What happened to Patrick Murphy on The Young and the Restless? Explained

Patrick Murphy was a character on The Young and the Restless played by Michael Fairman. Fairman portrayed Murphy between October 2008 and September 2013. He later made guest appearances in 2014 and 2017 and has not been seen on the show since.

Newly indicted viewers of The Young and the Restless may not be aware of Patrick Murphy. Murphy played the devoted husband of Katherine Chancellor and was part of Genoa City as long as she lived. After her death, he relocated to a lake house and only visited the town occasionally. A 74-year-old Michael Fairman took up the role of Katherine's husband in 2008.

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The Young and the Restless: Who is Patrick Murphy actor Michael Fairman?

Michael Fairman in some of his other roles (Image via Michael Fairman)

Actor Michael Fairman, who portrayed Patrick Murphy on The Young and the Restless, is believed to have started his acting career at the age of 31. Before that, he was in the Air Force, which he joined at a young age. He has a wife and two children in his family. He was also connected to the Church of Scientology for some time.

He was part of many soaps and series before joining The Young and the Restless. Some of the titles that he worked on include Ryan's Hope, Cagney & Lacey, Charlie's Angels, The X-Files, Boy Meets World, Seinfeld, ER, Dharma & Greg, Judging Amy, The Ghost Whisperer, and Sons of Anarchy, to name a few. He also wrote 5 episodes of WKRP in Cincinnati and played a role in the series as well.

Fairman was picked out for his The Young and the Restless role after playing Sterling Grimes in Ordinary Miracles, a 2005 television movie. His portrayal of Patrick Murphy as a grounded and loving husband, a supportive partner who was not overwhelmed by his wife's wealth, has been loved and lauded by the soap's fans.

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A brief history of Patrick Murphy of The Young and the Restless

Murphy was the much-loved husband of Katherine Chancellor (Image via Michael Fairman)

Patrick Murphy, played by Michael Fairman, was introduced in the soap as Marge Cotrooke's friend and a widower who had lost his son to an accident. Marge was a waitress at the diner that Murphy frequented. She was also a Katherine lookalike. So when he helped Marge recover after an accident, he had no idea it was not Marge but Katherine Chancellor.

However, later, when he realized the mistake, he helped Katherine prove her identity despite a memory loss. Soon Katherine regained her memory as the two friends got romantically involved and Murphy proposed to Katherine. The duo married in May 2009.

2010 on The Young and the Restless saw the return of Meggie McClain, a character from Murphy's past. As he recognized her and wanted to warn Victor about her, she sneaked up on him, giving him a heart attack. She kept his medication out of his reach and even injected drugs into his hospital IV to give him a stroke.

Unable to move any body part except his eyelids, Murphy batted his eyelids into a Morse code to inform about Meggie's truth. He revealed that Meggie was his son Francis's wife, who had taken life support off him after the accident and fled with the insurance money. Murphy was able to stop her from stealing Victor's wealth and killing him.

After his recovery, Katherine had a stroke and, later, a brain tumor. Through all her health issues, Murphy took care of and nursed his wife. Then the couple left town to fulfill Katherine's wishes in the summer of 2013.

However, Murphy returned alone with Katherine's remains in an urn. He got letters from Kay for everyone and raised a toast. He sat through when Kay's will was being read, where he received a quarter of her money, his wife's vintage car collection, a cabin on Lake Michigan, and a fishing rod.

Murphy stayed at the place bequeathed by his wife and went fishing. He returned to The Young and the Restless in 2014, asking everyone to celebrate Katherine's first death anniversary with a party. He was again seen in Genoa City when Esther called him over the music box and Kay's mysterious letter left to Jill.

While the loving character is not likely to return to The Young and the Restless since Michael Fairman is 90 years old, the soap continues with its storylines. Tune in to CBS to catch the latest happenings on the soap.