‘Bold and the Beautiful’ John McCook ,79, Retiring Soon?

Bold and the Beautiful star John McCook has had fans on the edge of their seats as Eric Forrester seemed to be losing his health battle. In the beginning, his hand tremors seemed to be no big deal but when he began coughing up blood, many feared the end was near for beloved Eric. However, thanks to Dr. John “Finn” Finnegan (Tanner Novlan) he barely escaped death. The lifesaving surgery may have saved him for now but as John grows older, is he actually retiring soon? Keep reading to find out more about this near-death experience for Eric and whether he will be leaving anytime soon.

Is John McCook retiring soon?

Bold and the Beautiful actor John McCook has been playing the role of Eric Forrester since the soap debuted in 1987. Many believe his grim prognosis at the end of the year was him saying goodbye to his role. In fact, producers even hinted there was some big emotional things happening on the show and shared a portrait of Eric on that post.

However, Eric Forrester has lived to see another day. Thanks to the work of Finn, he pulled through. His fate is still up in the air though as his family isn’t sure how he will adjust to his new life if he can’t return 100% to himself.

Eric Forrester is claiming in age as is John McCook. Since John is now 79 years old, is he thinking about packing it up and retiring soon?

John McCook-Eric Forrester-Jennifer Gareis-Donna Logan-YouTube

According to a recent interview, John has no plans to call it quits. He’s very passionate about his character on the soap. John said, “From my point of view, I’ll be working right up until they drag me out of here. I celebrate, privately, every day that I have this job. It’s fun, it’s creative, I like the people that I work with. After my lovely wife and wonderful children, it’s the next thing that I’m grateful for — this job and the work that I’m fortunate enough to get to do.”

John continued saying, “I joke that one day, they’re going to have to call my wife and say, ‘Come get him!’ because until I can no longer remember lines or have some kind of physical limitation, I have no reason to stop working!”

So, it looks like as long as they’ll have him, Eric Forrester isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

John McCook-Eric Forrester-YouTube

How he feels about this past storyline that nearly killed him

Woman’s World caught up with John McCook to chat about his storyline that nearly sent his character to his grave. He looks back on all his Bold and the Beautiful storylines and loves them all. He feels each of them has been a blessing to him.

Even John was worried though when he first read the script for Eric and saw he was coughing up blood. He said, “I had a real Saturday Night Live moment, months and months ago, when I opened the script and it said, ‘Eric coughs blood into his handkerchief. I immediately called [our executive producer] Brad Bell, asking ‘What’s the word on the street? What’s going on here?’”

He is glad he survived this terminal illness but loved playing the role throughout this storyline.

One thing was missing though, he believes it would have been great to have Stephanie Forrester return as a ghost and tell him he wasn’t going to die.

John McCook says he can’t wait to see what is next for Eric Forrester.

Stay tuned for more updates.