Season information

• Original CBS run: April 1, 1987–March 31, 1988
• First episode: Episode #3573, aired April 1, 1987
• Final episode: Episode #3819, aired March 31, 1988
• Number of episodes: 247

This total follows the continuous CBS production numbering, from episode #3573 through episode #3819 inclusive. (www.feuxdelamour.com)

Archival note: No complete CBS season-specific cast register is publicly available for this period. This list combines the documented contract cast and significant recurring characters appearing between April 1, 1987 and March 31, 1988. Unnamed day players have been excluded.

Complete cast

Listed alphabetically by the characters’ surnames.

• Ashley Abbott portrayed by Eileen Davidson
• Jack Abbott portrayed by Terry Lester
• John Abbott portrayed by Jerry Douglas
• Traci Abbott Carlton portrayed by Beth Maitland
• Douglas Austin portrayed by Michael Evans
• Christine “Cricket” Blair portrayed by Lauralee Bell
• Jessica Blair portrayed by Rebecca Street
• Joe Blair portrayed by John Denos
• Brad Carlton portrayed by Don Diamont
• Katherine “Kay” Chancellor portrayed by Jeanne Cooper
• Phillip Chancellor III portrayed by Thom Bierdz
• Phillip “Chance” Chancellor IV portrayed by uncredited infant performers
• Farren Connor Richards portrayed by Colleen Casey
• Skip Evans portrayed by Todd Curtis
• Lauren Fenmore portrayed by Tracey E. Bregman
• Jill Foster Abbott portrayed by Brenda Dickson
• Jill Foster Abbott portrayed by Jess Walton
• Scott Grainger portrayed by Peter Barton
• Nathan Hastings portrayed by Nathan Purdee
• Amy Lewis portrayed by Stephanie E. Williams
• Leanna Love portrayed by Barbara Crampton
• Joanna Manning portrayed by Susan Seaforth Hayes
• Matt Miller portrayed by Robert Parucha
• Nikki Reed Newman portrayed by Melody Thomas Scott
• Victor Newman portrayed by Eric Braeden
• Victoria Newman portrayed by Ashley Nicole Millan
• Janet Piersall portrayed by Catherine MacNeal
• Casey Reed portrayed by Roberta Leighton
• Andy Richards portrayed by Steven Ford
• Carol Robbins portrayed by Christopher Templeton
• Cassandra Rawlins portrayed by Nina Arvesen
• Danny Romalotti portrayed by Michael Damian
• Gina Romalotti portrayed by Patty Weaver
• Evan Sanderson portrayed by John Shearin
• Rex Sterling portrayed by Quinn Redeker
• Tim Sullivan portrayed by Scott Palmer
• Esther Valentine portrayed by Kate Linder
• Nina Webster portrayed by Tricia Cast
• Carl Williams portrayed by Brett Hadley
• Mary Williams portrayed by Carolyn Conwell
• Paul Williams portrayed by Doug Davidson
• Ellen Winters portrayed by Jennifer Karr

Children

• Phillip “Chance” Chancellor IV portrayed by uncredited infant performers
• Victoria Newman portrayed by Ashley Nicole Millan
• Betsy Sanderson portrayed by an unidentified child performer

The central 1987 cast and the additions made during early 1988 are documented in the surviving annual cast records. (jacksondynasty.net)

Cast photograph

This 1987 ensemble photograph is the closest surviving contemporary cast portrait corresponding to Season 15. It includes several characters introduced during the season, notably Rex Sterling and Steven Lassiter. It has not been possible to confirm that CBS formally labelled it the official “Season 15” photograph.

Major storylines

Nikki deceives Victor about her recovery

Nikki learned that the potentially fatal illness from which she had been suffering was in remission. Before she could tell Victor, she saw him embracing Ashley and assumed that he wanted to resume his relationship with her.

Convinced that Victor had reunited with her only because he believed she was dying, Nikki concealed her recovery. She also resumed her affair with Jack and conspired with him to obtain Victor’s shares in Mergeron Enterprises.

