The Young And The Restless Mourns Billy Miller’s Death With Touching On-Set Memorial
Mourns Billy Miller’s Death With Touching On-Set Memorial
The tragic death of soap opera veteran Billy Miller on Sept. 15, 2023, sent shockwaves through the daytime television community. As an actor with starring roles in “All My Children,” “The Young and the Restless,” and “General Hospital,” Miller was beloved by his former costars. Elizabeth Hendrickson’s last text from Miller displayed that to the fullest extent. Despite not being in the working orbit of these actors in the present, Miller commanded a great deal of respect and admiration.
Several former costars have taken to social media in the aftermath of his passing to express their deepest condolences and fondest memories of the actor. Hendrickson, who plays Chole Mitchell on “Y&R,” posted an Instagram story featuring a lovely display of remembrance by the show for those close to Miller. In one of her stories, she wrote: “Today we cried. A lot. We also laughed & shared beautiful stories. You were a true gem BJ. We are and will always be your family. Please reach out to people. Send a text. A picture. A memory. We all wished we had done more of that recently.”
In a follow-up post, she issued a thank you to those at the show for putting the memorial space together. She said, “Thank you @youngandrestlesscbs for making space for us all to grieve tougher this morning. It was really helpful to be with friends who knew Billy closely. I think we all needed that.” The space featured flowers and a picture of Miller shortly after one of his three Emmy wins.
Other costars and fans thanked Y&R for putting together the memorial
Aside from Elizabeth Hendrickson, other former costars of Billy Miller during his tenure on “The Young and the Restless” posted about the memorial. Michelle Stafford, known for her role as Phyllis Summers wrote on her Instagram story: “Lovely of the producers of #YR and @CBS and @Sony to halt production this morning and let the cast and crew tell stories and share. Incredibly decent and beautiful.”
The memorial comes shortly after Miller’s mother confirmed the soap icon’s heartbreaking cause of death. Even though Miller hasn’t appeared in any daytime soap since 2019, they honored him in commendable fashion, earning much gratitude for the move. However, it wasn’t only Miller’s costars expressing appreciation for the show and network for providing the memorial space. Many fans flocked to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to express their thoughts on it as well which were overwhelmingly positive. One viewer tweeted, “It’s what this king and legend deserves.”
With “Y&R” leading the charge in honoring their former star, viewers are also calling on Miller’s other soap home, “General Hospital” to follow suit. A fan wrote, “I would like to kindly request you all do a memorial to Billy Miller, who did such an outstanding job as Jason/Drew. It was so tragic. And you’ve lost many treats this year — goodbye Bobbie, Epiphany, and now Jason/Drew.” Despite celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, “GH” has seen several of its current and former stars unexpectedly pass away, leading to the aforementioned request.
