Snapper Foster

Last updated
Snapper Foster
The Young and the Restless character
Portrayed by William Gray Espy (1973–75, 2003)
David Hasselhoff (1975–82, 2010)
Duration1973–82, 2003, 2010
First appearanceMarch 26, 1973
Last appearanceJune 21, 2010
Created by William J. Bell
In-universe information
Other namesWilliam Foster, Jr.
OccupationPhysician
Founder of a free clinic in Genoa City
Resident at Genoa City Memorial Hospital
Intern at Genoa City Memorial Hospital
Graduate of Genoa City Medical School
FatherBill Foster
Mother Elizabeth Foster
Brothers Greg Foster
Sisters Jill Foster Abbott (adoptive)
Wife Chris Brooks Foster (1974–)
SonsChuckie Roulland
DaughtersJennifer Foster
UnclesBruce Henderson
Nephews Phillip Chancellor III (adoptive)
Billy Abbott (adoptive)
First cousinsMark Henderson
Lorie Brooks
Other relatives Chance Chancellor (adoptive)
Cordelia Abbott (adoptive)
Johnny Abbott (adoptive)
Katie Newman Abbott (adoptive)

Snapper Foster is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless . An original character since the show's inception, the role was played by William Gray Espy from March 26, 1973 to September 26, 1975, and David Hasselhoff from December 8, 1975 to April 30, 1982. Espy briefly reprised the character from February 28, 2003 to March 5, 2003, and Hasselhoff briefly reprised the role from June 15–21, 2010. [1]

Contents

Conception and casting

With The Young and the Restless originally conceived as focusing on two core families, the wealthy Brookses and the poor Fosters, Snapper was designed as the oldest son of the latter. As a student going through medical school, the character was given the nickname "Snapper" because of his personality of quickly snapping on people with whom he disagreed. [2]

Since show co-creator William J. Bell wanted to hire relatively unknown actors for his original cast, [2] William Gray Espy was eventually selected to portray Snapper. Espy played the character for about two years before leaving the show in 1975.

Then-unknown actor David Hasselhoff was picked to replace Espy. Snapper would be Hasselhoff's first major TV role. He spent six years playing the character before leaving The Young and the Restless in 1982 to star in the TV show Knight Rider . Hasselhoff's decision to quit the soap opera was one of the major factors that led to Bell phasing out the Foster family (sans the youngest sibling Jill) and turning the focus to relatively newer characters like Victor Newman. [2]

Espy reprised Snapper for a few episodes in 2003, revolving around a storyline where his sister Jill discovers that she was actually adopted by the Fosters as a child. Hasselhoff would then later be invited back to play Snapper again for a few episodes in 2010. Reacting to the invitation, he said:

In 1976 [ sic ], Bill Bell, creator of America's No. 1 soap opera, took a chance on a young and very green actor. Playing Snapper in 850 shows during the six years I appeared molded my craft, my attitude and my work ethic. Being asked to come back to appear in several episodes gives me a chance to say thanks, as I have an amazing amount of respect and heartfelt emotion for Bill, his family and my time on 'Young and the Restless.' [3]

Storylines

1973–1982

As the series opened up in 1973, 24-year-old medical student Snapper Foster was juggling his feelings for two women: Chris Brooks the daughter of newspaper mogul Stuart Brooks; and Sally McGuire, a waitress who worked at Pierre's.

Stuart was not thrilled when Snapper caught the eye of his trusting daughter, Chris. Stuart was less offended by Snapper's blue-collar roots than by his indifference to Chris. Handsome Snapper was not only putting himself through medical school, but being "man of the family" after his father, William "Bill" Foster, deserted them seven years earlier. As the eldest son, Snapper was helping his mom Liz Foster who worked as a factory worker, put his brother Greg through law school and keeping a big-brother eye on his sister Jill Foster who dreamed of being a fashion model while working as a beautician. Liz wished the best for all her children and encouraged Snapper to pursue a nice, well-bred girl like Chris. However, with enough obligations already, Snapper preferred to keep his freedom. However, Snapper was already seeing Sally McGuire. One evening, Chris invited Snapper to the Brooks home for dinner but he didn't show. After a day at school and work he had visited Sally, fell asleep and she conveniently forgot to wake him as he had asked. His half-truth—that he fell asleep after a full day—satisfied Chris enough to get her through the hurt of disappointment. Stuart, however, grew more displeased with Snapper. When Stuart learned that Snapper was seeing Sally, he was quick to tell Chris that Snapper was cheating on her. Chris moved out and went to work as a secretary for Snapper's brother Greg, unaware that Stuart had financially helped his new law practice in return for her employment. When she found out, she angrily quit. Greg was especially saddened because he had fallen in love with Chris.

