Peter Bergman has been in the business of television for a long time! He got his daytime start on All My Children back in 1979, then made the jump to take over the role of Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless in 1989 — where he’s been ever since! He’s done stints on Kojak, popped up on The Nanny and has a role in the new AppleTV show Pluribus. But there is one role, in particular that shifted not just his life, but his kids’ life, too!

When Bergman was on Soapy with The Bold and the Beautiful‘s Rebecca Budig (Taylor) and Days of Our Lives’ Greg Rikaart (Leo), he explained that unemployed for just eight days between All My Children and Young & Restless. “Eight tough days,” he joked. “I mean, I want credit for that!”

And in between that, Budig brought up was one of the most famous TV commercials of all time. We’ve all probably joked about the phrase, “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV,” but Bergman was the one who got to deliver it! The original commercial began in 1984 with another famous daytime face delivering the line: General Hospital‘s Chris Robinson, who played Dr. Rick Webber. Then in 1986, Bergman took his crack at it while, he clarified, he was still on All My Children, playing Dr. Cliff Warner!

That commercial he proudly shares, put his kids through college. And that’s not hyperbole. “That literally did put my kids through college,” Bergman explained. “That was nuts! That was the old days of commercials. And you’d get a check in the mail that said the air date. So it would say, you know, ‘June 10th, June 14th, June 16th…’ I would get checks from Vick’s that said ‘June 10, June 10, June 10, June 10, June 10, June 10, June 10, June 11, June 11, June 11, June 11, June 11’ — they would just go on and on!”

The commercial ran all the time, which is why it’s become such a cultural touchstone. And it was, Bergman said, just one day of work for him.

It wasn’t all fun and games, though, Bergman cautioned Well, it was for some people! “For a while, it was a really good joke for lots of people,” he laughed wryly. “I remember Marielle was pregnant with Connor and we were sitting in bed watching… I don’t know what.” A comedian came on and did a bit along the lines of, “‘Oh, and these commercials with these celebrities… This guy: I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV. I’ve watched you on TV. You’re not very good on TV either!’”

Well, the jokes on that comedian because 40 years later, Bergman’s kids went sailing through college and he’s been in daytime for nearly 50 years — 36 of those on Young & Restless! And don’t worry, we wouldn’t dream of writing this story without a little blast from the past with the commercial istelf!