Eric Braeden (born Hans-Jörg Gudegast; April 3, 1941) is a German-born film and television actor, known for his roles as

Victor Newman Victor Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. He has been portrayed by Eric Braeden since 1980. Initially a guest character who was to last for eight to twelve weeks, Victor has evolved ...

on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

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 fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

'', as Hans Dietrich in the 1960s TV series ''

The Rat Patrol ''The Rat Patrol'' is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers — three Americans and one British — who are part of a long-range desert p ...

'', Dr. Charles Forbin in '' Colossus: The Forbin Project'', and as

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sinki ...

in the 1997 film ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

''. He won a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

in 1998 for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Victor Newman.

Early life

Braeden was born Hans-Jörg Gudegast in Bredenbek, Germany (near

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

), a city in northern Germany where his father was once mayor. In his autobiography, titled ''I'll Be Damned'', published by Harper Collins in 2017, Braeden revealed that he was a survivor of the ''

MV Wilhelm Gustloff MV ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was a German military transport ship which was sunk on 30 January 1945 by in the Baltic Sea while evacuating civilian evacuees from East Prussia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Estonia and German military personnel from ...

'' sinking. The ''MV Wilhelm Gustloff'' was a German armed military transport ship which was sunk on January 30, 1945 by

Soviet submarine S-13 ''S-13'' was a Soviet S class submarine, ''Stalinets''-class submarine of the Soviet Navy. Her keel was laid down by Krasnoye Sormovo in Nizhny Novgorod, Gorky on 19 October 1938. She was ship naming and launching, launched on 25 April 1939 and s ...

, in the Baltic Sea, while evacuating German civilian and military refugees. It is estimated that 9,400 people died. It was the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. He emigrated to the United States in 1959, and attended the

University of Montana, Missoula The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...

Career

Braeden accumulated many TV and film credits during his first two decades in America, and guest-starred in 120 roles. His earliest credits were all under his birth name, Hans Gudegast. During the 1960s he appeared in several episodes of TV's longest-running World War II drama (1962–1967) ''

Combat! ''Combat!'' is an American television drama series that originally aired on ABC from 1962 until 1967. The exclamation point in ''Combat!'' was depicted on-screen as a stylized bayonet. The show covered the grim lives of a squad of American sol ...

'', always playing a German soldier. In 1965, he appeared in a film called '' Morituri'' starring

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

and

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the ...

, and guest-starred in ''

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...

'' as T.H.R.U.S.H. agent Mr. Oakes in "The Discotheque Affair"; season two, episode five. Eric Braeden Hans Gudegast The Rat Patrol 1966

In 1966, he guest-starred as

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

Major Bentz in episode 28, "Day of Reckoning", of season two of the TV series ''

Twelve O'Clock High ''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Germany and Occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II ...

'' (a series which was very loosely based on the classic 1949 war film with the same name) and also appeared in an episode of the 1966 espionage drama series ''

Blue Light Blue Light or Blue light may refer to: Science and technology * Portion of the visible spectrum related to the blue color ** Blue laser ** Blue LED * Cherenkov radiation, the physical phenomenon responsible for the characteristic blue glow in nucl ...

''. His main character for the next two years was his regular starring role playing German ''

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

'' (Captain) Hans Dietrich on the TV series ''

'' (1966–1968), He starred in the 1969 western ''

100 Rifles ''100 Rifles'' is a 1969 American Western film directed by Tom Gries and starring Jim Brown, Raquel Welch and Burt Reynolds. It is based on Robert MacLeod's 1966 novel ''The Californio''. The film was shot in Spain. The original music score was ...

'' with

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hammer ...

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

and

Jim Brown James Nathaniel Brown (born February 17, 1936) is a former American football player, sports analyst and actor. He played as a fullback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) from 1957 through 1965. Considered to be one ...

(noted for the first big-screen interracial love scene between Welch and Brown), once again playing a villainous German military officer opposite

Fernando Lamas Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos (January 9, 1915 – October 8, 1982) was an Argentine-American actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas. Biography Argentina Fernando Álvaro Lamas y de Santos was born in Buenos Aires, Arg ...

