Victor Newman
| Victor Newman | |||||||||||||||||
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| The Young and the Restless character | |||||||||||||||||
| File:EricBraeden.jpg Eric Braeden as Victor Newman (2007) | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Eric Braeden | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | February 1980 | ||||||||||||||||
| Created by | William J. Bell | ||||||||||||||||
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Victor Christian Newman (born Christian Miller) is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless played by actor Eric Braeden from February 1980 through November 2, 2009 and again from January 15, 2010 to present. The character briefly appeared on The Bold and the Beautiful in 1999. Victor was originally intended to be short-term character as part of a six-month storyline, but developed into a lead character.[2] Braeden won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1998 for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the role.
Much of his history on the series revolves around his long-running conflict with rival businessman Jack Abbott.[3][4]
Storylines
Introduction and altercation with Julia and Michael Scott
Born Christian Miller, he is abandoned by his father, Albert Miller, and at the age of seven his mother, Cora Miller, puts him in an orphanage because she is unable to provide for him and his brother Matthew. This gives him a strong determination to be successful and independent. After he leaves the orphanage he changes his name to Victor Newman, because he declares himself a victorious new man.
Victor originally comes to Genoa City in 1980 to help Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) run Chancellor Industries. He brings his wife Julia (Meg Bennett) with him, and keeps her a recluse in the ranch house Katherine sells him, while he works. Longing for work of her own, Julia takes a modeling job with photographer Michael Scott, who is attracted to her. Victor becomes jealous, and when Julia turns up pregnant, he is convinced that the baby is Michael's.
In retaliation, Victor imprisons Michael in the bomb shelter at the old Newman Ranch. Julia finds Michael and frees him from the bomb shelter. While attempting to flee the Newman Ranch, Victor happens upon the pair and a fist fight between Michael and Victor ensues. Julia involves in the crossfire and suffers a terrible fall leading her to miscarry. Blood tests eventually proved that Victor was, in fact, the father before Julia and Michael leave town.
Newman Enterprises, many marriages, and feud with Jack
On the business front, Victor builds a corporate empire called Newman Enterprises, which gives him an estimated net-worth of somewhere between $18 billion to $60 billion. Victor subsequently commences a relationship with Nikki Reed which becomes a decades long on again, off again romance. They conceive two children together, Victoria Newman and Nicholas Newman. During his first marriage to Nikki, Victor has an affair with Ashley Abbott. Ashley becomes pregnant with Victor's child and soon has an abortion, a move she lives to regret. Grief over the loss of the offspring tears Victor and Ashley apart, though Victor still loves her.
Leanna "Love" Randolph is hired by both Victor and Jack Abbott to write a biography of Victor. Jack's version of the book is intended to be a tell all entitled Ruthless: The Victor Newman Story. Without Jack's knowledge, Leanna adds a chapter which exposes Victor and Ashley's affair. Believing Nikki is behind the publication, Victor divorces her and marries Leanna, who later divorce. To get revenge on Jack for his role in publishing the book, Victor takes over Jack's family company, Jabot Cosmetics. Out of revenge, Jack marries Nikki. Victor responds by offering to give Jabot back if Jack agrees to end the marriage. He accepts the deal, but does not get his family company back because of a loophole Victor put in the deal.
Victor and Ashley, who visit a cottage they attended during their affair, reunite and gradually wed. His daughter Victoria, who returned to town, was discontent with the marriage and attempted to separate them. The relationship ends when Nikki's health troubles draw Victor back to her. After contributing to the death of both Nikki and Jack's unborn child, Victor leaves town and ends up on a farm in Kansas where he meets Hope Adams. The two fall in love and he brings her back to Genoa City. They marry and have a son, Victor Adam Newman. They later divorce and Hope returns to her farm in Kansas.
Forwarding his animosity for Jack, Victor marries Jack's former girlfriend, Diane Jenkins (Alex Donnelley). Diane wanted to have a child with Victor but Nikki's jealousy of Diane sparked a feud between the two. Nikki had convinced Victor to have a vasectomy and which prevented him from having any more children this caused huge problems between Victor and Nikki. When Nikki is wounded and thought to be dying Victor divorces Diane and remarries Nikki on her deathbed, intending to remarry Diane after Nikki dies. However, Nikki remarkably survives leaving Diane concerned for her relationship with Victor, who breaks it off with her.
Victor and Nikki officially remarry in 2002 at the acknowledgment that their prior wedding was invalid because Nikki survived. Nikki is interested in a third child, furthermore, Victor refuses and decides to get a vasectomy, a process where he has some sperm stored in a sperm bank. Diane, who still loves Victor, steals them planning to impregnate herself with his child. After the sperm is stolen from her multiple times from Nikki and Ashley respectively, in the end, Diane becomes pregnant with Jack's child through his sperm bank donation and Ashley becomes pregnant with Victor's daughter, Abby Carlton. Abby's paternity is not revealed to Victor until Abby tells him when she is five.
Victor is diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy due to head trauma he received while rescuing Nikki from a car-jacking attempt. Jack learns of this and takes advantage of Victor for quite some time. In the process, however, a strange friendship formed between them, one which Victor continues to play upon once he has the condition under control. Ultimately, he feels betrayed by Jack once again, although this time it is more personal because of their friendship. Victor reveals the truth to Jack when he informs him that he knows the truth about Jack, not Ji Min Kim (Eric Steinberg), owning Jabot Cosmetics.
