Six weeks ago, when I was in Los Angeles for the Emmy Awards, a source close to “The Young and the REstless” told me they were letting go of Daniel Goddard. The Australian actor had played Cane Ashby for 13 years. “He doesn’t know it, but he’s out,” this source told me. “They’ve been trying to get rid of him for a long time.”

And now it’s happened. Goddard announced his exit on social media on Tuesday afternoon. I think he was surprised. The only reason I didn’t write it was, it would have been mean. I didn’t want to surprise him myself. Goddard is eminently employable on other soaps, easily. He could go to prime time, too. He won’t have trouble finding work.

Ratings for “Young and the Restless” are slightly up in the most recent report, but that’s relative. They are way down from last year and two years ago. The head of CBS Daytime is gone. As I told you the other day, Drew Barrymore’s CBS talk show is threatening the existence of “Y&R” and “Bold and the Beautiful.” Both shows will be paring down and tightening up to meet new challenges.

In Goddard’s case, he lost two co-stars, Kristoff St. John (who died suddenly this year) and Christel Khalil. Without them, his character was left dangling. He would be a shot in the arm to either “General Hospital” or “Days of our Lives.” One of them will pick him up. As for “Y&R,” they’d better get it together soon.

It’s with a heavy ❤️ that I share the news that I will no longer be part of the cast of the Young & the Restless. I’m as shocked & gutted as u r. I’m forever grateful for my 13yrs in the Y&R family but sadly it seems that without Neil & Lily… there just is no Cane. 💔 #yr pic.twitter.com/YwA0mmIC6u

— Daniel Goddard (@DanielGoddard) October 22, 2019

There was a time when 17 million people tuned in on a Sunday night to see “The Walking Dead.” That time is over.

Now in its 10th season on AMC< the show itself is a zombie, left to walk dead with a fraction of its fans. Who knows why they're still watching it? On Sunday, just 3.5 million watched the show. That was down slightly from the prior week, but off by over a half million people from the first week of this season, which was 4 million. The key demo has dropped each week as well, whittling away from 1.44 to 1.19. Sunday night football has made a big recovery, so that's drawn off viewers. But also, the show should be over. Andrew Lincoln and many other actors are gone. The zombies won, frankly. Now we'll just watch as the numbers drain down over this season to nothing. Listen: fewer people are now watching "Walking Dead" than watch a daytime soap opera or game show.

John Clarke, who played Mickey Horton on “Days of our Lives” from its first episode in 1965 through 2004– 39 years– has died at age 88. The cause of death reportedly is pneumonia.

Clarke is survived by a big family including his daughter, Melinda, who was featured on the TV show ‘The O.C.” Before “Days of our Lives,” Clarke appeared on a lot of classic TV including “The Twilight Zone.”

For playing Mickey, he received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Best Actor, and took home a Lifetime Achievement Award as well.

Mickey Horton was the put upon good guy family lawyer on “Days.” He continually saved everyone’s hide as his family members were constantly getting into trouble. When I was in grade school, I watched “Days” with our housekeeper after I got home from school. All I remember is Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes, still on the show 51 years later) asking “Uncle Mickey” to help her with something or other.

Clarke played the part stoically. His character, though supposedly brilliant, didn’t know he was “sterile” (a word they used used in every episode) and had been cuckolded by his brother and sister-in-law, who’d passed their child off as his. You can imagine why he left the show after four decades!