Brenda Dickson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Long Beach, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Brenda Dickson-Weinberg |
| Alma mater | Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouses | Robert Rifkin (m. 1976;div. 1983)Jan Weinberg (m. 1997;div. 2006) |
Brenda Dickson is an American actress who originated the role of Jill Foster Abbott on the soap opera The Young and the Restless .
Dickson was born in Long Beach, California. [1] As a teenager, she toured Southeast Asia singing and dancing for the armed forces with Bob Hope. [2] At the age of 17, she won the title of Miss California USA in the Miss World pageant; it led to acting offers but she decided to continue performing at USO shows while studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles. [1]
Dickson made her stage debut at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and went on to appear in stage roles in the Los Angeles area. She made her feature film debut in the 1972 film Deathmaster. [1] She appeared in guest roles on Men at Law ; The F.B.I. ; Love, American Style ; Here We Go Again ; and the prime-time soap opera Falcon Crest .
Dickson played the role of Jill Foster Abbott on The Young and the Restless from 1973 to 1980, then again from 1983 to 1987. [3] Dickson was let go from the show in 1987. She filed a $10 million lawsuit against Columbia Pictures in an effort to be reinstated. [4] In the lawsuit, Dickson claimed William J. Bell blacklisted her and wreaked havoc on her personal and professional life by hiring "Mafia cartel judges and attorneys" to "ruin" her life. As a result, she ended up "broke and homeless" and claimed to have been blocked from working. [5] [6]
In 1987, Dickson released the film Welcome to My Home, [7] described as a "vanity film" [7] which showcased her home and wardrobe. [8] A YouTube parody became an Internet meme and has been removed and re-uploaded several times. [9] In 2018, its influence was profiled in Vanity Fair . Dickson, who was interviewed for the article, revealed that she financed the film with $5,000 of her own money. [10]
In May 2013, Blue Boulevard Publications released Dickson's memoir, My True Hidden Hollywood Story. [11]
Dickson has been married twice. Her first husband was dentist Robert Rifkin whom she married on September 30, 1976. [12] She married attorney Jan Weinberg on December 25, 1997. [13] They were divorced in 2006. [14]
In 2007, Dickson was jailed in Hawaii because of a civil contempt order stemming from a divorce judgment from her ex-husband Jan Weinberg. [14] She said she was the victim and wasn't given a fair divorce hearing. [14] Released after 16 days, she was sent back to jail and released after more than three months. [15]
In 2009, the judgment in Weinberg v. Dickson was set aside after an appeals court found that the judge in the original trial had abused his discretion in not guaranteeing Dickson a fair trial and that her imprisonment had been unlawful. [16]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Men at Law | Episode: "One American" | |
| 1972 | The F.B.I. | Donna | Episode: "The Set-Up" |
| 1972 | Deathmaster | Rona | |
| 1973 | Love, American Style | Girl | Segment: "Love and the Sexpert" |
| 1973 | Here We Go Again | Donna | Episode: "There's a Boy in My Rumaki" |
| 1973–1980; 1983–1987 | The Young and the Restless | Jill Foster Abbott | Contract role: March 27, 1973 – January 9, 1980, September 8, 1983 – June 18, 1987, June 22 – 24, 1987 |
| 1976 | Taxi Driver | Soap Opera Woman | Archive footage from The Young and the Restless |
| 1983 | Falcon Crest | Tony's Girlfriend | Episode: "Maelstrom" |
Eileen Marie Davidson is an American actress, author, television personality and former model. Davidson is best known for her roles in soap operas as Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks on NBC's Days of Our Lives and Ashley Abbott on CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Heather Marie Tom is an American actress and television director. She is best known for her roles as Victoria Newman on The Young and the Restless, Kelly Cramer on One Life to Live and All My Children, and Katie Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful.
Tracey Elizabeth Bregman is an American actress. She is best known for the role of Lauren Fenmore on the CBS soap operas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Andrea Lynn Evans was an American actress. She was most recognized for her portrayal of Tina Lord on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, a role she played from 1978 to 1981 and from 1985 to 1990, returning in 2008 and 2011. Evans also appeared on the soap operas The Young and the Restless as Patty Williams, The Bold and the Beautiful as Tawny Moore and Passions as Rebecca Hotchkiss.
Victoria Lynn Rowell is an American actress. She began her career as a ballet dancer and model before making her acting debut in the 1987 comedy film Leonard Part 6. In 1990, Rowell joined the cast of the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless as Drucilla Winters, her signature and longest role on television, for which she was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards. She departed from the show in 2007. Rowell is also well known for her role as Dr. Amanda Bentley in the CBS medical crime drama Diagnosis: Murder (1993–2001). From 1993 to 2000, she appeared on both series simultaneously.
