Eric Forrester
Encyclopedia
Eric Forrester is a fictional character
on the CBS Daytime
soap opera
, The Bold and the Beautiful
. He has been portrayed by John McCook
since the show's debut in 1987. In 1993, 1995, 1996, 2005 and 2008 the character appeared briefly on The Young and the Restless
, where McCook had played Lance Prentiss from 1975 to 1980.
McCook was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award
for the role in 2001.
-based fashion house, Forrester Creations, with Eric as its lead designer. They have five children: Ridge
, Thorne
, Kristen,
Felicia
and Angela
. Two different retcons have taken away two of his children. The microcephalic Angela viewers meet (and Eric himself meets) in 1988 proves to be an imposter who replaced the real Angela when she died in an accident years before. A 2001 storyline reveals that the real father of his supposed firstborn, Ridge, is the shipping magnate, Massimo Marone
.
The backstory involving Stephanie and her college-days rival, Beth Logan, has changed somewhat over the years. Eric and Beth were in love, but a drunken one-night stand with Stephanie gets her pregnant, and eventually she wins Eric from Beth. The 2001 retcon added Massimo, an old boyfriend, to the mix. She had gone to bed with him earlier, but even she assumed that Eric was the father until a blood test proved that was impossible.
The backstory of Forrester Creations makes Eric the one with the talent and Stephanie the one with the business sense. It is Stephanie's father, John Douglas, who, despite disapproving of their marriage, loans Eric $50,000 to start their business, which proves a great success, both in prestige and profits. But those profits are eaten away by a far less prestigious rival, Spectra Fashions, which makes knock-off fashions all too similar to Forrester designs. Spectra was part of the backstory from the beginning, but it wasn't until early 1989 that viewers finally met the outrageous and flamboyant Sally Spectra
, who founded and runs the company.
, who later proves an even more serious rival for Eric's affections.
Eric eventually leaves his wife for Beth, but what brings him back to the Forrester home (if not Stephanie's bed) is the revelation that he has a 24-year-old daughter he never knew: the microcephalic Angela. Stephanie had pretended she had had a miscarriage to spare Eric the pain of knowing his daughter was so severely disabled. Stephanie had hired a doctor to give Angela 'round-the-clock care in a secret house, never guessing that Angela would live until adulthood. But what the retcon giveth, the retcon can taketh away. It turns out the doctor, Todd Powell, had accidentally killed the real Angela years before. The daughter Eric meets is a perfectly functional imposter.
Other urgent matters—including the secret, withheld even from the partly amnesiac Thorne himself, that Thorne shot Ridge in the back of the head—keep Eric home for awhile. And Stephanie's machinations, which bring Beth's estranged husband back in town, keep him out of that bed. But then his son, Ridge, chooses the publishing heiress, Caroline Spencer
, over his fiancée, Brooke. That allows Brooke and him to pick up where he and her mother left off.
, comes to town and woos Ridge's mother, Stephanie. Ridge opposes his efforts, and during a heated argument with him, cuts his hand deeply. This leads to a hospital visit and a doctor's discovery, divulged to Stephanie, that the blood types of Eric and Ridge make it impossible for them to be father and son. Stephanie reveals to Massimo that he therefore must be Ridge's father, conceived during a trip to Lake Geneva
in their college days. The truth eventually comes out to both Eric and Ridge, and at first it puts an extra burden on the already strained relationship between father and son. Yet despite the efforts of Eric's real sons, Thorne and Rick—who exploit Ridge's lack of a biological tie to Eric—he continues to favor Ridge over the rest of his children.
(her newly rediscovered son) and the mysterious Owen Knight
; and she fires Ridge, Thorne and Felicia. Soon it is revealed that Eric was deliberately poisoned with potassium chloride, which was probably in the gin he drank just before his attack. Everyone is a suspect, including Owen Knight, who—out of unrequited love for Donna—confesses to the crime to take suspicion off her. But it turns out that Stephanie's sister, Pamela
, poisoned Eric by giving him a potassium chloride-laced lemon bar. Her intention was only to weaken him and discredit Donna (thus avenging Stephanie) in the process.
. Rick manages to use even this situation as a means of exploiting Eric's pity. But he still is unable to get his way, which leads to him secretly stealing Forrester designs and giving them to Forrester's rival: Jackie M. Designs. Eric eventually forgives his son and resists efforts from Stephanie and others in the family to prosecute him for his crime.
