Recently, the soap opera world suffered another great loss when "The Young and Restless" star, Jeanne Cooper passed away on May 8, 2013 after being ill and hospitalized for quite a while. Today, the show honored her with a tribute--no, make that a celebration of her life. Knowing what little I do of Ms. Cooper, mostly from posts on Facebook and Twitter from her son, Corbin Bernsen, she'd probably come back to haunt me if I called it a "tribute". Somehow, the word "tribute", while honorable, seems wrong in this case--sad, actually. I'm sure Ms. Cooper wouldn't have wanted that. So I will call it a celebration.
Ms. Cooper, Jeanne or Jeannie as many lovingly called her, was well loved by everyone. Not just everyone who had the chance to know her or work with her, but I mean by EVERYONE, whether you watched Y&R or not. I can honestly say that I have never met anyone who didn't love Jeanne Cooper. She gave love and respect to her fellow actors and people in general, and in turn she got love and respect back. Or is that the other way around? I'm not really sure. Maybe it's just a circle. She was also a no-nonsense, outspoken type. "Direct and to the point" is probably the phrase I'm looking for here. And she was very open about most things in her life. The most memorable example of her openness was when she had a face lift on TV during a Y&R storyline in 1984. I remember that like it was yesterday. I was 16 years old, and I can remember reading that she was going to do it. I remember thinking "She's going to do WHAT?!!" It was truly a first for daytime television. To this day, I can't believe she did it. But that is the kind of woman she was, and I admired her for that. I still do. More people should be like her.
I wish I had been able to meet her and get to know her. Those that did are very lucky. She seems like she was one heck of a lady. She was a true legend. Not just because of her great acting ability. That is only part of it. But because of the way she treated people. Treating people with kindness, love, and respect, giving of yourself, helping out your fellow actors--that is what makes someone a true legend.
Farewell, Duchess--Jeanne--Jeannie--We love you and miss you.
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