Days of Our Lives characters (1980s)

A list of notable characters from the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives that significantly impacted storylines and debuted between January 1, 1980, and the end of 1989.

Jessica Blake Fallon

Jessica Blake Fallon
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by Jean Bruce Scott
Duration
  • 1980–82
  • 2012
First appearance April 30, 1980
Last appearance September 6, 2012
Created by Nina Laemmle
Introduced by
Classification Former; regular
Profile
Other names Angelique Horton (birth name)
Angel, Angelica (alternate personalities)
Occupation Nurse
Residence Ohio

Jessica Blake Fallon was portrayed by Jean Bruce Scott from April 30, 1980. Scott departed from the series on November 9, 1982. In August 2012, it was announced that Scott would return to the show after nearly a thirty-year absence, airing on August 31 till September 6, 2012.[1][2][3][4]

The character of Jessica is the daughter of Marie Horton and Alex Marshall, granddaughter of Tom and Alice Horton and mother of recent character, Nick Fallon. Jessica suffers from dissociative identity disorder, one of her alters, Angelica, terrorized her mother while the other one Angel became involved with Jake Kositchek, who would later be known as the Salem Strangler, a serial killer. Angel and Jake ran off to Las Vegas to elope, but Jessica came to and called Alex. Marie and Alex rushed to Vegas and stopped the wedding just in the nick of time. Jessica fell apart and was hospitalized.

In 1982 after recovering from her mental problems, Jessica broke off her relationship with Jake and became engaged to Joshua Fallon. Joshua and Jessica married, and eventually left Salem. Offscreen, they had a son named Nick who came to Salem without his parents in 2006.

In 2012, Jessica came to Salem to see Nick, who was in prison for murder and was getting paroled. Nick was put on probation and choice to serve out his probation in Salem, so Jessica left Salem alone. In 2014, Jessica received horrible news that Nick had been murdered, and Julie Olson Williams delivered Nick's body to her and Joshua, so they could bury him. Nick's murderer, Gabi Hernandez, accepted a plea deal and Jessica agreed to it, not wanting the heartache of a trial.

Jake Kositchek

Jake Kositchek
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by Jack Coleman
Duration 1981–82
First appearance June 10, 1981
Last appearance June 1, 1982
Created by Gary Tomlin and Michelle Poteet Lisanti
Introduced by Betty Corday and Al Rabin
Classification Former; regular
Profile
Other names Salem Strangler (serial killer alias)

Jake Kositchek was played by Jack Coleman from June 10, 1981, until June 1, 1982, when the character was written out of the show. After Days, Coleman would later be known as the second actor to play Steven Carrington in the ABC prime time soap opera Dynasty and as Noah Bennet in the NBC science-fiction drama series Heroes and its spin-off Heroes Reborn.

Jake was the younger brother of Chris Kositchek (Josh Taylor), shortly after coming to town he fell in love with Angel, the alternate personality of Jessica Blake Fallon (Jean Bruce Scott). Jake was also briefly involved with Jessica's cousin, Hope Williams (Tammy Taylor). When Jake and "Angel" got engaged and planned to elope in Las Vegas, Jessica's parents Marie Horton (Lanna Saunders) and Alex Marshall (Quinn Redeker) learned of the elopement after Hope discovered Jessica's illness. Marie and Alex arrived in the nick of time to see Jessica reemerge and the wedding be interrupted. Jake was heartbroken after being rejected by Jessica who was going through psychiatric treatment under Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall). Jessica's rejection became the antithesis to Jake's mental breakdown, leading him to become the Salem Strangler, a serial killer who strangled many women to death including Mary Anderson (Melinda O. Fee) and Marlena's twin Samantha Evans (Andrea Hall), who was killed in a case of mistaken identity.

The Salem Strangler storyline was the very first serial killer storyline in the soap's history, and the supposed murder of Marlena at the hands of the killer resulted in one of the first fan campaigns ever.

Eugene Bradford

Eugene Bradford
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by John de Lancie
Duration
  • 1982–86
  • 1989–90
First appearance January 18, 1982
Last appearance January 10, 1990
Created by Pat Falken Smith
Introduced by
Classification Former; regular
Profile
Other names Bettina Lovelcraft
Occupation Inventor
Columnist
Residence New York City

Eugene Bradford was played by John de Lancie from 1981 to 1986 and again in 1989. Also known as Gene and Euge, he went by the pseudonym Bettina Lovecraft while working as a Salem Today columnist.

Eugene was a distant relative of the DiMera family through a prior marriage, and referred to Tony DiMera as a cousin. Prior to marrying Calliope Jones on December 31, 1985, Eugene had been married four other times. Eugene's first two wives were murdered, while his third marriage to Marlena Evans Brady was actually a cover-up (Eugene pretended to be married to Marlena when she was pregnant with Roman Brady's twins; at this time Roman was believed to be dead) and not legal. He later served as the namesake for Roman and Marlena's daughter Samantha Gene.

Throughout the show, Eugene was portrayed as having psychic premonitions, and on a number of occasions they were useful in helping Salem Police and the ISA.

In the last Days episode in which he appeared, he created a time machine type device and used the device. Upon activation, there was a big explosion and Eugene disappeared. He has not been seen on Days since. In 2006, Calliope returned as the fashion designer hired to make Mimi Lockhart's wedding dress. She told all that she and Eugene remain happily married.

Diana Colville

Diana Colville
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by Genie Francis
Duration 1987–89
First appearance April 13, 1987 (1987-04-13)
Last appearance July 21, 1989 (1989-07-21)
Created by Leah Laiman
Introduced by Betty Corday, Ken Corday and Al Rabin
Classification Former; regular
Profile
Occupation

Diana Colville was portrayed by Genie Francis, who was widely known for her three-decade long portrayal of Laura Spencer on ABC's General Hospital.

Actress Genie Francis joined Days of Our Lives in the contract role of Diana Colville on April 13, 1987.[5] In June 1989, Francis announced her decision to depart the series.[6] She last aired on June 21, 1989.

Trista Evans Bradford

Trista Evans Bradford
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by Barbara Crampton
Duration 1983–84
First appearance March 4, 1983
Last appearance March 9, 1984
Created by Margaret DePriest and Sheri Anderson
Introduced by Betty Corday and Al Rabin
Classification Former; regular
Profile
Occupation Nurse

Trista Evans Bradford was played by Barbara Crampton from March 4, 1983. Crampton only lasted in the role for six months when she departed from the series on October 24, 1983, when the character was killed off during the Salem Slasher storyline. Crampton later returned as Trista but only in flashbacks from February 14 to March 9, 1984.

Larry Welch

Larry Welch, played by Andrew Hyatt Masset from 1983 to 1985 and again from 2002 to 2003, was a constant obstacle in Bo and Hope's supercouple love story. Larry blackmailed Hope into marrying him but on the day of the wedding Bo rode in on his motorcycle and kidnapped Hope from the wedding. In 1985, Larry killed Stefano's daughter, Megan, and dumped her body in a hot tub; Hope was the prime suspect. Victor Kiriakis learned the truth and forced Larry to take the fall for the crime syndicate that he was running.

Larry returned in 2002 when he again kidnapped Hope in an attempt to get his revenge on her, Bo and Victor. He was presumed dead after a prison break, but in reality, was helping Nicole in her plans to murder Victor. Larry was hit and killed by a car in early 2003.

Ilya Petrov

Ilya Petrov was portrayed by Kai Wulff from 1983 to 1986 and for a few episodes in 1991. With the exception of Bart and Rolf, Petrov is the most well known henchman of Stefano. In comparison to Bart, he mostly succeeded and completed his assignments. Petrov assisted Stefano in a few of his many schemes. When Stefano kidnapped Marlena Evans & Liz Chandler in early 1983, Petrov was the one who kept an eye of them so they wouldn't escape. He then had small assignments in Stefano's devilish Salem Slasher plot. When Stefano had to escape after some failures of both himself and André DiMera, Petrov was already in the car. But Roman and Abe were ready as well and chased them. After struggling to shake off the police, and a drunk Alex Marshall caused some problem, the car drove off a bridge and fell down into a river. Alex was found but neither Petrov or Stefano.

A few months later, Stefano was seen very much alive looking for the three prisms, and soon Petrov was seen taking orders from Stefano. He kidnapped Hope Williams for Stefano in an attempt to faster lure Roman into Stefano's trap. He also got instructions from Stefano on how to activate the volcano. After locking up a noisy Shane Donovan, he fulfilled his orders and activated the volcano successfully.

In late 1985-early 1986, Petrov was seen in Miami, representing Stefano in a three-way wager with Victor Kiriakis and corrupt ISA chief George Nickerson, with the stakes being the "The Purse (provided by Victor, which turned out to be clues to the locations of (1) a set of stolen U.S. Treasury engravings which were hidden in 1979 in Stockholm, and (2) a priceless Mayan treasure that could only be located during a specific astronomical event in 1991), The Power (provided by the ISA, a codebook with information that ostensibly gave the holder total immunity from every intelligence and law enforcement network in the world), and the Pawn (a "most formidable and dangerous man" controlled by Stefano, at the time believed to be the missing-and-presumed-dead Roman Brady but later retconned into the separate character of John Black)."

In 2015, John Black embarked on an ISA-assisted quest to unravel the mysteries of his heretofore unknown past, including his parentage, once and for all. This coincided with the show's 50th anniversary. An important scene showed John viewing an ISA computer file on Petrov, which expanded his story to reveal that he was a Cold War-era Soviet agent who defected to the West, and became at one point a teacher at a private school in Vermont called Winterthorne around the time he became one of Stefano's henchmen. Winterthorne was later revealed to be a "front" for a secret training facility for assassins, run by an as-yet-unnamed agency. Hints and spoilers dropped around this time indicated that Petrov would figure greatly in unraveling the mysteries of John's origins and past.

Calliope Jones Bradford

Calliope Jones Bradford
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by Arleen Sorkin
Duration 1984–90, 1992, 2006, 2010
First appearance June 29, 1984
Last appearance May 14, 2010
Created by Margaret DePriest and Sheri Anderson

Calliope Jones Bradford was played by Arleen Sorkin from 1984 to 1990, 1992, 2001, 2006 and 2010[7]

Calliope came to Salem in 1984.[8] She was employed in Liz Curtis's clothing business and her first scenes featured her making a dress for Anna DiMera. One of her trademarks was her endless collections of hats, which were very creative and sometimes very outlandish. However, Calliope soon came to possess a diamond necklace which was originally owned by Daphne DiMera. She claimed it as her own, but didn't realize that Stefano DiMera was after it, for it contained one of three prisms he was after. Her white lie unknowingly thrust her into a major storyline.[8]

Calliope went on to co-host a daytime talk show with Jennifer Horton-Deveraux. The show was a success, but Calliope would eventually turn over the show over to Jennifer and leave town. However, since her departure in 1990, Calliope has visited Salem several times.

In 2006, Calliope returned to town as a successful wedding planner. Although hired to plan her good friend Marlena’s wedding to Alex North, she was also able to help Shawn-Douglas Brady and Mimi Lockhart with theirs, despite normally being booked two years in advance. Still eccentric, Calliope butted heads with Mimi’s mother Bonnie Lockhart, a fellow eccentric, but with a different wild taste. During her trip, Calliope also commented Eugene was doing just fine and she was now living in New York City.

Calliope briefly returned in 2010, when she was hired by Rafe Hernandez to collect evidence to prove that Anna Dimera was hired by EJ to kidnapped Sami and EJ's daughter Sydney Dimera.

Harper Deveraux

Harper Deveraux
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by Joseph Campanella
Duration
  • 1987–88
  • 1990–92
First appearance May 8, 1987
Last appearance April 22, 1992
Created by Leah Laiman
Introduced by Betty Corday, Ken Corday and Al Rabin
Classification Former; regular
Profile
Other names Riverfront Knifer (serial killer alias)
Occupation Senator

Harper Deveraux was played by Joseph Campanella on a recurring status May 8, 1987. On May 10, 1988, Campanella was upgraded to contract status when Harper was revealed to be the Riverfront Knifer, a serial killer who murdered women in Salem including Janice Barnes (Elizabeth Storm) and Grace Forrester (Camilla More). Among his other victims, Eve Donovan (Charlotte Ross), Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans), Kimberly Brady (Patsy Pease) and several others managed to survive. Campanella briefly the departed the role on July 5, 1988, when he was downgraded back to recurring from August 9, 1988 until October 21, 1988. Campanella later returned as Harper one last time to thwart the second wedding of Steve Johnson and Kayla Brady and later in visions had by his adopted son Jack from March 9, 1990 to April 22, 1992.

Andrew Donovan

Andrew Donovan
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by
  • Robert Eliot Canko (1986–88)
  • Brandon Ambar (1988–89)
  • Sky Rumph (1989)
  • Justin Page (1989–90)
  • Bradley Pierce (1990–91)
  • Brian Davila (1991–92)
Duration
  • 1986–92
  • 1996–97
First appearance May 16, 1986
Last appearance December 24, 1997
Created by Sheri Anderson, Thom Racina, and Leah Laiman
Introduced by Betty Corday, Ken Corday and Al Rabin
Classification Former; recurring
Profile
Other names Teddy Stewart

Andrew Donovan was portrayed by several child actors including Bradley Pierce, later known for his role in movies such as Jumanji and Beauty and the Beast, until the character left the series in 1992, with further guest appearances in both 1996 and 1997. Andrew is the eldest son of supercouple Shane Donovan and Kimberly Brady (Charles Shaughnessy and, most prominently, Patsy Pease).

Shane Donovan

Shane Donovan
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by Charles Shaughnessy
Duration 1984–92, 2002, 2010, 2012–13
First appearance July 31, 1984 (1984-07-31)
Last appearance November 20, 2013 (2013-11-20)
Created by
Introduced by
Classification Former; recurring
Profile
Occupation Retired ISA Agent
Residence Los Angeles, California

Shane Donovan is an agent of the ISA and husband to Kimberly Brady Donovan.[9] Donovan and Brady were a supercouple.[10]

In 1984, Shane came to Salem to keep an eye on Stefano DiMera's illegal dealings. He posed as Larry Welche's butler, and eventually learned of Stefano's acquisitions of two of three rare prisms designed by Larry's father. Shane teamed up with Bo, and the two intended on taking Stefano down. Later that year Shane learned that Stefano was about to acquire the third and final prism through a Russian ice skating troop that came to town. Hope and Bo got the prism from the troop, but after a long chase with Stefano's men the prism ended up embedded in the ice rink.

Shane returned to Salem briefly in the winter of 2002 when Hope was kidnapped by Larry Welch.

Shane later returned in 2010 and was revealed to have been held prisoner in a South American prison while on assignment with the ISA. Shane escaped with the help of Rafe and both returned to Salem in time for Alice Horton's funeral. Shane reconnected with Kimberly, who was in town for Alice's memorial service, and admitted that he wanted his future with her and the family and not with the ISA. Shane and Kimberly reunited and moved to LA to be together as a family.

In July 2013, Jeannie appeared in Salem having dropped the name and instead uses her middle name, Theresa. She worked at the hospital as Jennifer Horton's assistant and then in Human Resources as the assistant to Anne Milbauer.

Eve Donovan

Eve Donovan
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by
Duration
  • 1987–91
  • 2014–16
First appearance July 16, 1987 (1987-07-16)
Last appearance February 2, 2016
Created by Leah Laiman
Introduced by
Classification Former; regular
Profile
Other names
  • Eve Baron
  • Eve Larson
Occupation
Residence

Eve Donovan was portrayed by actress Charlotte Ross, until her exit in 1991. In June 2014, the character returned, this time portrayed by actress Kassie DePaiva. Introduced as a prostitute, Eve is the daughter of Shane Donovan (Charles Shaughnessy) and Gabrielle Pascal. She is also the half-sister of Andrew Donovan IV and Theresa Donovan (Jen Lilley). Upon her return in 2014, she made an immediate connection with Dr. Daniel Jonas (Shawn Christian) and reunited with her daughter Paige Larson (True O'Brien). In September 2015, DePaiva was let go from the soap.[11]

Alexander Kiriakis

Alexander Kiriakis
Days of Our Lives character
Portrayed by Jonathan Thornton
Duration 1989–91
First appearance February 21, 1989
Last appearance February 5, 1991
Created by Leah Laiman
Introduced by Ken Corday and Al Rabin
Classification Former; recurring
Profile
Residence Phoenix, Arizona

Alexander Kiriakis was portrayed by child actor Jonathan Thornton.

Alexander was conceived during an affair with Justin Kiriakis (Wally Kurth) and Anjelica Deveraux (Jane Elliot, Shelley Taylor Morgan, Judith Chapman), when Justin was separated from his wife Adrienne Johnson (Judi Evans). Alexander was originally thought to be Harper Deveraux's (Joseph Campanella) son, before Anjelica realized that Harper was sterile, and couldn't be the baby's father. Even then, she lied to Justin about the child's paternity and she married Neil Curtis (Joseph Gallison) in hopes of giving her child a name. Victor Kiriakis wanted Angelica to marry him so he could use the baby as his heir, but she refused him. Neil planned on adopting Alexander as his own, but the adoption never went through because Anjelica realized she had a chance with Justin, and told him that Alexander was his son. Justin put her and Alexander up in a penthouse of their own, complete with a nanny, J.J. Bagwood (Patti Johns), because she knew that there was no way Justin would let his ruthless uncle raise his son.