's 1976 film, Carrie (in which the title character is showered with blood) and to Eric and Donna's well-known habit of using honey during sex play. All this—along Eric's use of illegal immigrants as employees—gives the publishing tycoon, Bill Spencer (the retcon-created son of the older Bill Spencer, a character who mainly appeared from 1987 to 1994), the chance to take over the company. Bill's various efforts fail, until the Forresters are 30 minutes late on their bank loan. Bill pressures the banker to foreclose and sell him the company. The Forresters are furious, but Eric vows to win the company back. Yet it is Ridge's daughter, Steffy
, who is able to blackmail Bill into selling the company back to the clan. Eric, Stephanie, Ridge and Taylor (Steffy's mother) end up as equal co-owners of the company.
, Donna's ex-boyfriend and the father of her son, Marcus. Their marriage is further strained after Stephanie inadvertently causes Donna's mother, Beth, to drown in the Forrester swimming pool. Donna wants to press charges, and Eric refuses to let her. Donna realizes how strong the ties are between Eric and his ex-wife; and this realization leads to their divorce. When Stephanie proves to have stage-four cancer, Eric's love for her bubbles to the surface, and the two reunite.
(by Taylor), wants to make his mark on the fashion industry with a new line called Taboo, which he promotes via scandal: he surprises Brooke on the runway with a kiss. His purpose is to exploit the public's fascination with his stepmother's pseudo-incestuous romances (with Ridge, Nick, Thorne and Eric), but Taylor worries that Thomas is genuinely attracted to Brooke. Eric supports the line, which leads to a clash with Ridge, who vehemently objects to it. At one point, Eric confesses to Ridge that he feels Taboo is payback: Thomas is doing to his father what Ridge did to his. Eric however, discounts the fact that Brooke was first Ridge's sweetheart, fiancee and almost the mother of his children after she had three miscarriages and fails to see that he shouldn't have dated one of his son's ex-fiancees, let alone marry her.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime
CBS Daytime is a television programming block on CBS. It's the branding for the CBS Television Network's late morning and early afternoon programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows, and talk shows...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
. He has been portrayed by John McCook
John McCook
John McCook is an American actor best known for his roles on daytime soap operas.-Career:Since 1987, he has played the role of Eric Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful. From 1976 to February 1980, he portrayed the character of Lance Prentiss on The Young and the Restless. In addition, he has...
since the show's debut in 1987. In 1993, 1995, 1996, 2005 and 2008 the character appeared briefly on The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
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 a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
, where McCook had played Lance Prentiss from 1975 to 1980.
McCook was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for the role in 2001.
Backstory
Eric and his wife, Stephanie, are co-founders of the Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based fashion house, Forrester Creations, with Eric as its lead designer. They have five children: Ridge
Ridge Forrester
Ridge Forrester is a fictional character from the CBS daytime soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. The character was introduced in the series premiere on March 23, 1987 and has been a regular fixture ever since...
, Thorne
Thorne Forrester
Thorne Forrester is a fictional character on CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. The character has been played by Winsor Harmon since December 1996; previously, the role was played by Clayton Norcross from the show's premier in 1987 until 1989, then by Jeff Trachta from 1989 until 1996.-The...
, Kristen,
Felicia
Felicia Forrester
Felicia Forrester is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. She was previously played by actress Lesli Kay from November 2005 to November 2009, and October to December 2010. Previously the character was portrayed by Colleen Dion-Scotti from 1990 to 1992, 1997,and...
and Angela
Angela Forrester
Angela Forrester is a fictional character from The Bold and the Beautiful.This page mostly refers to an imposter posing as Angela.The real Angela Forrester was never on-screen, but it was an imposter posing as her who was on the show, played by Judith Borne from...
. Two different retcons have taken away two of his children. The microcephalic Angela viewers meet (and Eric himself meets) in 1988 proves to be an imposter who replaced the real Angela when she died in an accident years before. A 2001 storyline reveals that the real father of his supposed firstborn, Ridge, is the shipping magnate, Massimo Marone
Massimo Marone
Massimo Marone IV was a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. The character was played by veteran actor Joseph Mascolo from August 23, 2001 to July 7, 2006.-Character:...
.
The backstory involving Stephanie and her college-days rival, Beth Logan, has changed somewhat over the years. Eric and Beth were in love, but a drunken one-night stand with Stephanie gets her pregnant, and eventually she wins Eric from Beth. The 2001 retcon added Massimo, an old boyfriend, to the mix. She had gone to bed with him earlier, but even she assumed that Eric was the father until a blood test proved that was impossible.