. This was his last credit under his birth name. His starring role in the movie '' Colossus: The Forbin Project'' (1970), was when he first took the stage name of Eric Braeden.

Lew Wasserman Lewis Robert Wasserman (March 22, 1913 – June 3, 2002) was an American talent agent and studio executive, described as "the last of the legendary movie moguls" and "arguably the most powerful and influential Hollywood titan in the four decades ...

of Universal Pictures told him that no one would be allowed to star in an American film if he or she had a German name. After much thought, he took the name Braeden from his hometown of Bredenbek. Other movie appearances in the 1970s included the role of Dr. Otto Hasslein in ''

Escape from the Planet of the Apes ''Escape from the Planet of the Apes'' is a 1971 American science fiction film directed by Don Taylor and written by Paul Dehn. It stars Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman and Ricardo Montalbán. It is the third of five films in the or ...

'' (1971), and that of the arrogant but formidable race car driver, Bruno von Stickle in Walt Disney's 1977 ''

Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo ''Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo'' is a 1977 American comedy adventure film and the third installment of ''The Love Bug'' film series made by Walt Disney Productions starring Herbie—the white 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle with a mind of its own. ...

''. Throughout the 1970s, he also guest-starred in a variety of television shows including ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is reb ...

'', ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'', and ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...

'', and also appeared in several episodes of the long-running

western series ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

''. In addition to many episodic roles, Braeden also appeared as Colonel

in the 1997

blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

film ''

''. Braeden told Cindy Elavsky that filming the scene in ''Titanic'', in which his character drowned, "was one of the scariest moments in this business for me."

Victor Newman

In 1980, he was offered the role of self-made business magnate

on the daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Initially, the role was for a 26-week run. His character imprisoned his wife's lover, and became so popular the character became a ''love-to-hate'' villain, and his contract was extended. Braeden won a

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

for his work in 1998. In February 2017 he celebrated his 37th anniversary with the show. In 2020, the show marked Braeden's 40th anniversary as Victor onscreen. In October 2009, Braeden and ''The Young and the Restless'' came to an impasse regarding contract negotiations, and press reports indicated he might leave the show. However, CBS later announced that Braeden had inked a new three-year deal and would remain with the show, agreeing to a reduction in salary, which was the original issue.

Personal life

In 1958 Braeden, under his birth name Hans-Jörg Gudegast, won the German National Team Championship in Track and Field (discus, shot-put and javelin with the Rendsburger TSV). Braeden later went on to win the

1973 National Challenge Cup The 1973 National Challenge Cup was the 60th annual national open soccer championship held by the United States Soccer Football Association now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. ...

as a fullback with the

Jewish American American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora Je ...

soccer club

Maccabi Los Angeles Maccabee Athletic Club ( he, מכבי לוס אנג'לס, MAH-KAH-Bee) was an American athletic club based in Los Angeles, California. The primary activity of the club was Maccabee Los Angeles Soccer Club, a team which competed professionally in t ...

, scoring the winning goal in the semifinal game and a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in the championship game against

Chicago Croatian Chicago Croatian was an American Soccer Club based in Chicago, Illinois. The club competed professionally in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (National Challenge Cup), the CONCACAF Champions League (CONCACAF Champions Cup) and the National Soccer Leag ...

. In the 1970s/80s he could often be seen boxing at the Hoover Street and Broadway gyms in L.A. He is a tennis player and has participated in many celebrity events. He married his college sweetheart Dale Russell in 1966. His son,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, is a director who created the film '' Den of Thieves'', starring

Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as ''Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never Di ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
Interview with Eric Braeden. Accessed February 11, 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braeden, Eric 1941 births 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners Daytime Emmy Award winners German emigrants to the United States German male film actors German male soap opera actors German male television actors Living people People from Rendsburg-Eckernförde People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein Shipwreck survivors University of Montana alumni Western (genre) television actors American soccer players