Q & A with Jeanne Cooper
(Katherine Chancellor, Y&R)

The Young and the Restless may have a new opening sequence and a few new faces, but original cast member Jeanne Cooper remains a beloved staple as Katherine Chancellor, the unofficial first lady of Genoa City. Cooper was there when Y&R was live on tape and a half-hour long. She's seen the changes over the years and has observed how the show has stayed the same, too. A five-time Emmy nominee for her work on Y&R, Cooper amassed quite a list of credits before entering the world of soaps: The dry-witted performer has guest-starred on more than 400 series, including The Twilight Zone, Ben Casey and Touched by an Angel. Cooper is one of the few daytime performers who has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but she's as down to earth as they come. The quotable grande dame recently chatted with TV Guide Online about Y&R's history, jazzy new opening credits and the future of soaps. — Michael J. Maloney


You and Jess Walton (Jill) have incredible chemistry. Was it that way with the other actresses who played the part?

Well, I know the pros and cons on Brenda Dickson (the original Jill). I yelled at her in the very beginning when we were live on tape. There was a particularly heavy show one day and she was a little late. [After] I yelled at her, she said, "No one's ever talked to me that way." And I said, "Get used to it. If you don't like it, pretend I'm Shelley Winters." Brenda wouldn't speak to me for three days. So I went to her and said, "Brenda, this is ridiculous. The reason I [yelled] is because you were late and we shoot the show live. We're so rushed during the shooting of it that if you're late, everybody's mind jumps back a few steps. The timing's thrown off. Being on time is just professional, honey. If you pull that on the outside, they'd get rid of you." That's why I did it. It was a matter of professional courtesy, and we've been friends ever since. I heard she got married. I hope she got some happiness. She deserves it.

After Brenda left, Deborah Adair played the part.

Yes. I did a scene with Deborah Adair once and I started talking to her the way Katherine did to Jill, and Deborah started crying.

Jill is not a flower.

[Laughs] Yes. Deborah said, "I don't understand why she (meaning, me, Jeanne) doesn't like me." I asked her if she knew the backstory of Katherine and Jill. She didn't. I filled her in and then I said to Deborah, "If I were nice to you there wouldn't be a relationship. This is why I dislike you, meaning Jill, intensely." She said, "Oh, my God. I didn't understand. You were talking and looking at me like I was garbage." And I said, "You are!" She got it. She smiled and thanked me.

What did the show lose when it stopped being live on tape, and what did it gain?

It lost a lot of the electricity, the sensation of things happening now. Even though it was live on tape, I think we only stopped tape once or twice. Now, people feel it's OK if I make a mistake. Everybody in every department has a lot of pressure. I don't know if an hour show could be produced live today. I suppose it could be done, but it would have to be structured differently.

No more one-page speeches?

Actually, I had them when we were live on tape. I had a monologue every other day. There were times Donnelly Rhodes (ex-Phillip) wouldn't show up, so I'd have to ask myself questions and answers. That's how Katherine started talking to herself.

Back then, new actors had to jump aboard a running train when they joined the show.

And today they come on and wait for the train to stop and pick them up. People really had to think on their feet. Eric (Braeden, who plays Victor) and I did a scene recently and it was a joy, as always. There were no cue cards, but I don't ever want to do without them because if a scene is going well, there's no sense in destroying it because you can't remember how a sentence begins. We mixed lines and inverted some of them, but we knew the intent of the scene and kept on talking until we could get back into it. We did it without screwing up the control booth. It was exciting. But you have to trust the other person in the scene. It's very hard to trust a lot of the younger actors. Sharon Case (Sharon) is quite good. Most of them have basically studied with an acting coach and that's it. When you think of the beginning of the show we had Jaime Lyn Bauer (ex-Lorie), Janice Lynde (ex-Leslie) — some high-power talent. Jaime had never acted before, but she'd been a model. She was a grown-up, though. We don't get grown-up youngsters anymore. We get, "I'm 17 going on 10 and a half." On some shows, producers are more interested in the trend than in the portrayal of the character. If the hair and clothes are right and the performer's lost enough weight, then that's what they go with.

It seems the issue of weight is something on the minds of actresses in both prime time and daytime.

You're talking about the trend to become a stick? They'll find it doesn't bother them too much now, but as they get older their bodies won't respond. That's in the offing. Ask any good doctor. The skeletal look is without a doubt one of the ugliest looks. It's not human. When any of them go to a function wearing a marvelous gown, you don't see the actress. You just see this gown walking down the red carpet. There has to be a happy medium. Look at Camryn Manheim, who won an Emmy for The Practice. You have to be OK if you don't look like a toothpick wearing a Vera Wang. It's understandable now where guys get the expression, "I'd like to jump those bones."

What do you think of the new opening sequence that includes performers' names?

There are pros and cons to it. I really think a lot of the audience likes to call us by the character names. That's how they know us. It's great that the actors have credit now for the work they do. It's a little jarring to some people. Personally, I don't know yet whether I like it.

A lot of people have said that they miss the old opening, especially the music.

I miss the music. I don't know why they [got rid of it]. When you start fooling around with success, unless you've got a dead knockout to replace it....

In other words, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Exactly. I'd like to see a poll to see if people miss it. People would hear the music and say, "The show is on." In my book, this new music doesn't say "Drop everything! The show is on." At least not yet.

We're coming up on the 10-year anniversary of the last time we saw Marge, the dual role you played from 1989 to '90, and yet it still seems like yesterday.

Everybody asks about her to this very day. I had outrageous fun playing her. It was like pulling out all the stops. The audience loved it. It was wrapped up relatively quickly. Marge saved Katherine's life, and I think for that reason Kay would go check on her every now and then, even if Kay didn't let Marge know that she was there.

The best part was Katherine pretending to be Marge pretending to be Katherine.

That happened toward the end. That was a lot of fun. There was some marvelous stuff, like when Lil and Morey [Kay and Esther's captors, played by Lilyan Chauvin and the late Morey Amsterdam] got a birthday present for a pregnant Esther — it was a larger version of her maid uniform.

What could the other shows learn from Y&R?

They should get back to the basic storytelling of what daytime is all about. Fix your chemistries. Remember that shows are about relationships. Centralize your characters. Have relationships that people will identify with. Daytime moves from one neighborhood to another so viewers can see how different people live. There has be chemistry among the characters and you have to have writers who know how to write daytime. Shows have to be bigger than life, but still be acceptable. Don't have the viewers saying, "They've gone out of their minds again." Daytime needs to go back to being daytime. [Producers] should look at old shows and just update them.