Not Young, Still Restless - Remembering Jeanne Cooper

Not Young, Still Restless - Remembering Jeanne Cooper

Several of you may already know this - I am a fan of daytime television, also known as soap operas, also known as my stories. They are my guilty pleasure! What some of you may not know however is why I am fan of these serialized story telling shows - it's because of this woman:

Granny Miller

My Great-Grandmother Bertha Miller who would babysit when I was a toddler. And because I'm spilling all the "T" like a reality housewife scorned, Granny Miller was also the same Granny that I cried for the first 90 days of Kindergarten way back in the day...but that's another topic for another time. 

My Granny would watch her beloved stories five days a week, Monday-Friday beginning at 11AM everyday and always first on her schedule was "The Young and the Restless" which has since my childhood days become a staple in my soap opera watching habits! I can still remember her talking to the television set at Jack, Victor, Nikki, Jill and of course at her beloved Mrs. Chancellor, who in later years would become my beloved Mrs. Chancellor, played by the take life by the balls and tell it as it is - Jeanne Cooper. 

Now for those of you who may not know what the hell is going on in this edition of Sparkling Vodka or who the hell Katherine Chancellor is let me break it down for you. 

Katherine Chancellor

Portrayed by the remarkable Jeanne Cooper, Katherine Shepard Chancellor Murphy was the grand dame and baddest bitch in Genoa City! She done for The Young and the Restless what Heather Locklear did for Melrose Place - arrive on the scene to stir the pot and raise the ratings! For four decades Katherine feuded with rival Jill Foster Abbott, after Jill snatched away Katherine's husband from her. She gave sage advice to her best friend the stripper turned lady of the manor Nikki Reed Newman and kept one of Genoa City's most ruthless businessmen, Victor Newman, in line when no one else could. Life would often imitate art for the character of Katherine and her portrayer Jeanne Cooper. In 1984, cameras followed Jeanne Cooper as she underwent a facelift...it was worked into her Y&R storyline so that Katherine would also be undergoing a facelift. Just as Jeanne battled alcoholism, so did Katherine Chancellor.

Jeanne Cooper died on Wednesday, May 8th leaving a gaping hole in the Y&R canvas as well as the daytime community. She was a force like no other. She was a woman who spoke her mind and entertained millions with her portrayal of "The Grand Dame of Genoa City." Sadly there will never be another Jeanne Cooper or a character as wonderful and entertaining as Katherine Chancellor. And with her death comes sadness for her legions of fans, but for this one in particular it's a little harder to swallow. I never met Jeanne Cooper and I know that Katherine Chancellor was a fictional character on a daytime soap opera - but with her passing, a small part of my childhood, a part that I treasure more than words can express, dies with her. 

Take a look as Jeanne Cooper reflects on her two time Emmy award winning role as Katherine Chancellor:  Jeanne Cooper's Intro to The Young and the Restless - 03/29/2013

Until Next Time...