The backstory of Forrester Creations makes Eric the one with the talent and Stephanie the one with the business sense. It is Stephanie's father, John Douglas, who, despite disapproving of their marriage, loans Eric $50,000 to start their business, which proves a great success, both in prestige and profits. But those profits are eaten away by a far less prestigious rival, Spectra Fashions, which makes knock-off fashions all too similar to Forrester designs. Spectra was part of the backstory from the beginning, but it wasn't until early 1989 that viewers finally met the outrageous and flamboyant Sally Spectra
Sally Spectra
Sally Spectra was a fictional character on the American soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Sally was played by actress Darlene Conley from 1988 until Conley's death on January 14, 2007 and last appeared onscreen on January 26, 2007 via flashback memorial...
, who founded and runs the company.
Stephanie
When viewers first meet Eric's wife, Stephanie, (in the second episode) their marriage is already in trouble. Eric declares the marriage "stale," while Stephanie blames their woes on his assistant, Margo Lynley, with whom she incorrectly suspects he is having an affair. Later, Stephanie inadvertently brings an actual "other woman" into his life when she makes the wrong choice of caterers for her party. One of the employees is his old college flame, Beth Henderson, now Beth Logan. After they meet, the two of them resume their love affair from thirty years before. Another employee is Beth's daughter, BrookeBrooke Logan
Brooke Logan Forrester is a fictional character from the CBS Daytime soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. She has been portrayed by Katherine Kelly Lang since the series debuted in March 1987, although Catherine Hickland and Sandra Ferguson briefly filled in on two occasions when Lang was on...
, who later proves an even more serious rival for Eric's affections.
Eric eventually leaves his wife for Beth, but what brings him back to the Forrester home (if not Stephanie's bed) is the revelation that he has a 24-year-old daughter he never knew: the microcephalic Angela. Stephanie had pretended she had had a miscarriage to spare Eric the pain of knowing his daughter was so severely disabled. Stephanie had hired a doctor to give Angela 'round-the-clock care in a secret house, never guessing that Angela would live until adulthood. But what the retcon giveth, the retcon can taketh away. It turns out the doctor, Todd Powell, had accidentally killed the real Angela years before. The daughter Eric meets is a perfectly functional imposter.
Other urgent matters—including the secret, withheld even from the partly amnesiac Thorne himself, that Thorne shot Ridge in the back of the head—keep Eric home for awhile. And Stephanie's machinations, which bring Beth's estranged husband back in town, keep him out of that bed. But then his son, Ridge, chooses the publishing heiress, Caroline Spencer
Caroline Spencer
Caroline Spencer Forrester is a fictional character in the American soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. The role was played by Joanna Johnson from March 23, 1987 to early July 1990...
, over his fiancée, Brooke. That allows Brooke and him to pick up where he and her mother left off.
Brooke Logan
Eric offered comfort to a distraught and emotionally disturbed Brooke who watched Ridge her fiancee at the time leave her for Caroline while she was pregnant. Due to Eric sleeping with a drugged Brooke she becomes pregnant with Eric's child and after discovering she was pregnant by the incident she decides to have an affair with Eric. Deciding to abort the baby, she leaves town. They keep their affair quiet for quite some time because Brooke was fearful of what Stephanie (who had abused her and called her the Slut from the Valley) might do. Stephanie ends up finding out because Eric issues the papers to her and tells her he was marrying Brooke because she was pregnant. This stunned Stephanie who had no idea her husband and Brooke were even involved since she had worked along with Caroline to make sure Ridge would marry Caroline. Unfortunately, her plan backfired and Eric the man she was separated from at the time married Brooke, her son's ex-fiancee. Eric marries Brooke due to the pregnancy and his attempt to correct his son's harsh treatment of her. Brooke is regarded as a character that sickens viewers not necessarily due to her affairs but primarily due to the uncanny ability she has of supposedly getting herself in trouble usually through men either seducing her, drugging her or rare moments such as her sleeping with her daughter's boyfriend who dressed like her husband Ridge at the time. These controversial situations have led others to view her as purposely causing the situations since she rarely discourages the men advances once they've taken advantage of her. However, Eric and Brooke were not having an affair until Eric approached Brooke when she was already asleep, drugged and depressed over Ridge leaving her for Caroline. Nor did she dump Ridge to go off and marry Eric. Eric and Brooke's marriage was more one of convenience and his need to compete with his son, Stephanie's most favored child Ridge Forrester as oppose to Eric falling helplessly in love with her.Ridge's real father
In 2001, the shipping magnate, Massimo MaroneMassimo Marone
Massimo Marone IV was a fictional character on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. The character was played by veteran actor Joseph Mascolo from August 23, 2001 to July 7, 2006.-Character:...