Chris was raped by a man named George Curtis and the rape left her traumatized until she found it hard to make love with Snapper and refused to have sex with him even though she loved him very much. Snapper showed a great deal of patience and respect for Chris, offering her emotional support but finding his own sexual pleasure with lover Sally. Sally had fallen in love with Snapper, too, and was desperate to keep him. In spite of her friend Brad Eliot's advice that she'd only end up getting hurt, Sally decided to use a desperate single woman's oldest trick. She threw away her birth control pills and got pregnant by Snapper. Meanwhile, Snapper was growing more and more fond of Chris. He broke off with Sally without knowing he would be the father of her child. With Snapper's encouragement, Chris was able to file charges against her attacker. Unfortunately, because of lack of evidence, he was not convicted. Determined all the more to stand by her side, Snapper proposed marriage. It took him a long time to get her to accept, but Chris finally did and they became engaged. Sally was devastated when she found out about Snapper's engagement and took a drug overdose, but Brad saved her life when he found her and rushed her to the hospital. Later when Sally was out and about again, she intended to tell Snapper that he had gotten her pregnant, hoping he would break his engagement to Chris and marry her instead. Liz found out and successfully did her best to change Sally's mind about interfering with Snapper's future. Sally accepted Pierre's proposal and they eloped a few days before Chris and Snapper. Although Snapper overheard the conversation between Sally and Liz, Snapper had no intention of changing his plans. He and Chris exchanged their vows in a lovely ceremony. After an uneasy sexual start, Chris and Snapper worked through her problems and were happy together, living in a small apartment. When Chris became pregnant, however, Snapper's pleasure was tinged by fears that having another responsibility might hinder his medical career aspirations. When Sally's husband Pierre was killed, Sally wanted to leave town, but Snapper urged her to stay until the baby was born. Eventually, Snapper confessed to Sally that he wanted to keep an eye on her because he feared that her unborn baby might have been injured by her recent suicide attempt, which occurred during the time she learned about Snapper and Chris's engagement. Sally gave birth to her and Snapper's son, Pierre Charles (aka Chuckie). Feeling sympathy for Sally's plight of raising a baby alone, Chris encouraged Snapper to spend time with Sally and her baby. However, Chris eventually realized that Snapper was the baby's father and Snapper confirmed Chris's fears. Distraught, Chris suffered a miscarriage. Soon after, she separated from Snapper and accepted a job as a social worker in Legal Aid working for Greg. Meanwhile, Sally moved to Chicago. With Sally out of the way, Chris and Snapper soon afterwards reconciled.

In 1975, Snapper had finally convinced Liz to have his father Bill declared legally dead. Unknown to Liz and her children, Bill was alive in a town nearby. Later, Bill resumed contact with the family, via a letter, after he was diagnosed with cancer. With the exception of Snapper, the entire Foster family embraced Bill's return. Shortly after Bill returned, he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital as Snapper detected Bill's ailing health. The following year, Snapper had long made amends with his father, but Bill's cancer had progressed leading to him being on life-support. Snapper later found himself in legal trouble after he was accused of killing Bill when it was actually his mother Liz who pulled Bill's life-support system, which left Liz traumatized and led to her suffering a stroke and forgetting her actions. With Greg's help, Snapper was cleared of murder charges. Snapper after this left the hospital and opened up his own clinic.

In the late 1970s, Snapper and Chris had become foster parents for a little girl named Karen Becker as her mother Nancy was institutionalized and her father Ron was a rapist. When both Ron and Nancy became more stable, Snapper and Chris returned custody of Karen to the Beckers.

By 1981, Snapper and Chris had given birth to their daughter who they named Jennifer Elizabeth Foster after Chris's late mother Jennifer Brooks and Snapper's mother Liz. After Jennifer's birth, Snapper was opposed to Chris's idea of getting a bigger home. Soon after, Snapper's former lover, Sally McGuire, re-entered Snapper's life with their son, Chuckie, who was seriously ill. While Chuckie was hospitalized with a kidney problem, Sally realized that she was still attracted to Snapper, but Snapper was adamant that she move on with her life. When Chuckie was cured, Snapper shared an emotional good-bye with both Sally and Chuckie as they returned home with Sally's fiancee, Stan. One month later, Snapper left town, and Chris joined him a few months after that. At some point Sally & Stan divorced and Chuckie discovered that Snapper was his father.

2003, 2010

Snapper briefly returned to town in 2003 when Liz broke the news to Jill that the Fosters were not her biological family.

In 2010, Liz was making a visit to Genoa City to visit Jill and brought Snapper along with her as a surprise, but Jill and Kay quickly left for the hospital after receiving a call about an ailing Liz, who was rushed to the hospital after she had collapsed shortly after she and Snapper got off their plane. The hospital allowed Snapper doctor privileges in order to work on Liz, who on her deathbed confessed a secret to Snapper about Jill's true parentage.