Jessica Collins is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Dinah Lee Mayberry on the ABC soap opera Loving (1991–1994) and Avery Bailey Clark on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless (2011–2015), for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She also starred as Meredith Davies on Fox's Tru Calling, and appeared in recurring and guest roles in many other shows.
Adrienne Danielle Frantz is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She appeared as Amber Moore in The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless.
William Joseph Bell was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known as the creator of the soap operas Another World, The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Amelia March Luckinbill is an American actress known for her roles in American soap operas. Her best known role is Victoria Newman, who she has portrayed on The Young and the Restless since 2005.
Wilma Jeanne Cooper was an American actress, best known for her role as Katherine Chancellor on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless (1973–2013). At the time of her death, she had played Katherine for over 40 years, and her name appears on the list of longest-serving soap opera actors in the United States.
Jess Walton is a Canadian-American actress, best known for her role as Kelly Harper in CBS soap opera Capitol and as Jill Abbott on the CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless.
Susan Walters is an American actress and former model, best known for her roles as Lorna Forbes on the ABC daytime soap opera Loving from 1983 to late 1986 and as Diane Jenkins on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 2001 to 2004, again briefly in 2010, and once more starting in March 2022. Walters had recurring roles as Principal Rimkus on The CW's One Tree Hill, as Carol Lockwood on The CW's The Vampire Diaries and as Natalie Martin on the MTV series Teen Wolf.
Melinda O. Fee was an American actress who starred in films and on television.
Brenda Benet was an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the soap operas The Young Marrieds (1965–1965) and Days of Our Lives (1979–1982). She was also featured in an episode of Hogan's Heroes in 1970.
Katherine Chancellor is a fictional character from the CBS Daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by Jeanne Cooper. Created and introduced by show creator William J. Bell in November 1973, Cooper's Katherine was introduced in an effort to increase the show's struggling ratings. When Bell's plan proved successful, Cooper was signed to a contract. Cooper went on to become one of the longest-running cast members in the show's history, ending her nearly 40-year run on May 3, 2013, five days before her death.
Nikki Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Created and introduced by William J. Bell in 1978, the role was portrayed by Erica Hope, before Melody Thomas Scott took over in 1979. Introduced as a stripper, the character became well known for her relationship with businessman Victor Newman, a union that developed into a supercouple pairing that has spanned over four decades. She shares two children with Victor, Victoria and Nicholas Newman. In 2013, she reveals that she had previously given up a child for adoption, who is later discovered to be Dylan McAvoy. The character has also had several other notorious relationships, including Paul Williams, Jack Abbott, and Brad Carlton. Scott is considered an icon in the soap opera genre.
Jill Abbott is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. The longest-running and only remaining original character, Jill was created and introduced by William J. Bell. Originally portrayed by Brenda Dickson, when Dickson departed in 1980, the role was first recast with Deborah Adair. Dickson returned in 1983 and, although she stated that she would never leave the role again, she was replaced by Jess Walton in 1987, who continues in the role to present time.
Phyllis Summers is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. The character was created and introduced by William J. Bell, and debuted in the episode airing on October 18, 1994. Phyllis was originally and most notably portrayed by actress Michelle Stafford, until 1997, when Stafford was replaced by Sandra Nelson. Nelson continued in the role until 1999, when the character left; upon the character returning in 2000, head writer Kay Alden rehired Stafford. Stafford has been praised for her portrayal, for which she has won two Daytime Emmy Awards, but left the series after nearly sixteen years, with the character being written into a coma; Stafford last appeared on August 2, 2013. The role passed to Gina Tognoni, who debuted on August 11, 2014, and continued for nearly five years until she departed in June 2019, when Stafford re-claimed the role.
Clementine Shepherd Ford is an American actress known for her appearance as Molly Kroll on Showtime's The L Word. In April 2009, she joined the cast of the soap opera The Young and the Restless in the role of Mackenzie Browning. She left the show in 2010.
Amber Moore is a fictional character from the American soap operas The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless. Throughout the character's entire history, she has been portrayed by Adrienne Frantz, introduced by Bradley Bell to The Bold and the Beautiful on July 18, 1997. She was a babysitter for Brooke Logan and Eric Forrester's children, but ended up having a romance with their son, Rick Forrester. As a young woman, she endured several challenges including being drugged and raped, having a relationship with a younger man and becoming an enemy of Sheila Carter, a psychotic criminal.