack and Jill having sex in the snowbound cabin). But in the end, I think any recast can work...but they have to be give years and years.

If, after years, they are still a failure (hi Amelia!), then cut bait.

[Sylph]

OK, people. Here's a novel concept: Peter Bergman needs to go. He's done with this show.

When I see his portrayal of Jack... It all seems worn off, old, almost shabby, with no power... He seems like an old man, early in his retirement - I'm talking about PB - who just did what was asked from him in all of those years and now it's time to go. As much as I hate it, Victor, on the other hand, looks like someone in his "prime". Almost.

[DRW50]

When huge portions of a show revolve around how awesome your character is, what a stud he is, etc. then you are more likely to look like you're in your prime. Even then, Braeden seems checked out to me about 60% of the time.

I think a recast will work if they bring some elements of the original actor and if they believably make the role their own. That rarely happens on soaps now, especially Y&R. When we get recasts now, they are immediately brand new characters, and their entire backstory is basically ignored, unless it can be twisted to fit current plot (like using Mackenzie to show us how much better Billy is supposed to be as an a-hole).

[Sylph]

Braeden plays jerk great. That's what it is.

[DeeeDee]

Pretty much.

[DeeeDee]

EXACTLY.

Chloe is the only one who "GETS" Billy.

Just like Chloe was the only one who "GOT" Cane & like Chloe will be the only one who will "GET" Phillip.

[LoyaltoAMC]

Congrats to Peter! He's always been one of the most consistently good actors in daytime, and he seems like a hell of a nice guy to boot. I remember being shocked when Felicia Behr fired him from AMC, thinking it was a stupid decision. In retrospect, it was probably the right thing to do. The Cortlandt family by that point had shifted to Dixie/Will/Melanie, and Cliff became a peripheral character on the canvass. Even if his romance with Angie wouldn't have been stopped prematurely, she was a peripheral character at that point too, and nothing much would've come of it.

[sheilaforever]

Peter Bergman is great and still looks amazing for being in the bis for 30 years...

I still like Jack most of the time but Bergman's portrayal has gotten lazy in the last couple of years. He used to be outstanding, now he's more in between. He doesn't seem to invest in any emotional scenes - for he either does not care/feels disconnected to his character or is under a false pretense that Jack has become too wounded to show a soft side.

Oh, and I miss the Jess Walton & Peter Bergman frenemy love feast. Those two are orgasmic together and in the Kay Alden years this was used intensely.

[BadZoe]

Peter Bergman like the rest of the cast of Y&R deserve better writing. I think if he left it might be the end for me because that would be the true end to the Abbott's and the whole focus will shift to the Newman's and Fisher's.