Alas, Linden Ashby Is Leaving

It would appear that that’s all she wrote for Linden Ashby’s brief but eventful comeback to The Young and the Restless. After less than a month of terrorizing Sharon Newman anew, the villain was (seemingly) fatally stabbed by the object of his obsession in the June 16 episode.

Check for a pulse better this time, huh, Sharon?

Credit: John Paschal/JPI

That there would be no turnaroud for the abusive businessman who stalked his prey from Chicago to Genoa City 20 years ago was not a surprise. When Ashby agreed to reprise his role, his one request of executive producer/headwriter Josh Griffith was, “Hey, man, let’s write him bad,” the actor told Soap Opera Digest. In character, he added, “I’m not looking for a redemptive story here. I’m not looking to turn over a new leaf. I’ve got a few scores to settle and business to take care of.”

Kidnapping victim Faith was just a means to an end for Cameron.

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

Though Cameron’s only actual casualty was poor Faith’s cat, Borgnine, the repercussions of his reign of terror are sure to be felt for months to come as Sharon and former husband Nick deal with the aftershocks of his vendetta. Ironically, despite Cameron’s treatment of Sharon, his portrayer has said that he really loves her. “It’s probably not the healthiest relationship in the world, but his love is genuine.”

Though at the close of Friday’s episode, Cameron certainly appeared to be really, most sincerely dead, will he stay that way? Maybe… maybe not. By the time his return engagement was over, Ashby said that he was kinda sorry it was finished. And hey, he got to work at least a little bit with his real-life wife, Susan Walters (Diane) — always a plus! (Read about more off-screen couples from the show here.)

As Genoa City begins to breathe a little easier, review highlights (lowlights?) of Cameron’s terror campaigns here and catch up on all the latest exits from Young & Restless here.

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