From Hans Jorg Gudegast to Eric Braeden

"Wait. Why is Stephen A. Smith of ESPN writing the Foreword to a soap opera actor's autobiography?" The answer is clear upon learning the important role that sports has played in Eric Braeden's life, as detailed in his autobiography, I'll Be Damned (2017). Braeden is the star and figurehead of television's number 1 daytime drama, The Young and the Restless. He stars as Victor Newman, a role he originated in 1980 intended to be for a 26-week run and has parlayed it into one of nearly four decades.

Born Hans Jorg Gudegast in Bredenbek, Germany, Braeden's career as an actor was quite the unlikely story. However, a curious mind and an adventurous, independent spirit takes him from a war-torn hospital basement in Kiel to the sound stages of Hollywood.

I'll Be Dammed is Braeden's first book. As such it covers the span of his life, career, and humanitarian efforts to a level of detail and name dropping that may not appeal to the masses. Fans of Braeden, from either The Rat Patrol or The Young and the Restless, will find this book particularly interesting and insightful.

A few things stand out to me about Braeden from reading his book:

1. He takes pride in his German roots and has worked hard in various ways to counter the "single stories" that have dominated Germany since Hitler. One way is by establishing the German American Culture Society. Interestingly, it wasn't until he emigrated from Germany that he learned of the atrocities of his parents' generation, which he acknowledges transformed him and propelled him to take on humanitarian causes.
2. He values his relationship with his wife and son above all else. He loves and respects his wife  Dale and takes pride in his son Christian whom he considers to be his greatest accomplishment. 
3. He is physically active and extols the benefits of sports: "Far beyond just being an outlet for an excess of energy and an innate competitive spirit, sports taught me discipline, and structure, and rules, and winning and losing with dignity, and the essential importance of never giving up." He credits his wife, son, and sports for keeping him grounded.
4. He is a no-nonsense and doesn't take anyone else's B.S or attempts at disrespect type of guy. I credit his "otherness" as an immigrant as the cause: Not being of the culture enables him to not abide by the implicit "understandings" or covert rules, expectations, and norms of U.S. culture.
5. He is opinionated and makes no apologies for his political beliefs or personal viewpoints. His authentic voice shines in this autobiography. 

A bit of trivia:

1. He has no formal acting training and "fell into" acting by chance. For years early in his career, he was typecast in roles as a villainous German, which he grew weary of, mainly because he thought German was being made synonymous with Nazi, which he asserts is incorrect and egregious. 
2. To play the lead role in Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), he was encouraged to adopt a stage name. He, at first, was vehemently opposed but at the urging of his wife Dale relented. He chose Eric because it was a common European name he could live with and Braeden in honor of his hometown, Bredenbek. He added the a in Braeden to ensure correct pronunciation.
3. He is an accomplished athlete and takes pride in his sports accomplishments: He won the German Youth Team Championship in discus, javelin, and shot put in 1958 and the U.S. National Soccer Championship with the Los Angeles Maccabees in 1973.
4. According to his autobiography, he was in the running for the role of James Bond after Sean Connery vacated the role but due to not being British, he was dropped for consideration.
5. Despite his character Victor Newman and Nikki Reed (played by Melody Thomas Scott) being a "supercouple," and thirty-seven years of working on the show, Braeden does not consider himself  "close" to the majority of his co-stars as he does not socialize with them outside of work.
6. On July 20, 2007, he became the second German-American actor, after Marlene Dietrich, to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He states, it is "arguably one of the proudest moments in my career."
7. Lastly, his years of active engagement in sports and physical activity has served him well: At 76 years old, Braeden has a body that most men would envy.

Crossposted at CBR9.