Why Did Ronn Moss Leave ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ as Ridge Forrester?
Bold and the Beautiful‘s classic episodes brought back Ronn Moss as Ridge Forrester. Most fans adored him in the role – and they’re now asking why Ronn left B&B. Here’s what happened behind the scenes that sent the talented actor off the CBS soap – and set a recast in his place that didn’t last.
Bold and the Beautiful Made Ronn Moss a Sensation
Ronn Moss originated the character of Ridge Forrester in 1987 and remained in the role for more than 25 years. In fact, he’s second only to Katherine Kelly Lang, as Brooke Logan, for longest-running on Bold and the Beautiful. As a side note, Susan Flannery ranks third for B&B episodes.
Now, at 66, Ronn Moss is a silver fox, years after we last saw him on the sudser. And for many fans, he remains the Ridge Forrester they prefer and want to see. Thankfully, these rechurned episodes bring him back as Ridge now and then. And this will continue on Bold and the Beautiful for awhile.
After he left as Ridge, Ronn did a few interviews, where he talked about reasons that he left. One of the issues was salary, but there was more than that at play behind the scenes. The Ridge Forrester actor said his primary concern was Bold and the Beautiful fans.
So, why isn’t he still Ridge on the CBS sudser?
I see the original Ridge, my favorite #RonnMoss #BoldandBeautiful pic.twitter.com/8I1a38Xc80
— Mommag045🇻🇮🇦🇬 (@GeraldineWarr3) May 4, 2020
Car Crash Sidelines Actor – Made Working as Ridge Forrester on B&B Too Hard
At the time he left Bold and the Beautiful as Ridge, there was chatter that it was a salary issue and that CBS daytime wasn’t paying him enough to stay. However, in later interviews, Ronn Moss made it clear there was a lot more to it than that. One of the issues was his memory.
Longtime soap fans likely know that soaps shoot at a hectic pace. At Bold and the Beautiful, they shoot dozens of scenes a day. So, actors must memorize up to 50 pages of dialog at a time to keep that pace. For years, that was no issue for Ronn as he played Ridge Forrester.
Then something changed. The actor shared that in 2012, he was in a devastating car accident with his wife. After that, Ronn Moss said he “couldn’t remember sh*t,” and that made it impossible to keep up with the pace at Bold and the Beautiful. So, that also factored into his departure.
Ridge Recast Blindsided Ex Bold and the Beautiful Star
At the time Ronn exited B&B, he told EW that he hoped they didn’t recast and hoped they’d leave Ridge Forrester as his legacy. However, he also admitted it wasn’t up to him. Then, last year, he spoke out about B&B bringing in Thorsten Kaye as a recast for Ridge.
The ex-Bold and the Beautiful actor said he wishes they’d given Thorsten a new role rather than putting him in as Ridge Forrester since he “didn’t have the history.” In the end, the writers pushed nu-Ridge right where Ronn left, and fans remain torn between the new actor and his predecessor.
So, where’s Ronn Moss now and what’s he doing post-Bold and the Beautiful? Well, he’s gotten back to his rock star roots and is touring as a musician. He was a rocker before he was an actor. Check out Ronn in the band Player (in the red shirt) in the Baby Come Back video above.
And watch for more of him in flashback episodes of B&B that continue running during the hiatus.
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