Three months after the untimely death of Young and the Restless actor Kristoff St. John, former co-star Shemar Moore paid tribute to the soap favorite during Sunday's Daytime Emmy Awards.
As Moore walked on-stage to present the award for Outstanding Drama Series, he asked the crowd to bear with him as he went off-script.
"This year, we had to say goodbye to a good man, a great man, a special individual, Mr. Kristoff St. John," he said. "I want to thank CBS. I want to thank The Young and the Restless and I want to thank the cast of The Young and the Restless for honoring him the right way. The tribute that aired this past week on The Young and the Restless, saying goodbye to Kristoff and his character, Neil Winters, was so beautifully, beautifully done. I know Kristoff is proud of all of us."
Moore went on, "He opened the door for so many of us, myself and a lot of you out there. So, as you continue young actors, carry his torch with pride. I have a life, but I don't have this life and I damn sure don't have this career without Kristoff St. John in my life."
He closed his tribute by heralding his mentor as "the most iconic, popular, thorough, professional, talented, big-hearted, generous African-American actor in soap opera history." Check out the tribute below.
