J. Eddie Peck Out At Young And Restless As Cole Succumbs To Legionnaires’ Disease
It was a quick end for the character of Cole Howard on the Thursday, July 3 episode of Young and Restless, after he failed to respond to treatment for Legionnaires’ disease. The character said good-bye to Claire and kissed his true love Victoria for the last time, and then passed away. With that, actor J. Eddie Peck wrapped up his return to the CBS soap.
Lost Time
Claire and Victoria were called back to the hospital when Cole told them he was grateful they made it back in time to say good-bye. Claire thanked him for being a great father and tried to hold back her bitterness at having lost so much time with him. She pointed out how unfair it was that she loses him only having just gotten him back. He pointed out how brave she was and that he was so proud she’s his daughter. She shared a memory from her youth of wanting her daddy to hold and he wished he could have been there for her.
She also didn’t want to give up hope that he could still make it and wanted him to stay. When he said he couldn’t and it was time to say good-bye, an overwhelmed Claire ran out of the room. This left Victoria to be there for the man she loved as he took his last breaths. They told him she’d see in the next life and he would be waiting. She knew he had to let go so she wouldn’t ask him to stay but she did ask for a final kiss. He obliged and as he did, he passed away.
Rumors of Peck’s return to Y&R back in 2023 preceded his actual return. He had not been on the show since 1999, having started with the soap in 1993, and while the interest was flattering, he hadn’t been contacted — yet. Eight days later he was. He told Digest then, “There was the email that said, ‘Hey J. Eddie, we’re interested in knowing if you would like to reprise your role of Cole Howard.’ I turned to my wife and I was laughing and crying at the same time. The irony was just so funny. Here I had been discounting the rumors and now I was being asked to come back!”
That original arc was the reveal that Nikki’s assistant Claire, who had lured the Newmans to her aunt Jordan’s home for revenge, was actually Cole and Victoria’s grown-up daughter — Eve, whose death as an infant he and Victoria had mourned and thought lost to them forever. She was stolen by Jordan, groomed to be her tool for revenge against the entire Newman clan but especially Victor and Nikki. Jordan had blamed Victor for her sister Eve (whom little Eve was her namesake), Cole’s mother’s, death.
In caring for their daughter, that old spark between Cole and Victoria reignited and Peck stuck around the soap ever since. That is, until Cole returned from a recent trip with a cough he couldn’t shake. That cough turned out to be Legionnaires’ disease, which can usually be cured with antibiotics — but in Cole’s case, he was diagnosed too late and nothing could be done to save him.
Are you upset to see Cole go, or do you think the character had run its course? Let us know in the comments below!
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