Michelle Stafford Says Goodbye to a Dear Y&R Friend
Casts and crew often become like family, but that is especially true in daytime television where they will work together every day for years and years. So it was particularly difficult for Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) to say goodbye to THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS makeup artist Patti Denney, who is retiring after more than four decades at the soap.
“Last night, we celebrated this gorgeous, amazing, beautiful, exquisite woman,” Stafford enthused on Instagram. “I am at a loss for words. This woman means so much to me. She has been doing my makeup at Y&R from the beginning. We have gone through so much together. She has had my back. I have had hers. It’s a relationship that I can’t put into words. Even when I wasn’t on the show, we still talked.
“I couldn’t get out of the makeup chair the other day as it was the last time she was doing my makeup at work,” the actress continued. “I couldn’t leave. As an actor, you usually go from job to job. People mean a lot to you during that job but you know it will end. On our show, it’s very particular. We know we’re going to see that person tomorrow. So many people have been there for so long we have truly become a family. Patty is my family. Forever.”
Denney began working at Y&R back on April 1, 1980, and her very last day at the studio was on July 1, 2022. In 1996, Mel Stetson joined the hair department and the pair were married 26 years later on June 27, 2022! “Marry on Monday, retire on Friday!” Denney joked on her own Instagram.
“Patti, I will miss you at work but I’m so happy that you are going to be living such a fun life full of new experiences with your incredible Mel,” Stafford declared. “I hope to commission you for a huge painting in my house. I can’t wait to see the new things you create in your life! I love you.”
Denney — who in addition to painting faces, also does beautiful work on canvas — will miss her Y&R family just as much as they are going to miss her. “My heart is breaking,” she admitted, “but I know it’s time. I’ve made lasting relationships that I will always cherish. I’m so proud to have my name attached to the legacy that the Bell Family created in 1973.”
Please join us in wishing Denney all the best as she enjoys her well-earned retirement!