Victor leaves Genoa City to be at Hope's bedside as she suffered her final moments with pancreatic cancer. On her death bed, she explains to Victor Jr. (or now Adam Wilson) that Victor is his biological father having raised their son with Cliff Wilson after she and Victor divorced, changing his last name to Wilson and letting her child think Cliff was his father. Hope eventually succumbs to the pancreatic cancer that is eating away at her, and it is Victor's strong wish that his son would join him at Newman Enterprises. Eventually a grown Adam comes to Genoa City. With Victor at odds with the rest of his family, Adam fills the void as both son and right-hand-man.
In 2008, Victor falls in love Sabrina Costelana, a friend of Victoria's from Florence, Italy. Victoria disapproves of their relationship and is angry when they decide to marry. Nick also disapproves but is more angry at his father for his controlling ways in business. Victor shifts Victoria's position within Newman Enterprises and gives it to Adam, which increases her bitterness about Adam's presence, enough so that she decides to leave her father's company. Adam then moves into Victoria's office at Newman, and accepted Victor's offer to reside at the Ranch. Victor has created further tension in the family by giving Adam full reign over the company's cosmetics line. On June 20, 2008, Victor and Sabrina marry. On August 1, 2008, Sabrina Newman dies as the result of a car crash that also kills David Chow.
Her death leads to a downward spiral for Victor who is out for revenge against Walter Palin, the man responsible for Sabrina's death. He goes to Mexico planning to kill him. He instead does nothing to save him when the boat they go out on is taken down in a storm. Nikki reaches out to Victor, who rejects her. His children meet with the same rejection. He also discharges Adam when he learns of his crude ways while absent. Nikki then contacts Ashley knowing she will be able to reach Victor while she cannot. Ashley searches for Victor in Paris where she brings him back from his suicidal depression and the two romantically reunite.
They return to Genoa City and Victor is arrested for the murder of Walter Palin. While Victor was gone, Jack and Adam create and publish a fake diary of Victor, forging his confession to the murder. Victor is cleared of the crime and only Adam is arrested for his part in it as Jack profoundly covered his acts as to not be deemed responsible whatsoever. Adam is imprisoned while Victor pursues revenge against Jack by gaining controlling interest in Jabot and pitting the Abbott siblings against each other despite doing so hurts Ashley as well. He later relinquishes his shares of the company to Jill Abbott in exchange for her agreement to the exhuming of Marge Catrook's body, whom Jill, at the time, believes to be her presumed mother, Katherine Chancellor. Ashley decides to name her baby with Victor, Hope Newman, even though she miscarried.
Mary Jane Benson Saga
Continuing his plans for revenge against Jack, Victor begins to interact with a bandaged female figure whom he had financed plastic surgery for to infiltrate Jabot. The woman later introduces herself to the Abbott family as Mary Jane Benson and is hired in Public Relations at Jabot Cosmetics. Victor's and Mary Jane's business relationship becomes aggravated when Mary Jane strikes as suspicious and Victor plans to pay her away from Genoa City. On July 14, 2009, Victor remarries Ashley in a small ceremony at the Newman Ranch. On August 4, 2009, Victor's dog Zapato is suspected to have been posioned by Mary Jane Benson who is currently making trouble for the Newman family. After being examined by the vet, Zapato died, leaving Victor's wife Ashley even more upset. Nikki comes by later that night during a thunderstorm and tells Victor that she called off her wedding to Paul Williams because she is still in love with the one man she has loved her entire life: Victor Newman. Nikki assures Victor that she only wants him to understand how she feels and has no intention of getting him back but despite his other marriages and children Nikki still thinks of Victor as her husband, and she leaves town.
The Aftermath
While Victor confronts Patty Williams, she shoots him, resulting in heart failure. Victor is saved by a heart transplant from Colleen Carlton, who was pronounced brain-dead after accidentally falling into the lake while fleeing from Patty Williams. Nikki returns when she hears of Victor's condition, and Victor declares his love for her. Ashley overhears, and decides to divorce Victor. Victor agrees to let Ashley and her children stay at the ranch, and on October 30, 2009, leaves for a transplant rehab program in Europe with Nikki.
Victor and Nikki returned to Genoa City after their time at the rehab center in Belgium. Victor found Adam and Nick in a fight at Newman Enterprises and informed them that he will retake control of the company and undo everything they did. When Tucker McCall took over Chancellor Industries Victor vowed that he would help Katherine in every way he could even if it meant working with his long time enemy Jack Abbott. Victor fired Adam, who got hired by Tucker McCall then went to Billy who published an article on Adam in which Victor stated, "my son is a sociopath" and other harsh criticism. The article caused much anger toward Victor that exploded at the Genoa City Athletic Club where Adam confronted Victor who hit Adam to the floor in front of the Newmans and Abbotts disowning Adam in the process. It was later revealed that the whole thing was a scheme to distract Tucker but the plan wasn't Victor's idea as Adam thought but Nick's.
Tucker put Jabot up for auction and Jack and Ashely put up an enormous amount of money to buy back their father's company but Adam secretly had a key to Tucker's office made and used it to look at the sealed bids. Adam forwarded the bids to Victor who at the last minute made the top offer and won control of Jabot. Victor went to Jabot and told both Jack and Ashley they had a week to clear out their offices and made Gloria ambassadress at Jabot.
See also
References
- ^ Episode Airing August 14, 2009
- ^ "The Young and the Restless". E! True Hollywood Story. 2001-05-20. E!.
- ^ "SOAP STAR STATS: Eric Braeden (Victor, Y&R)". SoapOperaDigest.com. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
- ^ "Daytime Emmy Winners & Nominees: 1998". SoapOperaDigest.com. Retrieved July 10, 2009.