, comes to town and woos Ridge's mother, Stephanie. Ridge opposes his efforts, and during a heated argument with him, cuts his hand deeply. This leads to a hospital visit and a doctor's discovery, divulged to Stephanie, that the blood types of Eric and Ridge make it impossible for them to be father and son. Stephanie reveals to Massimo that he therefore must be Ridge's father, conceived during a trip to Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva
Lake Geneva or Lake Léman is a lake in Switzerland and France. It is one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. 59.53 % of it comes under the jurisdiction of Switzerland , and 40.47 % under France...
in their college days. The truth eventually comes out to both Eric and Ridge, and at first it puts an extra burden on the already strained relationship between father and son. Yet despite the efforts of Eric's real sons, Thorne and Rick—who exploit Ridge's lack of a biological tie to Eric—he continues to favor Ridge over the rest of his children.
Return to Brooke
In 2005, not long after divorcing Stephanie again, Eric returns to Brooke and they marry. The two become co-CEOs of Forrester Creations and fire Stephanie. But then Stephanie discovers a trust which her father had set up for her 40 years before, and which Eric had kept hidden, making her sole owner of the company. She takes over, fires them as CEOs but rehire them as designers, consigned to a basement office. The marriage doesn't last anyway: Brooke ends up back with Ridge, and Eric winds up back with Stephanie.Donna Logan
Eric's marriage to Stephanie is strained when he learns that her machinations led to an outcome she hadn't plotted: the rape of Brooke. This leads, by a circuitous route, to Eric and Brooke's sister, Donna, becoming secret lovers. Various plots by various parties pull Eric from wife to mistress and back again. Nick, who now owns Forrester, makes divorcing Stephanie a condition of selling the company back to Eric. During a Forrester fashion show, Stephanie convinces Thorne and Felicia to lock Donna in a steam room while she wears the showstopper gown, hoping to ruin the show and make Donna look responsible. Stephanie prepares a more devious plot after she is shot and discovers who shot her: Donna's brother, Storm. She conceals her knowledge from the police on the condition that Donna leave Eric. Stephanie's schemes, and the schemes made on her behalf, ultimately fail. She and Eric sign divorce papers on the May 2, 2008 episode; Eric and Donna marry on the May 9th episode.Who poisoned Eric?
In July 2008, Eric has a heart attack while having sex with Donna and falls into a coma. Donna has his power of attorney, thus making her acting CEO of Forrester Creations. As CEO, Donna gives promotions to Rick, Marcus WaltonMarcus Forrester
Marcus Barber Forrester is a fictional character from the CBS daytime soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. The character is first introduced on May 14, 2008 being portrayed by actor, Texas Battle. Marcus is notable for being the first biracial child on the show as the son of Donna Logan and...
(her newly rediscovered son) and the mysterious Owen Knight
Owen Knight
Owen Knight is a fictional character from the American soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. The character, played by Brandon Beemer, made his debut on-screen on July 2, 2008.-Owen Knight arrives:...
; and she fires Ridge, Thorne and Felicia. Soon it is revealed that Eric was deliberately poisoned with potassium chloride, which was probably in the gin he drank just before his attack. Everyone is a suspect, including Owen Knight, who—out of unrequited love for Donna—confesses to the crime to take suspicion off her. But it turns out that Stephanie's sister, Pamela
Pamela Douglas
Pamela "Pam" Douglas is a fictional character in the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, portrayed by actress Alley Mills from December 1, 2006 to March 27, 2007, from November 27 to December 10, 2007, from March 7, 2008 to October 28, 2008 and again from December 26, 2008 to...
, poisoned Eric by giving him a potassium chloride-laced lemon bar. Her intention was only to weaken him and discredit Donna (thus avenging Stephanie) in the process.
