Ten Facts About Victor Newman ‘Y&R’ Fans May Not Remember

Actor Eric Braeden is celebrating four decades of portraying Victor on The Young and the Restless. Simultaneously his character is being honored for 50 years at the company that bares his name, Newman Enterprises. There will soon be a celebration of the accomplishments of the most powerful man in Genoa City who has an impressive legacy. Victor has been there and done that related to many issues and challenges during his 50 years as a self made man. Even so, there may be a few details that long time viewers might have forgotten about and that new fans are not aware of. Here are 10 nuggets of truth about this unique beloved character to ponder during this, his hour.

1. Victor’s birth name

The Newman patriarch was actually born Christian Miller. He had a hard life as he was growing up and changed his name once he became successful. “Victor “ represents his being victorious and Newman was chosen because he made a ‘new man’ of himself.

2. Many nicknames

Victor has been called by numerous nicknames over the decades and there three that have stuck with him. These have not been used a lot in recent episodes but they are: The Great Victor Newman, The Black Knight, and The Mustache.

3. Significance of his birth name

Those who watch The Young and the Restless know that Victor is a complex man with many layers to his character. Although he seems to have desired to be far removed from his turbulent early years, and no longer uses his birth name he is reminded of it every day. Viewers known that Nick gave the name Christian to his son with Sage. What might not be known is that Victor bestowed his given name to his first born as well, because Christian is the middle name of Nicholas Newman.

4. Appearance on The Bold and the Beautiful

Decades ago, a number of characters from The Young and the Restless did crossovers to sister soap The Bold and the Beautiful. They were: Deacon Shape, Ashley Abbott, Christine Blair, Amber Moore and Victor Newman. In 1999, Victor traveled to LA and met with Brooke Logan, who convinced him to help her make Ridge Forrester jealous. The two staged a kiss that was seen by Ridge and it ruined his date that evening with Taylor Hayes.

5. He grew up in an orphanage

Victor has a true rags to riches story which began in Buffalo, New York. His father Albert Miller abandoned his wife and children and Victor's mother, Cora Miller, was unable to raise her two young sons. She made the decision to put Christian(Victor) in an orphanage and decided to raise Matt by herself." Spoiler alerts indicate that Christian Miller’s sibling will be on hand during the upcoming 50th celebration of Newman Enterprises.

6. How he ended up in Genoa City

Victor Newman came to Genoa City in 1980 to run Chancellor Industries for Katherine Chancellor. This led to a lifelong friendship between the duo until Katherine's death. Eric Braeden and Jeannie Cooper were also good friends off the set as well.

7. More than a dozen marriages

The most powerful man in Genoa City has been married more than 12 times. One marriage was fake, and several were considered to be invalid or annulled. His wives are : Hope Adams, Julia Newman, Ashley Abbott (twice)) Nikki Reed Newman (5 times), Leanna ‘Love’ Randolph,, Sabrina Costelana, Diane Jenkins, (twice) and Sharon Collins Newman who was also married to both his sons, Adam and Nick.

8. Escaped death on multiple occasions

Victor Newman is a resilient man and seems to have nine lives like a cat. During his 40 years I n Genoa city he has endured many mishaps and cheated death more than once. The Newman patriarch has broken both his wrist, and his leg, and suffered a concussion while fighting. He was wounded by a spear gun, shot three times, poisoned, and knifed. Victor has had both a mini stroke and a heart attack, been knocked down stairs, left comatose, and death with amnesia twice. He was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy, and recently discovered a rare blood disorder that almost killed him.

9. Victor was not supposed to be a long term character

Initially, Eric Braeden was only hired as a guest character for eight weeks on The Young and the Restless. Victor was supposed to be a despicable man who abused and cheated on his wife and then was killed off. Braeden's performance was so impressive that he was given a contract and as they say, "The Rest is history." Victor Newman is a force to be reckoned with and now the leading male character on the CBS daytime drama.

10. Victor was once written out of the show

In 2009 The Young and the Restless wrote Victor and Nikki out of the show because of being unable to negotiate contracts with their portrayers. Both Eric Braeden and Melody Thomas Scott said they did not mind taking pay cuts, but did not appreciate changes coming in 13 week cycles, rather than when their contracts were up for renewal in 26 weeks. Thankfully an agreement was reached and Victor and Nikki are still in Genoa City. Congratulations Eric Braeden on a job well done. May you entertain your fans for many years to come.