J. Eddie Peck concluded his run as Cole Howard on “The Young and the Restless” after his character failed to respond to treatment for Legionnaires’ disease and passed away on the Thursday, July 3 episode.
Surrounded by his loved ones, including daughter Claire (Hayley Erin) and long-time love Victoria (Amelia Heinle), Cole said his goodbyes and shared one final kiss with Victoria, with whom he had a romantic connection since the early 1990s. Legionnaires’ disease is a type of serious pneumonia caused by a type of bacteria called Legionella, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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In a post on Instagram, Peck said, “Just a quick shout out as Cole takes his last breath on the show today — and with that, this chapter of my journey on ‘The Young and the Restless’ comes to a close.”
“I want to thank all of you — my fans, friends, and Y&R family — for welcoming me back with such incredible warmth and support,” continued Peck. Your messages, posts and enthusiasm made this return deeply meaningful for me. I’ll do a lil follow up with a video later today or this eve. Much love, J.Eddie.”
Originating the role of Cole on the daytime drama series in 1993, Peck remained part of the series cast until 1999, making his exit all the more impactful as his character had been off canvas for nearly 25 years by the time the actor reprised the role in November 2023. Earlier that year, the actor helped celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary when he appeared on the red carpet during a big anniversary party with many questioning when they’d get to see him back on the soap opera.
“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,’” the actor told Soap Opera Digest in an interview following news of his return. “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!”
Before joining the daytime drama series, Peck made a name for himself in Hollywood starting in the early 1980s when he appeared in such shows as “Wildside,” “Knight Rider,” Murder, She Wrote,” “Cheers,” “Dynasty” and “Dallas.” In fact, before joining “The Young and the Restless,” Peck had a starring role on “Days of our Lives” playing Howard “Hawk” Hawkins from 1991-1992. He later appeared in multiple seasons of the ABC Family drama “Kyle XY” and most recently co-starred in the 2016 movie “Divorce Texas Style.”
After departing “The Young and the Restless” in 1999, Peck ended up in Pine Valley as Dr. Jake Martin on “All My Children.” During his three years on the show, the actor ironically played opposite Heinle, who at the time was on the ABC soap as Mia Saunders. During Peck’s original run on “The Young and the Restless,” the role of Victoria Newman was played by Heather Tom, who currently stars as Katie Logan on “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