Douglas Austin discovered Nikki and Jack’s relationship. Victor eventually learned that Nikki was no longer ill and was furious that she had deceived him. He announced that he intended to divorce her.

Ashley and Steven

Ashley continued to recover from her nervous breakdown with the support of Dr. Steven Lassiter. Steven followed her to Genoa City and declared his love for her.

Ashley gradually accepted that her relationship with Victor was over and agreed to marry Steven. Their wedding took place in early 1988.

The marriage devastated Steven’s former patient Leanna Love, who believed that Steven belonged to her.

Leanna Love’s obsession

Leanna arrived in Genoa City on October 21, 1987. She was a former psychiatric patient of Steven’s and had developed an obsessive attachment to him.

She regarded Ashley as her romantic rival and attempted to undermine the relationship. Her increasingly unstable behaviour threatened Ashley and Steven’s wedding plans.

Leanna would subsequently become involved with Jack and begin writing Ruthless: The Victor Newman Story, but most of the book storyline unfolded after March 31, 1988. (Fandom)

Phillip, Cricket, Danny and Nina

Phillip Chancellor III fell in love with Cricket, although she remained emotionally connected to Danny.

Phillip began drinking to overcome his insecurity. After causing a car accident while intoxicated, Cricket claimed that she had been driving in order to protect him. Phillip eventually admitted the truth.

Cricket temporarily moved into Katherine’s home to support Phillip while he attempted to stop drinking. Their relationship became increasingly strained, and Cricket spent more time with Danny.

Nina deliberately got Phillip drunk and seduced him. When Cricket finally decided that she wanted to marry Phillip, Nina revealed their sexual encounter and later announced that she was pregnant.

Nina’s pregnancy

Katherine and Jill were horrified to learn that Nina was carrying Phillip’s child. Despite their intense rivalry, they joined forces in an effort to remove Nina from Phillip’s life.

Katherine allowed Nina to live at the Chancellor mansion but placed her in an uncomfortable attic room. Jill and Katherine tried to prove that someone else had fathered the baby and offered Nina money to leave Genoa City.

Nina refused because she remained convinced that Phillip would eventually marry her and raise their child.

The birth of Phillip “Chance” Chancellor IV

Nina gave birth to Phillip Chancellor III’s son in March 1988. The baby was named Phillip Robert Chancellor IV and later became known as Chance Chancellor.

His birth permanently connected Nina to the Chancellor family and intensified the conflict between Nina, Jill, Katherine and Cricket.

Jill recruits Rex Sterling

After Phillip chose to remain with Katherine, Jill sought revenge against her longtime rival.

She found a homeless man named Brian Romalotti and transformed him into the apparently wealthy and sophisticated Rex Sterling. Jill paid him to court Katherine, hoping that he would humiliate her.

The scheme did not unfold as Jill expected: Rex genuinely grew fond of Katherine, while Jill herself developed feelings for him.

Jill’s recast and the Jabot men’s line

Jill continued developing her men’s cosmetics line at Jabot, frequently ignoring company procedures and spending large sums on promotion.

She hired David Kimble as her assistant and became attracted to him. David encouraged the relationship because he wanted access to Jill’s connections and money.

During this storyline, Jess Walton replaced Brenda Dickson as Jill.

Brad, Traci and Lauren

While Traci was studying at Stanford, Lauren told Brad that Traci was becoming involved with her former lover, Tim Sullivan.

Feeling rejected and suspicious, Brad allowed Lauren to seduce him. Traci eventually returned to Genoa City and reconciled with Brad, but Lauren remained determined to continue their affair.

Traci subsequently became pregnant with Brad’s child. The pregnancy and Brad’s increasingly complicated past would become major elements of the following season.

Farren regains her memory

Farren gradually remembered that her real name was Michelle Sanderson and that she had previously been married to Evan Sanderson. She also remembered their daughter, Betsy.