Reception

In 2022, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Snapper 12th on his list of the best 25 characters from The Young and the Restless, commenting "The first in a long, long line of playboys on The Young and the Restless, this med student — most famously played by The Hoff — could have coined the term "playing doctor." In addition, throughout the 1970s, he was the Rx for any and every storyline lull." [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Young and the Restless</i> American daytime soap opera

The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City. 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 previous episodes weeknights on SOAPnet until 2013, when it moved to TVGN. As of July 1, 2013, Pop still airs previous episodes on weeknights. The series is also syndicated internationally.

<i>The Bold and the Beautiful</i> American television soap opera

The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera The Young and the Restless; several characters from each of the two shows have crossed over to the other since the early 1990s. Set in Los Angeles, California, the show centers upon the Forrester family and their haute couture business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Chancellor</span> Soap opera character

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Abbott</span> Fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Abbott</span> Soap opera character

Billy Abbott is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. Created by William J. Bell as the son of John Abbott and Jill Abbott, the character is currently portrayed by Jason Thompson. The character is known for being a "spoiled rich boy," a "screw up," and for his gambling addictions and consumption of alcohol.

Julianna McCarthy is an American actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackenzie Browning</span> Soap opera character

Mackenzie Browning is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. The role was most recently portrayed by Kelly Kruger, who portrayed the role from February 19, 2002, to July 1, 2003, and from March 28, 2018, to January 11, 2019. Previously, the role was portrayed by Ashley Bashioum from 1999 to 2002 and 2004 to 2005, Nicole Tarantini temporarily in 2001, Rachel Kimsey from 2005 to 2006 and Clementine Ford from 2009 to 2010.

The storylines of the soap opera The Young and the Restless have changed over the years since the show debuted in 1973. Originally examining the lives of the wealthy Brooks and the poor Fosters, a series of recasts and departures in the early 1980s turned the focus of The Young and the Restless to the Abbotts and the Newmans, including the corporate rivalry between their two respective companies. However, one basic plot that has run throughout almost all of the program's history is the rivalry between Jill Foster Abbott and Katherine Chancellor, similar to the show's sister show, The Bold and the Beautiful, regarding Brooke Logan and Stephanie Forrester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloe Mitchell</span> Fictional character from The Young and the Restless

Chloe Mitchell is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. Introduced by former executive producer Edward J. Scott as the daughter of trusty Chancellor family maid, Esther Valentine, the character was born onscreen on July 27, 1990. Portrayed by twins, Darla and Sandra Greer, until 1991, upon her brief return in 1994, child actress, Danielle Ryah, portrayed the role. On February 6, 2008, executive producer/head writer Josh Griffith introduced a new character, Chloe Mitchell, played by former All My Children actress, Elizabeth Hendrickson. That August, a change in storyline revealed Chloe was Kate, having legally changed her name while offscreen, when the character was away in boarding school. Upgraded from recurring to contract status, Hendrickson became an integral part of the cast.

Greg Foster is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless. A string of actors played the role from 1973 to 1982, most notably James Houghton and Wings Hauser, who reprised the role in 2003 and 2010, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valentin Cassadine</span> Soap opera character

Valentin Cassadine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. The character was initially conceived in 2009 by head writer Robert Guza Jr., as a previously unknown member of the wealthy Cassadine family looking to wreak havoc on both the Cassadine and Spencer families. However, initial plans for the character's introduction were delayed and completely abandoned by 2010. In 2016, it was announced that All My Children alumnus James Patrick Stuart had joined the cast in the mystery role of Theo – who is revealed to be Valentin. Valentin is known for being the most evil of the Cassadine sons, having been disowned by his father at a very young age. At one point, he poisons his mother Helena.

The Chancellors are fictional characters and a core family from the CBS Daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genevieve Atkinson</span> Fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless

Genevieve Atkinson is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Created by former head writer Maria Arena Bell as the mother of Cane Ashby, the role was portrayed by Genie Francis, who is widely known for her three-decade long portrayal of Laura Spencer on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Francis was excited to join The Young and the Restless, expressing disappointment in her former daytime role and saying that her fan base would "follow whatever she does." She made her first appearance during the episode airing on May 27, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariah Copeland</span> Soap opera character

Mariah Copeland is a fictional character from the American soap opera, The Young and the Restless, portrayed by Camryn Grimes. Introduced by executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, the character made her first appearance on January 27, 2014. Grimes had previously played the role of Cassie Newman from 1997 to 2005, when the character was killed off.

References

  1. ↑ "David Hasselfhoff Returning to The Young and the Restless". TVGuide.com. 2010-04-20.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Young and the Restless". E! True Hollywood Story . 2001-05-20. E!.
  3. ↑ "David Hasselhoff returns to 'Young and the Restless". EW.com. 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  4. ↑ Mason, Charlie. "The Young and the Restless' 25 Best Characters of All Time, Ranked [PHOTOS]". Soaps She Knows . She Media . Retrieved 27 July 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.