Brad Carlton's Tragic Death On The Young And The Restless

Many soap opera fans recognize Don Diamont as Bill Spencer, one of the staple characters on "The Bold and the Beautiful." But prior to his start on that CBS soap, Diamont spent almost 25 years portraying Brad Carlton on "The Young and the Restless." Previously seen as Carlos Forenza on "Days of Our Lives," Diamont slowly worked his way to becoming a fan favorite on the soap. That's why viewers were shocked and confused when Diamont was fired from "The Young and the Restless" and Brad suddenly died in a tragic accident in 2009, per Soaps In Depth.

Brad was first introduced on "The Young and the Restless" as the Abbott family gardener who took an interest in Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland). They got married after Brad was given a job at Jabot Cosmetics, but he had an affair with Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman) while Traci was away. Brad continued to jump from one relationship to another, but most of the time he returned to Traci; they even had a daughter together during their second marriage, Colleen Carlton (Tammin Sursok). Despite Brad's legacy left on "The Young and the Restless," both his and Colleen's stories would end in similar tragedies.

Shortly before his death, Brad was married to Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) and expecting a baby with her, but he was also having an affair with Sharon Newman (Sharon Case). After Victoria found out about the affair, she miscarried and divorced Brad. With their businesses feuding, Sharon and Brad's relationship was on the rocks, but he followed her to the Abbott cabin and told her that he still loved her. Not ready to move on from her ex-husband, Sharon rejected him. If only Brad had not pursued Sharon so intently.

While he was leaving the Abbott cabin after confronting Sharon, Brad heard someone screaming. It turned out to be Sharon's son, Noah Newman (then Kevin Schmidt) who had fallen through the frozen lake while ice skating (via Soap Central). Wanting to help, Brad stopped and pulled Noah from the ice, saving his life. Unfortunately, Brad wasn't so lucky. He fell through the ice and drowned. Brad appeared one more time on-screen after his death when his daughter Colleen also drowned and his spirit comforted her as she died. It was sudden and tragic, and fans were not happy with how his character was written out.

As unhappy as some were at Brad's fate on "The Young and the Restless," the actor himself doesn't harbor any hard feelings after his exit from the soap. In a short interview after he had finished his run on the show, Don Diamont addressed his departure, how he felt about leaving after such a long run, and what he would miss most about being on the show.

"I have nothing but gratitude for the show," he told Savannah Morning News. "It's been a wonderful experience in every way, and I'm just going to miss a lot of the personal relationships as far as the show is concerned."

Fans didn't have to be upset for too long, though; soon after leaving "The Young and the Restless," Diamont was cast as Bill Spencer on "The Bold and the Beautiful" and has become another fan favorite on that soap, building his legacy as one of the most talented daytime actors on television.