Y&R: Eric Braeden interview

[Soapsuds]

TV Guide Magazine: We missed seeing you at the Daytime Emmys, not that we expected you to show up!

Braeden: Under no circumstances would I have been there. I think it's a joke. It's a farce. And it has been that way for a lot of years. They make it more ridiculous every year. I don't watch it because they [pre-]nominate from within each show now — some genius came up with that nonsense a few years ago — and it has turned the system into a popularity contest. I'm very glad Heather Tom won. And Bradley Bell. They are decent people in this business. And, of course, Maria Bell, who has done a very good job. But I don't think about the Emmys. You are the one who brought it up. I just ignore it and so do two or three other people at Y&R.

TV Guide Magazine: What are your thoughts on ABC dropping All My Children and One Life to Live? Do you fear the same thing might happen someday at CBS?

Braeden: I guess as long as Y&R remains at the top of the ratings we'll be all right, but one never knows. For many years now I have watched the depersonalization of the people who run this business. It has become more and more corporate and that does not bode well. I long for those days when Bill Bell Sr. ran our show and decided everything. Everything. He had a strong point of view and did not tolerate any kind of interference from anyone and it paid off in a major way. Bill Bell didn't give a damn about anyone else's opinion and nobody tried to f--k with that. Now we have too many cooks in the kitchen and that's become a huge problem. These corporate types had better be very careful because they are destroying something millions of people still want. The audience still loves the idea of novelized stories and watching their characters evolve over the years and the decades. It's a tremendously enjoyable experience for the audience that cannot be replaced by reality TV. In what other medium can you see the trials and tribulations of a Victor Newman or a Nikki Newman or a Katherine Chancellor play out over 30 or 40 years? There is a rhythm of life to a soap opera — a rhythm that makes Y&R very real to people.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Young-Re...n-1035144.aspx

[DeeeDee]

Pretty much!

[Soapsuds]

I wonder if he knows Laura Wright won this year.

[Cheap21]

Oh I rally wish he'd STFU. He wasnt nominated this year so no surprise why he's so bitter at the Emmys, even if that is truth

[BadZoe]

Never thought I'd agree with EB, lol.

[Antoyne]

Lol no surprise he didn't like the Victoria slapping him scene.

[kalbir]

Eric Braeden rules! I love that he speaks what's on his mind and takes no crap from anyone.

[Antoyne]

Guza wouldve loved him

[Antoyne]

Giza wouldve loved him.

[Adam]

He speaks the truth. He's a pompous, selfish windbag..... but never the less, he speaks the truth.

[SFK]

And that's not the first time I have read him tell that story, he obviously felt strongly about it.

[Max]

In hindsight, when did control of Y&R shift from Bill Bell to the corporate suits? Was it not until he got ill with Alzheimer's? (And when did Alzheimer's cause Bell to retire?)

[DeeeDee]

The only reason he agreed to it was because of Heather.

[classicmoment]

lol @ t.v. deballing men yet no outrage for victimizing women. I needed a good chuckle EB, really did!

[Antoyne]

I will say it sounds as though he has a genuine respect for Melody and her work