Andy Richards (Y&R)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Andrew 'Andy' Richards was a fictional character in the American soap opera The Young and the Restless. He was played from 1981 to 1987 and from 2002 to 2003 by Steven Ford, the son of former U.S. president Gerald Ford and his wife Betty.

[edit] Character

In the 1980s, Andy worked as a partner in the Paul Williams Detective Agency, and originally dated Nikki Reed (Melody Thomas Scott).

In 1982, Andy began seeing Jill Foster (Brenda Dickson). Jill liked Andy, but was not content with the wages that he earned. She attempted to convince him to take a higher-paying job, and he eventually proposed marriage to her. Jill reluctantly agreed, but was horrified to learn that his plan was for them to move into his mother's old house to save on expenses. Andy broke off their engagement when Jill began getting closer to Jabot Cosmetics tycoon John Abbott (Jerry Douglas).

In 1984, Andy met, fell in love with and married Diane Jenkins (Alex Donnelley). They divorced two years later. Andy then set his sights on mysterious singer Faren Connor (Colleen Casey). The two became close, but Andy's friend Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman) was suspicious of Faren. Faren eventually confided in Andy that she had severe amnesia and could not remember anything about her past or true identity. A concerned Lauren convinced a wary Diane to reconcile with her ex-husband, but Andy wanted nothing more than a friendship with Diane. Andy married Faren, and Lauren reluctantly gave the couple her blessing.

Lauren put a personal ad in the newspaper, determined to find out about Faren's past. A man named Evan Sanderson (John Shearin) answered the ad and revealed that Faren was really his missing wife, and the mother of his daughter Betsy (Conci Nelson), Michelle. Faren didn't remember her husband or her daughter. Evan accepted his wife's amnesia and prepared to return home, just as Faren's memory returned. Faren reconnected with Evan and Betsy, but Evan was shot dead by his housekeeper and former lover, Janet.

Andy moved to Pittsburgh with Faren and Betsy. Andy returned alone, having divorced Faren, fifteen years later, and again worked with Paul Williams (Doug Davidson) for a while, before leaving Genoa City again.