Snapper Foster
| Snapper Foster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Young and the Restless character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by |
William Gray Espy (1973–75, 2003) David Hasselhoff (1975–82, 2010) |
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| Duration | 1973–82, 2003, 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | March 26, 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | June 21, 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | William J. Bell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | William Foster, Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Physician Founder of a free clinic in Genoa City Resident at Genoa City Memorial Hospital Intern at Genoa City Memorial Hospital Graduate of Genoa City Medical School |
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| Residence | London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Father | Bill Foster |
|---|---|
| Mother | Elizabeth Foster |
| Brothers | Greg Foster |
| Sisters | Jill Foster Abbott (adoptive) |
| Wife | Chris Brooks Foster (1974–) |
| Sons | Chuckie Roulland |
| Daughters | Jennifer Foster |
| Uncles | Bruce Henderson |
| Aunts | Regina Henderson |
| Nephews |
Phillip Chancellor III (adoptive) Billy Abbott (adoptive) |
| First cousins | Mark Henderson Lorie Brooks |
| Other relatives |
Chance Chancellor (adoptive) Cordelia Abbott (adoptive) Johnny Abbott (adoptive) Katie Newman Abbott (adoptive) |
Snapper Foster is a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. An original character since the show's inception, the role was played by William Gray Espy from March 26, 1973 to July 1975, and David Hasselhoff from 1975 to May 1982. Espy briefly reprised the character from February 28, 2003 to March 5, 2003, and Hasselhoff briefly reprised the role from June 15–21, 2010.
With The Young and the Restless originally conceived as focusing on two core families, the wealthy Brookses and the poor Fosters, Snapper was designed as the oldest son of the latter. As a student going through medical school, the character was given the nickname "Snapper" because of his personality of quickly snapping on people that he disagrees with.
Since show co-creator William J. Bell wanted to hire relatively unknown actors for his original cast,William Gray Espy was eventually selected to portray Snapper. Espy played the character for about two years before leaving the show in 1975.
Then-unknown actor David Hasselhoff was picked to replace Espy. Snapper would be Hasselhoff's first major TV role. He spent six years playing the character before leaving The Young and the Restless in 1982 to star in the TV show Knight Rider. Hasselhoff's decision to quit the soap opera was one of the major factors that led to Bell phasing out the Foster family (sans the youngest sibling Jill) and turning the focus to relatively newer characters like Victor Newman.
Espy reprised Snapper for a few episodes in 2003, revolving around a storyline where his sister Jill discovers that she was actually adopted by the Fosters as a child. Hasselhoff would then later be invited back to play Snapper again for a few episodes in 2010. Reacting to the invitation, he said:
As the series opened up in 1973, 24-year-old medical student Snapper Foster was juggling his feelings for two women: Chris Brooks the daughter of newspaper mogul Stuart Brooks; and Sally McGuire, a waitress who worked at Pierre's.
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