Sad news.  I always enjoyed him as John and thought it was a huge mistake to kill him off.

Y&R's Twitter has posted

 

Such sad news! He was a charming man and the perfect head for the Abbott family. He had chemistry with everybody young and old and he deserved more time on the show. 

 

Screen shot from Jess’s FB post:

 

 

Poor Jess, She's dealt with a lot with losing her husband and now TV husband. 

 

I always felt that John Abbott and Bill Bell were two sides of the same coin: strong family patriarchs beloved by their children. 

Jerry exuded a warmth and class that was special. His onscreen chemistry with all the actors who played his children, Jeanne Cooper, and of course Jess Walton was tremendous.

Hopefully Y&R will have the Abbott children gather to remember John as an onscreen tribute to Jerry.

I hate to hear this.  

This is sad 😢. RIP Jerry I loved me some him. John and the abbotts are the family of Genoa city.

🙏❤

Sad news. Jerry Douglas had old-school movie-star presence on a show like Y&R and his character was an anchor.

LML killing him off and then bringing back a kooky lookalike as a sop to fans was a terribly short-sighted move. It was a JFP move, done to provide an Emmy reel for Y&R that year. No more, no less. 

May he RIP. He was obviously beloved by members of the cast.

I just saw Jess Walton had posted about this. tears run down my face at this moment. What a fine, fine actor, and a true gentleman. 

May he forever Rest easy.

Oh my Gosh, so sorry to hear this.  And I can't believe I never connected or knew that Kym Douglas was his wife.  I loved her on the Ellen show.  

Wow!! RIP to a legend