Eric Braeden (born Hans Jörg Gudegast on April 3, 1941) is a German film and television actor, best known for his role as the on-again, off-again villain/hero Victor Newman on the soap opera The Young and the Restless.
Gudegast was born in Kiel, Germany, the son of a Nazi Party official, and emigrated to the USA in 1960. After emigrating, he changed his name to Eric Braeden. While an American citizen, he also considers himself a loyal citizen of Germany, and holds dual citizenship. Braeden has been awarded many German civics awards.
He racked up many TV and film credits during his first two decades in America, most notably a role on the TV series The Rat Patrol (1966-1968), as well as a starring role in the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project (1969).
In 1980, he was offered the role of self-made magnate Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless. He won a Daytime Emmy for his work in 1998. In the late 1990s he played Colonel John Jacob Astor IV in the (1997) movie blockbuster Titanic. He also had a role in the movie Meet the Deedles (1998).
Braeden is also known for his infamous blunder on the 2005 Daytime Emmy Awards broadcast. While attempting to pay tribute to The Young and the Restless co-creator William J. Bell (who had passed away the previous month), Braeden became flustered and paid tribute to himself, saying, "God bless Eric Braeden." The gaffe was recently named by E! Entertainment Television as one of the 101 craziest TV moments of all time.
Braeden's birth name was given to the mountain climber from the pricing game Cliff Hangers by fellow Young and Restless cast member Doug Davidson, who was hosting a syndicated version of The Price Is Right at the time. Said name has never been used on the still-airing daytime The Price Is Right.