Donna and Owen
Eric eventually recovers, but the schemes to break up his marriage continue apace. Donna gives her enemies ammunition by allowing Owen to kiss her. Just then, Eric—whom she thought was lost forever—is wheeled into the room and sees them. He eventually forgives her, but Thorne hires Donna and Owen lookalikes to make out in front of a secret camera (which a suspicious Eric himself had installed) in Owen's office. The truth eventually comes out, and Eric and Donna remain together.Rick manipulates his father
At one point, Ridge thought Eric was lost forever, too. He even heard Eric's voice, begging his son to let him go. Ridge listens to this grief-induced hallucination and pulls the plug on Eric's breathing machine. After his recovery, Eric learns of this seeming treachery, which allows his younger son, Rick (who, unlike Ridge, is biologically tied to Eric), to exploit this rift. Eventually, Eric fires Ridge and appoints Rick as president of the company. Later, Eric has a change of heart and steps down as CEO so that he can give the job to Ridge. The animosity between Rick and Ridge reaches new heights when Rick accidentally crashes his car and kills his sole passenger: Ridge's daughter (by his ex-wife, Taylor), PhoebePhoebe Forrester
Phoebe Forrester was a fictional character in CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. The first actress to play the character on a contract basis was Addison Hoover, who joined the show in April 2005 and left just months later. Since July 11, 2006, Phoebe has been played by MacKenzie Mauzy...
. Rick manages to use even this situation as a means of exploiting Eric's pity. But he still is unable to get his way, which leads to him secretly stealing Forrester designs and giving them to Forrester's rival: Jackie M. Designs. Eric eventually forgives his son and resists efforts from Stephanie and others in the family to prosecute him for his crime.
Bill Spencer takes over Forrester
Sales at Forrester are bad. The public hates the marriage between Eric and Donna. The company looks worse when Eric fires Stephanie, who ends up working at Jackie M., and still worse as Thorne and Felicia quit and Brooke takes a leave of absence. And then Pam sabotages the latest showcase by showering Donna—wearing the showstopper gown—with honey, both a reference to Brian De PalmaBrian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
's 1976 film, Carrie (in which the title character is showered with blood) and to Eric and Donna's well-known habit of using honey during sex play. All this—along Eric's use of illegal immigrants as employees—gives the publishing tycoon, Bill Spencer (the retcon-created son of the older Bill Spencer, a character who mainly appeared from 1987 to 1994), the chance to take over the company. Bill's various efforts fail, until the Forresters are 30 minutes late on their bank loan. Bill pressures the banker to foreclose and sell him the company. The Forresters are furious, but Eric vows to win the company back. Yet it is Ridge's daughter, Steffy
Steffy Forrester
Stephanie "Steffy" Spencer is a fictional character on the American CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. She is the beautiful, scheming, seductive daughter of Ridge Forrester and Taylor Hamilton Hayes and the twin sister of Phoebe...
, who is able to blackmail Bill into selling the company back to the clan. Eric, Stephanie, Ridge and Taylor (Steffy's mother) end up as equal co-owners of the company.
Eric and Donna divorce
Eric objects when Donna hosts a talk show called The Catwalk, which is owned by Spencer Publications. Especially objectionable is how close this brings her to the Spencer employee, Justin BarberJustin Barber
Justin Barber is a fictional character on the American soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. The show has focused especially on Justin's stressful and awkward relationship with his son, Marcus, and on his equally strained relationship with Marcus's mother, Donna Logan, whom he eventually...
, Donna's ex-boyfriend and the father of her son, Marcus. Their marriage is further strained after Stephanie inadvertently causes Donna's mother, Beth, to drown in the Forrester swimming pool. Donna wants to press charges, and Eric refuses to let her. Donna realizes how strong the ties are between Eric and his ex-wife; and this realization leads to their divorce. When Stephanie proves to have stage-four cancer, Eric's love for her bubbles to the surface, and the two reunite.
Thomas gives Eric payback
Ridge's son, ThomasThomas Forrester
Thomas Hamilton Forrester is a fictional character in the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. He was portrayed by Drew Tyler Bell sporadically from 2004 to 2010 and is currently portrayed by Adam Gregory, who took over from Bell in September 2010...
(by Taylor), wants to make his mark on the fashion industry with a new line called Taboo, which he promotes via scandal: he surprises Brooke on the runway with a kiss. His purpose is to exploit the public's fascination with his stepmother's pseudo-incestuous romances (with Ridge, Nick, Thorne and Eric), but Taylor worries that Thomas is genuinely attracted to Brooke. Eric supports the line, which leads to a clash with Ridge, who vehemently objects to it. At one point, Eric confesses to Ridge that he feels Taboo is payback: Thomas is doing to his father what Ridge did to his. Eric however, discounts the fact that Brooke was first Ridge's sweetheart, fiancee and almost the mother of his children after she had three miscarriages and fails to see that he shouldn't have dated one of his son's ex-fiancees, let alone marry her.