Farren decided to reunite with Evan and become a mother to Betsy. This effectively ended her marriage to Andy Richards.

Evan’s housekeeper and lover, Janet Piersall, was furious because Evan had promised to marry her. Janet attempted to shoot Farren but accidentally killed Evan instead.

After Evan’s death, Farren chose to remain with Betsy. Andy respected her decision and left for Pittsburgh.

Cricket reunites with her mother

Cricket’s estranged mother, Jessica Blair, arrived in Genoa City in January 1988.

Cricket initially rejected Jessica because she had been absent for much of her daughter’s life. They gradually reconciled, while Jessica became close to John Abbott.

Jessica concealed the fact that she was living with AIDS. Her condition was revealed after she became seriously ill and was hospitalised.

Scott Grainger arrives

Dr. Scott Grainger began treating Jessica in March 1988. His connection to Jessica and Cricket would later be revealed to be much more complicated than either woman initially realised.

Scott subsequently became an important love interest for Lauren Fenmore, but that relationship developed after this season.

Paul meets Cassandra

Near the end of the season, Paul met a mysterious interior designer named Cassandra Rawlins.

He hired Cassandra to decorate his office, and they became romantically involved. Cassandra refused to explain why she would not fully commit to him.

The truth—that Cassandra was married to the wealthy George Rawlins—would emerge during the following season.

Births

Phillip “Chance” Chancellor IV

• Date of birth/first appearance: March 15, 1988
• Full birth name: Phillip Robert Chancellor IV
• Later known as: Chance Chancellor
• Mother: Nina Webster
• Father: Phillip Chancellor III
• Portrayed by: various uncredited infant performers

No other major birth occurred during Season 15.

Recasts and SORAS

Jill Foster Abbott

• Brenda Dickson’s final period: June 1987
• Jess Walton’s debut: June 22, 1987
• Walton became the fifth actress to portray Jill and remained permanently associated with the role. (www.cbs.com)

Phillip “Chance” Chancellor IV

• Introduced as a newborn on March 15, 1988.
• The role was played by several unidentified or uncredited babies during infancy.
• This was a new birth, not a SORAS.

There was no major child-to-adult SORAS during Season 15. Phillip Chancellor III’s SORAS had occurred in the previous season.

New characters

Rex Sterling portrayed by Quinn Redeker

• First appearance: July 1987
• Real name: Brian Romalotti
• Recruited by Jill to seduce and humiliate Katherine. (boards.soapoperanetwork.com)

Janet Piersall portrayed by Catherine MacNeal

• First appearance: 1987
• Evan Sanderson’s housekeeper and lover.
• Accidentally killed Evan while attempting to shoot Farren.

Leanna Love portrayed by Barbara Crampton

• First appearance: October 21, 1987
• A former patient of Steven Lassiter who was obsessively in love with him.

Jessica Blair portrayed by Rebecca Street

• First appearance: January 1988
• Cricket’s estranged mother.
• Arrived in Genoa City while living with AIDS. (en.wikipedia.org)

Scott Grainger portrayed by Peter Barton

• First appearance: March 15, 1988
• Jessica Blair’s doctor.
• Later became an important romantic interest for Lauren Fenmore. (Wikipedia)

Cassandra Rawlins portrayed by Nina Arvesen

• First appearance: March 1988
• A mysterious interior designer who became involved with Paul Williams.
• Secretly married to George Rawlins.

Phillip “Chance” Chancellor IV

• Born/first appeared: March 15, 1988
• Son of Nina Webster and Phillip Chancellor III.

Returns

Douglas Austin portrayed by Michael Evans

• Returned in 1987 as Victor Newman’s close friend and confidant.
• Discovered Nikki’s affair and secret alliance with Jack.

Amy Lewis portrayed by Stephanie E. Williams

• Returned in March 1988 after an extended absence.
• Her appearances remained recurring.

Departures

Brenda Dickson as Jill Foster Abbott

• Departed in June 1987.
• Immediately replaced by Jess Walton.

