But the three-day affair was extra special for the cast who relished the rare opportunity to be together.
“It was an excuse for a huge extravagance.
The whole stage was the ballroom.
They had these steps where everybody made their entrances.
It was the most beautiful set.
They had to constantly light and re-light real candles.
We had tons of tables filled with wonderful food.
All the flowers were real and magnificent.
That’s back before everyone was concerned about budgets.
I loved my Cleopatra costume.
I loved those two guys who were naked to the waist and fanned me.
I came down the stairs with these two guys.
We always used to joke that Jill was so beastly to everybody.
Nobody really liked her.
In all the party scenes she’d be standing alone.
So I actually had two extras to talk to who were fanning me.
“Greg York [the former costume designer who died in 1995) was a genius.
Rex Sterling (Quinn K. Redeker) was the Mad Hatter.
Katherine (the late Jeanne Cooper) was the Queen of Hearts.
Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) was Zorro.
Tracy (Beth Maitland) was Mae West.
Lauren (Tracey Bregman) was Marie Antoinette.
Esther was a French maid.
That’s not that much of a stretch.
Paul (Doug Davidson) was a superhero with a lightning bolt on his chest.
They never let him be funny on the show ‘cause he was supposed to be a romantic hero.
But he came down those steps zig-zagging in the funniest way.
It cracked everybody up.
We had to have our high heels on.
That’s just part of that glam thing.
Three days is a long time to be dancing and standing constantly.
I remember Sharon Ferrell, who played Nina’s mother, gave us all foot massages.
We don’t always see each other all the time.
We all got to be really close to each other and it was a really unifying event.
I wish I could turn back time.”
The Young and the Restlessairs weekdays on CBS.