Angelica tried to use Alexander to split up Adrienne and Justin, and she almost succeeded by telling Justin that Adrienne had faked a pregnancy of her own to hold onto him. Justin and Adrienne still remained in love and Anjelica decided to get Adrienne out of the picture once and for all, and hired Hank Tobin (John Lavachielli, Ron Kuhlman, Rick J. Porter) to bomb the site that Adrienne's construction company was working on. Tobin had an attack of conscience at the last minute, and lost his own life saving Adrienne's. When Justin learned the truth behind the bombing, Angelica fled town with Alexander. The two were presumed dead in a plane crash and Justin and Adrienne found their way back to each other.

Alexander was finally reunited with his father in 1991, when Johnny Corelli found him and Anjelica, when it was revealed they switched flights before the crash. Anjelica had a miraculous change of heart and agreed to let Johnny take Alexander back to Salem, where he was reunited with his father and stepmother. Justin and Adrienne soon took Alexander to Dallas, Texas, with his adopted twin brothers Joey Kiriakis (Loren Mead, Jacob Iorio) and Victor Kiriakis II (Candace Mead, Benjamin Iorio). Soon after they arrived in Texas, Adrienne gave birth to his younger half-brother, Jackson "Sonny" Kiriakis (Freddie Smith).

Although never shown on-screen, Alexander returned to Salem in 2007 with his parents and brothers, where he attended Salem High School. His time in town was short lived, however, and by January 2008 the entire family moved again - this time to Dubai. In 2009, Sonny revealed that Alexander had a difficult time at first accepting when he first came out as gay. In 2015, Alexander was revealed to be living in Arizona when Sonny was going through troubles with his husband Will Horton (Guy Wilson) and he went to visit him.

Henderson

Henderson is Victor's butler. Ron Leath is the actor who plays Henderson. He is routinely seen answering the door and serving meals in the Kiriakis mansion. He is extremely loyal to Victor Kiriakis.[12]

Kristina Andropolous

Kristina is the sole daughter of Teodor Andropolous. The Andropolous were wealthy neighbors, business partners, and friends of the Kiriakis. Thus, She grew up in the Greek island of Naphleon along with Justin Kiriakis, and she even attended the same Swiss boarding school as he. Kristina and Justin had always been fierce rivals in everything they did, but at the same time kept a very close relationship that turned into a high school romance. After they graduated, they went their separate ways. Kristina eventually became a savvy business woman, as her father prepped her to take over the helm of the Andropolous business.

Vern Scofield

Vern Scofield, played by Wayne Heffley from 1988 to 1993 and again in 2002, 2003, and 2006, raised three children (Brian, Tanner, and Cassie) after the death of his wife. Vern's primary role was to be Jack's right-hand man at the Spectator and supported Jack's relationship with Jennifer. Vern began dating Jo Johnson, Jack's mother, in 1999 when both characters left the canvas. In 2002, it was revealed that Vern and Jo had married and were still living in Salem. They returned for Jack's "funeral" in 2003 and later for Jack and Jennifer's wedding and farewell in 2006.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Lewis, Errol (August 13, 2012). "Jean Bruce Scott Returns to ‘Days of our Lives’ After 30 Year Absence". Soap Opera Network. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  2. ↑ Lewis, Errol (August 14, 2012). "DAYS Casting: The Deaths, The Long Awaited Returns and the Beginning of Love?". Soap Opera Network. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  3. ↑ Giddens, Jamey (August 29, 2012). "Days of Our Lives SPOILERS: Jessica Fallon Returns to Save Nick!". Daytime Confidential. Zap2it. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Days Of Our Lives Comings And Goings". Soaps She Knows. Atomic Online. September 1, 2012.
  5. ↑ Newcomb, Roger (April 13, 2015). "Today in Soap Opera History (April 13)". We Love Soaps. Blogger. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Genie Francis` `Days` Are Over". Chicago Tribune. June 4, 1989. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Arleen Sorkin Returns to Days | SOAPnet". Sn.soapnet.go.com. 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  8. 1 2 "Days of our Lives : Behind the Scenes". Sonypictures.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  9. ↑ "About DAYS: Who's Who in Salem | Shane Donovan | Days of our Lives @". Soapcentral.com. 1987-05-04. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  10. ↑ Gaudas, John N. (1991-02-24). "Patsy Pease is keeping the peace on 'Days'". Gadsden Times. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  11. ↑ Deese, Hollie (September 15, 2015). "Kassie DePaiva to exit Days of our Lives". Soaps SheKnows. United States: SheKnows Media. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Ron Leath: Returning to Days of Our Lives - TV Fanatic". Thesoapdispenser.com. 2008-03-16. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  1. ↑ Eve revealed during a conversation with Paige, in 2014, that she and Frankie were once married outside of Salem.
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