Ellen Winters portrayed by Jennifer Karr

• Left during 1987 after ending her relationship with Jack.

Matt Miller portrayed by Robert Parucha

• Left Genoa City during 1987 after Ashley rejected his marriage proposal.

Diane Jenkins portrayed by Alex Donnelley

• Departed during this general period after her marriage to Andy ended and Andy chose Farren.

Evan Sanderson portrayed by John Shearin

• Left permanently when Evan was shot and killed in November 1987.

Farren Connor Richards portrayed by Colleen Casey

• Left after choosing to remain with Betsy following Evan’s death.

Andy Richards portrayed by Steven Ford

• Moved to Pittsburgh after accepting that Farren needed to remain with her daughter.
• His departure occurred around the conclusion of the Farren–Evan storyline.

Marriages

Ashley Abbott and Steven Lassiter

• Wedding: early January 1988
• Ashley married the psychiatrist who had helped her recover from her breakdown.
• Leanna Love was devastated by the wedding.
• The precise original broadcast date has not been firmly established in accessible episode records. Contemporary syndicated recaps were already reporting the wedding by January 18, 1988. (en.wikipedia.org)

Phillip Chancellor III and Cricket Blair — attempted wedding

• Phillip and Cricket became engaged.
• The wedding did not take place after Nina revealed that she had slept with Phillip and was pregnant with his child.

Katherine and Rex did not marry during this season. Their marriage occurred after March 31, 1988.

Deaths

Evan Sanderson

• Date: November 1987
• Portrayed by: John Shearin
• Cause: Gunshot wound

Janet Piersall attempted to shoot Farren after Evan rejected her. The bullet struck and killed Evan instead. (Fandom)

Neil Fenmore — off-screen

• Lauren’s father, Neil Fenmore, was reported to have died from a stroke in 1987.
• The death occurred off-screen and left Lauren as his principal heir. (ipfs.basearchive.ai)

Steven Lassiter did not die during Season 15. He was killed on December 2, 1988, during Season 16. (en.wikipedia.org)

 

 

Lauren placed a personals ad in the newspaper, which was designed to discover Faren’s true identity. Thanks to the ad, a man showed up, who introduced himself as Evan. Evan said that he was determined to get in touch with the Faren–the mystery woman in the ad–claiming that she was missing wife, Michelle. Lauren, however, was reluctant to assist Evan because she worried that Paul would be angry at her for meddling in Faren and Andy’s marriage. Lauren also fretted that Evan’s appearance would create complications for Andy and Faren.

Evan managed to locate Faren on his own, however, she couldn’t remember him or their daughter, Betsy. Evan finally accepted Faren’s memory loss and prepared to return home. But Faren’s memories of her former life, as Evan’s wife and Betsy’s mom, began to return.

Paul Williams finally forgave Lauren for submitting a nude photo of him to the magazine that published it as a centerfold. He also proposed that they remarry. Initially, Lauren turned down his proposal, but then had a change of heart. However, Paul decided that remarrying might not be the best thing for either of them.

Lauren focused her attention on Brad Carlton. While Brad’s wife, Traci, was away at Stanford Lauren told Brad that Traci’s former lover, Tim, was also at Stanford. Believing that his wife was having an affair, Brad allowed himself to be seduced by Lauren. Eventually, Traci returned to Genoa City and reconciled with Brad. Despite the reconciliation, Lauren was intent on continuing her affair with Brad.

After getting her ex-husband John’s approval, Jill Abbott launched a new men’s line of products under the Jabot banner. Although Jill approached her new project with enthusiasm, her personal life was in a shambles. To Jill’s disappointment, Phillip made it clear that he was interested in remaining at Katherine Chancellor’s home. Jill waged a custody battle for Phillip, which caused several unseemly details to surface, such as Katherine’s move to take away Phillip’s hefty inheritance when he was still a small boy. Despite what happened in the past, Phillip chose to stay with Katherine because she provided him with a level of security and attention that he had never received from Jill. To get back at Katherine, Jill hired a homeless man–whom she christened Rex Sterling– to pose as a wealthy gentleman and romance her nemesis. Meanwhile, Katherine also bribed a photographer to lavish Jill with attention.

