John McCook Of ‘Bold And The Beautiful’ Celebrates 74th Birthday
John McCook is best known for his role as Eric Forrester on Bold and the Beautiful. With his impressive stature, he has brought a dignity and strength to this character who personifies fatherhood. The suds veteran is an original cast member of the daytime show which first aired in 1987. Only Katherine Kelly Lang, who plays Brooke Logan, shares the same honor. He was actually cast in 1986, but the show aired a year later. Today, June 20, marks his 74th birthday and already the congratulations are pouring in.
Although McCook is best known for his work on Bold and the Beautiful, he was an old hand at soap operas. According to Soap Hub, John played the role of Lance Prentiss on CBS’ Young and the Restless from 1976-1980. He also played roles on Family Ties, Our House, Magnum P.I., and Simon and Simon. Interestingly, it was only recently discovered that he also had a role in Back to the Future, the movie that propelled Michael J. Fox into stardom. However, his part was later edited out. But it was for his role as the patriarch of the Forresters that he received three Daytime Emmy Award nominations in 2001, 2012, and 2018.
Happy Birthday to @JohnMcCook44 @BandB_CBS pic.twitter.com/Vb5KjOWOhY
— Daytime Emmys (@DaytimeEmmys) June 20, 2018
The actor has played the role of leading man to a host of lucky ladies. Besides the formidable Susan Flannery, he has been paired with Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang), Lauren (Tracey Bregman), and Quinn (Rena Sofer. It is perhaps his pairing with Brooke that has caused the most controversy, since Brooke also shares children with his son Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and was hated by Stephanie.
He is married to retired actress, Laurette Spang, who is most known for her role as Cassiopeia in Battlestar Galactica. Together they have three children: Jake, Becky, and Molly. He has a son, Seth, from his marriage to Juliet Prowse, who died of cancer four years after they divorced. According to IMDb, Molly is also an actress. In a rare interview with TV Guide, McCook revealed that he is going to act until he no longer can.
“I always tell Laurette, ‘One day they’ll call you from B&B and say, ‘He’s dead. Come get him!’ I want to be the really old guy on our show. I want to be Macdonald Carey. I don’t want to quit. There’s no reason for an actor to quit! I think Susan’s gonna miss this like crazy, the camaraderie on the set, all the bullshi**ing with the crew, the excitement of a job well done. For God’s sake, I want to keep showing up no matter what’s wrong with me. A severe limp? Gastric problems? Puh-leeze. I’m going to act until I can’t!”
