Jerry Douglas of The Young and the Restless dies at 88

Jerry Douglas, the actor best known for playing patriarch John Abbott on The Young and the Restless, died Nov. 9 after a brief illness. He was 88.

Douglas joined the cast of Y&R in March of 1982 to play the chairman of Jabot Cosmetics. The Abbotts, including John's children Jack, Traci, Ashley, and Billy, are among the core families on the CBS daytime drama. His character was killed off in 2006, but he made ghostly returns to Genoa City.

He last appeared on the series in 2016.

"On behalf of the entire company of The Young and the Restless, we send our deepest sympathies to the Douglas family on the passing of Jerry Douglas," said Y&R exec producer Anthony Morina in a statement obtained by EW. "Our show was lucky to have an actor of his caliber join the Y&R cast and introduce the audience to the iconic Abbott family. His contribution to the legacy of Y&R as Abbott family patriarch, John Abbott is still felt to this day. He will be sorely missed."

Born in Massachusetts, Douglas attended Brandeis University on a football scholarship. After serving as the school's quarterback and earning a degree in economics, he opted to study acting with Uta Hagen in New York and Jeff Corey in Los Angeles.

His early TV credits include gigs on The Donna Reed Show, The Outer Limits, The Rogues, and Gunsmoke. He appeared in a bunch of cop shows, too, like Dragnet 1967, Mannix, The F.B.I., S.W.A.T., and Police Woman. His feature credits include roles in JFK, Avalanche, The Godson, Head Over Spurs in Love, and Mommie Dearest.

An accomplished singer, Douglas recorded an album called The Best Is Yet to Come.

Recently, Douglas reunited with his former castmates from Y&R. Lauralee Bell, who plays Christine Williams on the drama, posted a photo on Instagram that said, "Feel so lucky to have been included in this unbelievably special birthday lunch for Jerry Douglas! Thank. you @peterbergmanyr and @eileendavidsonofficial so much! I will cherish this afternoon always."

Douglas is survived by his wife Kym, as well as two sons and a daughter.

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