Phillip was befriended by Cricket Blair and Nina Webster. Eventually, Phillip’s feelings for Cricket went beyond friendship. But Cricket didn’t return his affections because she was dating Danny Romalotti. Meanwhile, Nina waged an aggressive campaign to win Phillip’s heart. She soon had competition. Cricket and Danny agreed to date other people for the summer, and Cricket fell in love with Phillip.

During Phillip’s and Cricket’s romance, Phillip began drinking to give himself confidence. One evening, while driving Cricket home, Phillip got into an accident. Cricket told authorities that she was driving so that Phillip, who was under the influence of alcohol, wouldn’t be arrested. The negative publicity nearly cost Cricket her job as a model at Jabot. But Phillip, who had no recollection of the accident, ultimately assumed responsibility after Danny told him what actually had happened. Cricket temporarily moved into Katherine’s home to lend Phillip emotional support as he struggled to quit drinking. But the circumstances created tension and the young lovers found themselves quarreling. One evening, while Cricket was enjoying an innocent visit with Danny, Nina got Phillip drunk and seduced him.

Cricket was forced to make a decision between Phillip and Danny when both young men proposed marriage to her. While Cricket was struggling to make up her mind, Nina schemed to win Phillip. Shortly after Cricket resolved to accept Phillip’s proposal, Nina broke the news about their sexual encounter. The ploy nearly worked. Hurt by Phillip’s infidelity, Cricket arranged to return his engagement ring. At the last moment, Cricket realized how deeply she loved Phillip and she proceeded with plans to marry him. Both Katherine and Jill were delighted by the news. Nina, however, still had a trump card she hadn’t played. To Katherine’s and Jill’s horror, Nina announced that she was pregnant with Phillip’s baby.

Victor Newman continued to provide comfort to Nikki, who was stricken by a potentially life-threatening illness. Ashley Abbott, who was pregnant by Victor, declined Matt Newman’s proposal. Instead, she aborted Victor’s baby. When Victor discovered that Ashley had been pregnant with his baby and had had an abortion, he berated her. Traumatized, Ashley suffered a nervous breakdown in New York City. Since she wasn’t carrying any identification, Ashley ended up in an overcrowded mental institution, where she was treated by Dr. Lassister.

Eventually, John Abbott located his daughter, Ashley, in the New York mental institution. He arranged for her return to Genoa City. Meanwhile, Dr. Lassister, who had fallen in love with his patient, also moved to Genoa City so that he could pursue a romance with Ashley.

Nikki discovered that she was facing a possible terminal disease. Determined to make sure that her daughter, Victoria, had a mother figure in her life, Nikki ultimately accepted Ashley’s romance with Victor. But before Nikki could step aside, and open the door for Victor and Ashley to reconcile, Nikki’s doctor announced that her disease was in remission. Overjoyed, Nikki rushed to tell Victor the news. When Nikki arrived home, she accidentally saw Victor embrace Ashley.

Jumping to the wrong conclusion that Victor and Ashley were lovers again, Nikki decided that Victor was only with her because of her disease. Angered, she also decided not to tell Victor the news about her clean bill of health. She resumed her affair with Jack Abbott and conspired with him to have Victor sign over his shares of the Mergeron stock to her. Victor’s close friend, Douglas Austin, accidentally discovered Nikki’s involvement with Jack. Soon after, Nikki came down with a bad case of food poisoning and she was rushed to a doctor. Talking to Nikki’s doctor, Victor inadvertently discovered that her disease was in remission. Outraged by her deception, Victor announced that he was filing for divorce. And he was left hoping that there was still time for him to reconcile with Ashley

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Next year : Y&R 1988