This is such sad news. Kristoff St. John, known for his role as Neil Winters on the Young and the Restless, was found dead at his house yesterday afternoon. He was 52.
I have watched The Young and the Restless since the early 1980's. After watching a show for this long, it gets to feel like the Newmans, Abbotts, and Winters families and everyone from tiny Genoa City, Wisconsin are part of my family too, you know? And this news is particularly sad, as I always loved the role of Neil Winters that Kristoff St. John played.
It would appear that he had it all... good looks, fame, fortune, nine Daytime Emmy nominations and he was the winner of 10 NAACP awards... but away from the Young and the Restless, St. John has had a rough go of things. In 2014, his son commit suicide while receiving treatment at a mental health facility, and Kristoff himself has had a very public battle with depression ever since. In fact, reports are now coming out that he was released just last week from UCLA Medical Center where he was treated for depression issues. No cause of death has officially been released, but there are reports that alcohol may have played a factor. Regardless, this is a huge loss to those of us that are fans of his work on Y&R, and it's certainly a major loss to his friends and family. My heart goes out to everyone who knew him and loved him. He will certainly be missed.
The Young and the Restless released a statement on Twitter:
Several members of the Young and the Restless sent out Tweets of condolences: