The Young and the Restless' Shemar Moore (Malcolm Winters) has confirmed that he will be departing the show when his contract expires in the spring of 2001. Moore, who joined The Young and the Restless in 1994 after he'd been spotted in a shaving product commercial, will begin to concentrate his career on feature films.

In April, Moore inked a deal with Y&R that would allow him to take time off as needed to pursue other projects. He made the most of that deal and filmed a part in the to-be-released film The Brothers, a film with DL Hughley and Bill Belamy that opens in March. Moore also had a leading part in a sitcom called Celebrity, but no networks picked up the pilot and the show was scrapped. Moore has also been hosting Soul Train.

Moore insists that leaving The Young and the Restless was a difficult decision. "I love playing Malcolm," the actor stresses. However, the heavy workload of daytime television has prevented Moore from doing more outside projects.

In January, Moore will begin rehearsals for The Fabric of A Man, a touring musical that will make stops across the country. Moore jokes that he'll be the only cast member not to belt out a tune -- because he fears that his singing would chase people out of the audience!

At the current time, show execs aren't revealing how Malcolm will be written out of the show or if the role will be recast.

Following are the results of a Y&R Online poll, conducting over the course of several weeks in December 2000 and January 2001.

When Shemar Moore leaves, should Malcolm be recast?

Choice	Votes	Approximate %
No. Shemar Moore is the only Malcolm for Y&R.	1114	51%
Let some time pass to see if Moore will return before...	503	23%
Yes. The character is too vital to write out.	397	18%
Maybe. I can't say until I see a recast's work.	149	7%
Other	30	1%
Total Votes			2193