Kristoff St. John's final episode of 'The Young & the Restless' to be aired in honor of late actor

Two episodes of "The Young and the Restless" this week will be aired in memory of the late Kristoff St. John. One will be his final episode and the other a special tribute.

Following news of his untimely death on Sunday, Kristoff St. John’s show, “The Young and the Restless” announced it will be airing his final episode on Wednesday.

A representative for CBS confirmed it will be the last time fans will see St. John’s character, Neil Winters as the show bids him goodbye. Details of how Winters will exit from the soap were not provided but a special tribute is reportedly set to be aired on Friday too.

HIS MEMORABLE ROLE FOR 28 YEARS

St. John joined the cast of the long-running daytime soap in 1991 as the makeup executive who forged a passionate relationship with Victoria Rowell’s character, Drucilla Winters. He won two Emmy’s out of the nine nominations he earned for the role.

HIS BRIEF HIATUS FROM THE SHOW

Towards the end of 2017, St. John took a four-month long hiatus from the series after he attempted to kill himself. He had been battling mental illness and depression since the suicide of his son, Julian St. John in 2014.

In March 2018, St. John returned to the show though we would learn a few weeks before his death that he was still not over grieving for his son.

HIS SENTIMENTS BEFORE HIS DEATH

His final tweet on January 21 clued in on his torment over his son’s loss. He retweeted a post about coping with the loss of a child which read,

“Grieving the loss of a child is a process. It begins on the day your child passes, and ends the day the parent joins them.”

He replied to the tweet by writing,

“Never a truer word was spoke. Thanks for posting this.”

HIS SUDDEN PASSING

On Sunday, a friend who went to visit him in his home discovered him lifeless. Authorities who responded to the scene believed the 52-year-old died of an alcohol overdose though his actual cause of death has not been confirmed pending further investigation. No foul play was reported.

HIS LEGACY

St. John may have been struggling with his demons but he was a blessing to those whose lives he touched. His CBS family, in a statement after his death remembered him as “a very talented actor and an even better person.” It added,

“He was a beloved friend whose smile and infectious laugh made every day on set a joy and made audiences love him."

One-time co-star Shemar Moore who played his half-brother on “Young and the Restless” was tearful but grateful to St. John for welcoming him on the set. He told People,

“He didn’t have to embrace me the way he did. When I came in and was trying to find my way and he saw how scared I was, he saw how nervous I was.

“He saw my six pack and all that, but he just saw me and he embraced me like a brother. If he hadn’t embraced me, I would have never got my sure footing in the beginning days.”

Many other celebrities paid tribute to him on Twitter revealing the outpour of appreciation for his presence in their lives.

HIS DEVASTATED FIANCE

But one woman who was truly heartbroken by his departure was his fiancé, Ksenia Mikhaleva who was in Russia at the time of his death. The model couldn’t believe what happened and questioned the events in her Instagram story.

“So early…so early. Why are you leave so early? Why…you are always in my heart.”

HIS CHILDREN

St. John is also survived by his two adult daughters, Paris (whose mother is his ex-wife Mia St. John) and Lola (from his other ex-wife, Allana Nadal.)