Diamont joined the cast of ‘The Young and the Restless’ as Brad Carlton in 1985

NEED TO KNOW

• Don Diamont recalls world-class athletes being fans of his soap opera character during the golden age of soaps
• Cal Ripken Jr. used Diamont’s character’s name, Brad Carlton, as an alias while traveling during his record-breaking streak
• Diamont has formed friendships with icons like Muhammad Ali through his soap opera career

Soap star Don Diamont is recounting how some of his biggest fans during “the golden age of soaps” were world-class athletes who used his character’s name when checking in to hotels.

Diamont, 63, spoke to PEOPLE in a recent exclusive interview tied to his more than 40 years on soap operas, sharing, “I’ve just been very blessed. I don’t take it for granted at all.”

“I’ve worked with just such wonderfully, not just talented people, but fun people, bright people, good-hearted people for the most part, with some exceptions,” he added.

Also extraordinary, Diamont notes, are “the people that I’ve met as a result of these shows.”

“Muhammad Ali became a dear friend of mine from this TV event that we ended up doing together. My kids have met princes and presidents and sports figures — just incredible people from different walks of life that have accomplished incredible things in their various industries,” he said.

“Particularly in the golden age of soaps, the reach was just crazy, and athlete-wise, they’d be sitting around all day waiting to play that night. So, they were regular soap opera watchers,” Diamont notes. “I walk somewhere, and Magic Johnson is losing his mind over meeting me, or I get a call that, ‘Hey, Cal Ripken is coming to the set, and he specifically asked to meet you. Can you stick around?’ ”

He continues: “I’m like, ‘Can I stick around? Of course.’ So, Cal and I became friends, and I threw out the first pitch at an Orioles game. I took batting practice with them.”

“You walk into something, you don’t think they’re going to have any clue who you are, and then you’ve got this superstar losing his mind over meeting you,” Diamont — who celebrated 40 years on CBS’ The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful back in 2025 — says. “They’re a big fan of your character.”

Ripken was such a fan, Diamont notes, that the athlete used Diamont’s character’s name as an alias when checking in to hotel rooms.

“During the year of the streak when he was approaching breaking Lou Gehrig’s record, he registered under ‘Brad Carlton.’ Cal registered under my character’s name at hotels so people couldn’t find him,” Diamont adds with a laugh.

Cal Ripken Jr. holds the Major League Baseball record for consecutive games played, playing in 2,632 straight games; he broke Lou Gehrig’s 56-year-old record on September 6, 1995, in a history-making moment.

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Diamont’s first big soap opera acting role came as Carlo Forenza on Days of Our Lives, which he joined in 1984.

He then joined the cast of The Young and the Restless as Brad Carlton in 1985, first leaving the show in 1996, and returning two years later, where he remained on the cast until his character was killed off in early 2009.

Diamont has portrayed Bill Spencer Jr. on The Bold and the Beautiful since 2009.

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