R.I.P. Jeanne Cooper

One of the grand doyennes of daytime television for no less than four decades, The Young And The Restless star Jeanne Cooper died today. She was 84. It was announced on Twitter by her son, actor Corbin Bernsen, who said she passed this morning “in peace and without fear”. At a time when soap operas are an endangered species on network schedules, the television industry should recall Cooper as an outstanding daytime serial actor whose portrayal of Katherine Chancellor’s complex but oh-so-entertaining small screen life became an integral part of loyal viewers’ extended family. Through bouts of alcoholism and amnesia, umpteen romances and wrecked marriages, incessant meddling mixed with sage advice, Cooper gave her popular character dignity, grace and authenticity. Little wonder that she received 10 Daytime Emmy nominations over her celebrated career, winning once in 2008 after receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. She was also nommed for two primetime Emmys and appeared on such programs as Perry Mason, Cheyenne, and The Adventures Of Kit Carlson as well as a regularly recurring role as Bernsen’s mom on LA Law.

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