John O’Hurley Says He Doesn’t Think He ‘Kept a Single Patient Alive’ onThe Young And the Restless(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

John O’Hurley as Dr. James Grainger on ‘The Young and the Restless.'.Photo:CBS via Getty

CBS via Getty

John O’Hurleybelieves his character onThe Young and the Restlesscharacter, Dr. James Grainger, could have done a better job on the show.“I don’t think I kept a single patient alive in the entire run on the show,” O’Hurley, 70, tells PEOPLE at theNational Dog Show’s taping in Philadelphia on Nov. 16. “No matter what it was, they zip up the body bag.”O’Hurley has fond memories of his time on the show between1989 and 1990. This year, the show hit13,000 episodes.

“I was theJack Kevorkianof daytime television. It was wonderful,” O’Hurley says. “I also knew that I was working with some of the best daytime actors and I totally enjoyed that experience of being around heavy weights and being able to duke it out with them every day on the set.”He adds: “And you did your homework. You did your homework on that show because you knew that you were in the presence of greatness.”

John O’Hurley lights the Empire State Building in honor of the National Dog Show.Ralph Bavaro/NBC via Getty

Ralph Bavaro/NBC via Getty

“It really feels like yesterday,” he says. “I think because it continues to play so much, it’s on Netflix now, it’s syndicated. It’s in countries all over the world. So it has a constant life to it.”

John O’Hurley as J. Peterman on ‘Seinfeld.'.Joey Delvalle/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Joey Delvalle/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

O’Hurley’s connection to the role went beyond the screen. “The year after Seinfeld ended, I bought theJ. Peterman Companywith the real J. Peterman,” O’Hurley says.“So he and I literally own the company together now. I’ve never lost my affiliation with the company [or] the character. I guess I liked the character so much I bought the company.”

source: people.com