The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless (often abbreviated as Y&R) is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictionalized version of Genoa City, Wisconsin. First broadcast on March 26, 1973, "The Young and the Restless" was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes, five times a week. The show expanded to one-hour episodes on February 4, 1980. In 2006, the series began airing encore episodes weeknights on SOAPnet until 2013, when it moved to TVGN (now Pop). As of July 1, 2013, Pop still airs the encore episodes on weeknights. The series is also syndicated internationally.
Paul Williams (The Young and the Restless)
Doug Davidson joined the cast of the show on May 15, 1978; the episode aired on May 23, 1978. Its creator, William J. Bell, discovered him during one of Bell's trips to Chicago, while Davidson was modelling for magazines. The actor learned that he had been cast as Paul when a costumer contacted him for measurements. Before joining the soap opera Davidson studied marine biology, abandoning his studies to pursue acting full-time. Former executive producer Wes Kenny had a profound impact on his career: "Wes taught me to listen, respond and to play the situation". In mid-1979 Davidson signed a five-year contract, and began receiving more airtime. In September 1994 he was hired to host "The New Price Is Right", which taped down the hall from "The Young and the Restless" at CBS Television City.