A list of notable characters from the
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 ...
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 ...
'' that significantly impacted storylines and debuted between November 8, 1965, and the end of 1969.
Tony Merritt
Tony Merritt is a character from the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', portrayed by Richard Colla from 1965 to 1966, Don Briscoe in 1966, and Ron Husmann from 1966 to 1967.
Tony was engaged to
Marie Horton
Marie Horton (formerly Merritt and Curtis) is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera, ''Days of Our Lives''. Created by ''DOOL'' creator Ted Corday, actress Maree Cheatham is most recognized in the role, originating it on the debut episode o ...
but suffered from a blood disease that affected his health and decided to leave the night of their wedding believing she wouldn't want to see him suffer and die. When he returned to Salem, Marie had married his father, Craig. He tried to move on and accept Marie's choice. Eventually, he told his father the truth on why he called his wedding and Craig stepped aside to let Marie and Tony have a second chance at love. However, the trust between him and the whole Horton family was gone, so he and Marie ended their relationship and he left Salem later that year.
Craig Merritt
Craig Merritt is a character from the soap opera Days of Our Lives, portrayed by David McLean from 1965-67, and by Harry Lauter in 1966 temporary.
Ben Olson
Ben Olson was a character from ''Days of Our Lives'', who was the husband of
Addie Horton
Addie Horton is a fictional character on the television soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', portrayed by Patricia Huston from November 10, 1965, to March 9, 1966, and Patricia Barry from April 19, 1971, to June 28, 1974. Barry reprised her role as Ad ...
, and portrayed by Robert Knapp.
His significant storyline was in 1965, when Ben and Addie moved to Paris, leaving their daughter Julie behind, and in the care of Addie's parents, Tom and Alice. In 1971, Ben died offscreen from a heart attack, which prompts Addie to return to Salem.
Susan Martin
Susan Martin was originated by
Denise Alexander
Denise Alexander is an American actress, best known for her role as Lesley Webber on ''General Hospital'', a role she originally played from 1973 to 1984 (contract), 1996 to 2009, and a guest stint in 2013, in honor of the show's 50th anniversa ...
from April 14, 1966, to February 6, 1973, when the character was written out of the show temporarily when the casting office hit a snag renewing Alexander's contract and the contract lapsed.
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime programming block on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game ...
rushed to offer her a then-unheard of salary/perks package to join ''
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 ...
'' as
Lesley Webber
Lesley Webber is a fictional character from ''General Hospital'', an American soap opera on the ABC network. Actress Denise Alexander played the role from 1973 through February 28, 1984, as a series regular, and from 1996 to 2009 in a recurring ...
. When Susan finally returned to the show, a new actress,
Bennye Gatteys
Bennye Gatteys (born November 20, 1940) is an American singer and actress who appeared in many anthology television series and soap operas.
Early life
Gatteys grew up in Dallas, Texas. The unusual spelling of her first name is because her paren ...
, played her from April 6, 1973, to October 1, 1976.
Susan was an old high school classmate of
Julie Olson
Julie Olson Williams is a fictional character and member of the Horton family on the NBC daytime drama, ''Days of Our Lives'', a long running serial about working class life in the fictional town of Salem.
The character of Julie was introduced ...
, her storyline involved the first major death when her son Dickie Martin accidentally died in May 1967, which culminated into the first ''Days'' murder, where Susan kills her husband, David Martin.
Sandy Horton
Dr. Sandy Horton is a fictional character on the
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 ...
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
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 ...
''. She is the daughter of Kitty and
Tommy Horton, Jr. and the granddaughter of original characters
Alice
Alice may refer to:
* Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname
Literature
* Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll
* ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
and
Tom Horton
Dr. Thomas Horton is a fictional character and patriarch of the Horton family on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. He was played by Macdonald Carey from 1965 until his death in 1994.
Storylines
Tom Horton was born in 1910, married his w ...
.
The role was originated by Astrid Warner who portrayed the role briefly for two episodes on December 12 and 13, 1967, it was around that time the role was recast with actress
Heather North
Heather May North (December 13, 1945 – November 29, 2017) was an American actress, best known for voicing Daphne Blake in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise.
Early years
North was born in Pasadena, California.
Heather was close with actress and v ...
, the actress who played Sandy for the longest duration from December 20, 1967, to May 21, 1971, and from December 23, 1971 to June 16, 1972. North would later be commonly known being the second and most notable actress to provide the voice of
Daphne Blake
Daphne Blake is a fictional character in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. Daphne, depicted as coming from a wealthy family, is noted for her beauty, orange hair, lavender heels, fashion sense, and her knack for getting into danger, hence the nickna ...
in all incarnations of
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
's ''
Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...
'' Saturday morning cartoon series. In 1982, Sandy was reintroduced to the series with actress Martha Smith, who would play the role for four months from August 12 to December 8. Seven months later, the role was recast, this time with Pamela Roylance. Roylance would only last for about seven months, starting on July 18, 1983, and ultimately leaving on April 11, 1984.
David Banning
David Banning, most notably portrayed by Richard Guthrie (1975–1980) and
Gregg Marx
Gregg Marx (born April 3, 1955) is an American actor known mainly for his work on daytime soap operas.
He first played the role of David Banning on '' Days of Our Lives'' from 1981 to 1983. He then moved to ''As the World Turns'' where he portra ...
(1981–1983), is the son of
Julie Olson
Julie Olson Williams is a fictional character and member of the Horton family on the NBC daytime drama, ''Days of Our Lives'', a long running serial about working class life in the fictional town of Salem.
The character of Julie was introduced ...
(
Susan Seaforth Hayes
Susan Seaforth Hayes (born Susan Seabold; July 11, 1943) is an American dramatic actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Julie Williams on the NBC drama '' Days of Our Lives'', and her intermittent portrayal of Joanna Manning on the CB ...
) and her late lover David Martin.
David Martin, Jr. is born in January 1968 to
Julie Olson
Julie Olson Williams is a fictional character and member of the Horton family on the NBC daytime drama, ''Days of Our Lives'', a long running serial about working class life in the fictional town of Salem.
The character of Julie was introduced ...
(
Catherine Ferrar) and he is immediately put up for adoption. The child is adopted by Scott Banning (
Mike Farrell
Michael Joseph Farrell Jr. (born February 6, 1939) is an American actor, best known for his role as List of M*A*S*H characters#B.J. Hunnicutt, Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series ''M*A*S*H (TV series), M*A*S*H'' (1975–83). Farrell ...
) and his terminally ill wife Janet (Joyce Easton) as Bradley Banning (Chad Barstad).
Susan Martin
Susan Work Martin (born October 24, 1950) is an American academic administrator who was most recently the interim president of San José State University. Previously, Martin served as president of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michig ...
(
Denise Alexander
Denise Alexander is an American actress, best known for her role as Lesley Webber on ''General Hospital'', a role she originally played from 1973 to 1984 (contract), 1996 to 2009, and a guest stint in 2013, in honor of the show's 50th anniversa ...
) befriends the Bannings and often helps care for Janet and baby Brad.
As Susan comforts Scott after Janet's death in early 1969, Julie (
Susan Seaforth Hayes
Susan Seaforth Hayes (born Susan Seabold; July 11, 1943) is an American dramatic actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Julie Williams on the NBC drama '' Days of Our Lives'', and her intermittent portrayal of Joanna Manning on the CB ...
) discovers that Brad is the child she gave up and seduces Scott away from Susan. Though Julie and Scott marry in 1970, by 1971, she's fallen in love with
Doug Williams (
Bill Hayes) and plans to leave Scott but wants to make sure she can retain custody of David (Jeffrey Williams). As Julie is set to divorce Scott in 1972, she plans to elope with Doug and honeymoon in Portofino and wants to bring David along. However, Doug is not interested in parenthood and he spontaneously marries Julie's mother
Addie Olson (
Patricia Barry
Patricia Barry (born Patricia Allen White, November 16, 1921 – October 11, 2016) was an American stage, film, and television actress.
Although Barry has numerous credits performing in stage productions and in films, the majority of her work wa ...
). After Scott's death in early 1973, Julie sends David off to military school.
The 18 year old David (Richard Guthrie) returns in the summer of 1975 with his new girlfriend Brooke Hamilton (
Adrienne La Russa
Adrienne La Russa (born May 15, 1948) is an American actress known for her role as Brooke Hamilton on ''Days of Our Lives'', which she played from 1975 to 1977. Her film career included roles in '' The Black Sheep'' (1968), ''Beatrice Cenci'' ( ...
). Brooke is jealous of David's growing closeness with his mother Julie and to drive a wedge between them, Brooke spread rumors about Julie being unfaithful to his stepfather
Bob Anderson (Mark Tapscott) and potentially being pregnant with Doug's child. David and Julie get into a fight and he runs off and gets into a car accident in which he is presumed dead. David survives and is taken in the Grants where he befriends the daughter
Valerie Grant
Valerie Grant is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and s ...
(
Tina Andrews
Tina may refer to:
People
*Tina (given name), people and fictional characters with the given name ''Tina''
Places
*Tina, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran
*Tina, Tunisia, a town in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia
*Tina, Guadalcanal, Solomon ...
). Meanwhile, Brooke learns she is pregnant with David's baby but refuses to marry him because he is in love with Valerie.
In 2017, it is revealed that David has died in a motorbike accident. It is also revealed that he has another son,
Eli Grant
Eli Grant is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network, portrayed by Lamon Archey. The character made his first appearance on February 23, 2017, and was introduced as the son of established charac ...
, with Valerie.
