Joseph Peter Mascolo (March 13, 1929 – December 8, 2016) was an American musician and dramatic actor. During his long career, he acted in numerous motion pictures and television series. He played villain Stefano DiMera on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's soap opera ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' from 1982 to 2016. He also starred as

Massimo Marone Massimo, also Massimino, and Massimine () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Massimo Agostinelli (Max Agos) (born 1987), Swiss based Italian American artist, entrepreneur and activist *Massimo Ago ...

on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

' soap opera ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

'' from 2001 to 2006.

Early life

Mascolo was born on March 13, 1929, and raised in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The C ...

. His parents, Anna Mascolo (née DeTuccio; 1910–2010) and Peter Mascolo (1901–2008), were immigrants from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and had their 80th wedding anniversary shortly before his father died. Mascolo had one sister, Marie LaVoie. He attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

after graduating high school. Mascolo attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. To support himself financially, he studied acting under famed acting coach

Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher.
''

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He originally was trained in

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Career

Theatre

Mascolo was in the 1962 production of ''Night Life'' as Kazar and the understudy of

Neville Brand Lawrence Neville Brand (August 13, 1920 – April 16, 1992) was an American soldier and actor. He was known for playing villainous or antagonistic character roles in Westerns, crime dramas, and ''films noir'', and was nominated for a BAFTA Aw ...

. He was in the 1966 production of '' Dinner at Eight'' as Ricci. Mascolo was in the 1969 production of ''

The Time of Your Life ''The Time of Your Life'' is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened on Broadway theatre, Broa ...

'' as Blick. His final theatrical appearance was in 1972's ''

That Championship Season ''That Championship Season'' is a 1972 play by Jason Miller. It was the recipient of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. Plot synopsis The setting is 1972 at the Coach's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. O ...

'' as Phil Romano.

Film

Mascolo's first film appearance was in 1968's ''Hot Spur'' as Carlo. He was in 1972's

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

–

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

Shaft's Big Score! ''Shaft's Big Score!'' is a 1972 American blaxploitation action-crime film starring Richard Roundtree as private detective John Shaft. It is the second entry in the ''Shaft'' film series, with both director Gordon Parks and screenwriter Ernest Ti ...

'' as Gus Mascola. Mascolo was in 1973's '' The Spook Who Sat by the Door'' and 1978's ''

Jaws 2 ''Jaws 2'' is a 1978 American thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and co-written by Carl Gottlieb. It is the sequel to Steven Spielberg's ''Jaws'' (1975), and the second installment in the ''Jaws'' franchise. The film stars Roy Scheider as ...

'' as Len Peterson. He was in 1981's ''

Sharky's Machine ''Sharky's Machine'' is a 1981 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Burt Reynolds, who stars in the title role. It is an adaptation of William Diehl's first novel ''Sharky's Machine'' (1978) with a screenplay by Gerald Di Pego. It a ...

'' as JoJo Tipps and 1982's ''

Yes, Giorgio ''Yes, Giorgio'' is a 1982 American musical–comedy film starring Luciano Pavarotti. The film is based on the 1961 novel by Anne Piper. ''Yes, Giorgio'' also stars Kathryn Harrold, Eddie Albert, Paola Borboni, James Hong, Joseph Mascolo, Leon ...

'' Mascolo's last film appearance was in 1986's ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

'' as Baby.

Television

Mascolo was best known in the recurring role of Stefano DiMera on ''

'' from 1982 to 1985, returning briefly in 1988, again from 1993 to 2001, and making appearances again since 2007 until Stefano's death in 2016, making his final appearance on February 9, 2017, airing 2 months after his death, and won three

Soap Opera Digest Awards ''The Soap Opera Digest Awards'', originally known as ''The Soapy Awards'' when introduced in 1977, is an awards show held by the daytime television magazine ''Soap Opera Digest''. History 1977 until 1983 The Soapy Awards were an award presen ...

. He has also played a wide range of roles on many different series including (but not limited to) a Stefano-like villain named Nicholas Van Buren on ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'', and Carlos Alvarez on '' Santa Barbara''. Before achieving his fame, he was seen in the earlier soap operas '' Where the Heart Is'' and ''

From These Roots ''From These Roots'' is an American soap opera that aired from June 30, 1958, to December 29, 1961. It was created and written by Frank Provo and John Pickard. The show was seen on NBC. Storyline Actress Ann Flood starred as Elizabeth "Liz" F ...

''. He also made primetime television appearances on ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

,'' ''

The Eddie Capra Mysteries ''The Eddie Capra Mysteries'' is an American mystery television series starring Vincent Baggetta as a lawyer who investigates murders and has a knack for solving them. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 8, 1978, to January 12, 1979.McNe ...

'', ''

Lou Grant Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character ...

'' and ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator ...

''. Mascolo portrayed

's ''

'' beginning August 2001. He decided not to renew his contract with the show in July 2006, due to a lack of storyline and decided to return to ''

'', where his character Stefano DiMera was resurrected after six years. Mascolo also appeared in ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'' in October 1979, as Mr. Arnold in the episode "Brain Child". 10 years later, he would appear again in

's ''

The Trial of the Incredible Hulk ''The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'' is a 1989 American television superhero film based on the 1978–1982 television series ''The Incredible Hulk'' featuring both the Hulk and fellow Marvel Comics character Daredevil, who team up to defeat Wilso ...

'', as Albert G. Tendelli, a police confidant of Daredevil. He also appeared in an episode of Hart to Hart on 1/3/84 as villan Mr. Rhodes.

Personal life and death

Mascolo married Rose Maimone in 1953. Together they had a son named Peter. Maimone died in 1986. In 2005, he married his second wife, Patricia Schultz. In January 2016, Mascolo told ''

Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional in ...

'' that he had suffered from a stroke in the spring of 2015. "During my rehab, I thought this would be a good time for Stefano to leave." Mascolo died on December 8, 2016, in

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17th ...

at the age of 87 after years of battling

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. Mascolo was interred at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Histor ...

Theatre

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mascolo, Joseph 1929 births 2016 deaths American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors American people of Italian descent Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Male actors from Connecticut People from West Hartford, Connecticut University of Miami alumni Military personnel from Connecticut Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in California