Mike Horton
Mike Horton is the son of
Laura Horton
Laura Horton is a fictional character from the NBC soap opera, ''Days of Our Lives'', a long-running serial drama about working class life in the fictional, United States town of Salem. Created by writer Peggy Phillips, the role was originated by a ...
, and was named after
Mickey Horton
Mickey Horton is a fictional character from the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', played from the show's debut episode in 1965 until January 2004 by John Clarke, spanning 3,500 episodes. The role was briefly played in 2004 by Richard Voigts, the ...
, who was thought to be his father, though his actual father was
Bill Horton, Mickey's brother. Mike has the honor of being the most recast character in ''Days of our Lives'' history, having been played by sixteen different actors since his character's birth in 1968. He's also been the most
constantly aged and deaged. His most well known (and longest lasting) portrayers were
Wesley Eure
Wesley Eure (born Wesley Eure Loper; August 17, 1951) is an American actor, singer, author, producer, director and educator. He is best known for appearing as Michael Horton on the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' from 1974 to 1981, dur ...
from June 6, 1974, to January 16, 1981,
Michael T. Weiss
Michael Terry Weiss (born February 2, 1962) is an American actor known for his role as Jarod in the television series '' The Pretender''.
Early life
Michael Terry Weiss was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 2, 1962. His father was a steel i ...
from August 8, 1985, to March 1, 1990, and
Roark Critchlow
Roark Grant Critchlow (born May 11, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for starring as Dr. Mike Horton on the American daytime soap opera '' Days of Our Lives'' from 1994 to 1999.
Career
From 1994 to 1999, Critchlow starred on the Americ ...
from April 27, 1994, to November 19, 1999, and June 23 to 28, 2010.
Mike grew up knowing his father as town lawyer Mickey Horton and was as shocked as Mickey was to learn that his true father is the man he thought was his uncle Bill, who drunkenly raped his mother, Dr. Laura Spencer, while she was married to Mickey. Although Mike has become a bit closer to Bill through the years, he still considers Mickey to be his father.
Mike was married for the first time very young to Margo Anderman and his wife died in the summer of 1980 of leukemia. He left town not long after that happened, but later returned and began a residency at Salem University, while looking after his teenage sister,
Jennifer
Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to:
People
*Jennifer (given name)
* Jenifer (singer), French pop singer
* Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer
* Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
* Daniel Jenifer
Film and tele ...
. During this time, he began a relationship with Dr. Robin Jacobs, which was made difficult by their different religions, Robin was devoutly
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and Mike was
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and she wouldn't allow herself to marry inter-faith. Although Mike wanted to convert in order to make the relationship work, he eventually realized that wouldn't be fair to either of them and Robin left town to live in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. Sometime later Mike learned that Robin had given birth to his son,
Jeremy. Mike left Salem in 1990 to join Robin and Jeremy and try to make a family.
In 1994, Mike returned to Salem, it having not worked out between him and Robin. He was soon made chief of staff at Salem University Hospital, over rival Craig Wesley. Craig convinces nurse Ali McIntyre to pursue a relationship with Mike to get the head nurse's job, but when she doesn't get the job she sues Mike and the hospital for sexual harassment. During this, he began an affair with
Carrie Brady Reed, who worked in Public Relations at the hospital. Eventually Carrie's husband
Austin Reed found out, and the two divorced. Mike and Carrie devised a plan to get Ali to admit what she and Craig were planning, but when she figured it out, she drugged and kidnapped Mike. She planned to force him to elope with her, but
Roman Brady
Roman Brady is a fictional character from the long-running NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. The role was originated in 1981 by Wayne Northrop, who played the role until 1984 and from 1991 to 1994, and is currently being portrayed by series ve ...
caught and arrested her. Ali was declared mentally unstable and institutionalized. Mike and Carrie got together officially and left Salem together to return to Israel, as Mike wanted to continue to have a relationship with his son. While off-screen, Mike and Carrie split up and his son Jeremy returned to Salem for a brief period.
Mike returned to Salem in June 2010 when he received news that his grandmother,
Alice Horton
Alice Horton is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', portrayed by Frances Reid from the show's debut on November 8, 1965 until December 26, 2007.
In her role as matriarch of the Horton family, Alice's storylines focus ...
was extremely ill. Mike returned along with many other family members. While on his way to Alice's, he was involved in a car accident and was injured. He was brought to University Hospital where he was treated. His goal was to get better quickly so he could visit his grandmother one last time. Several days later, he received news from Bill and Jennifer Horton that Alice had died. He reminisced about the wonderful times he shared with Alice. Before leaving Salem, he hung up a plaque in the hospital in honor of his late grandmother.
Mike returned in 2022 where he made amends with Nancy Wesley and took Jennifer to rehab after she relapsed in her painkiller addiction.
See also
*
''Days of Our Lives'' characters
*
''Days of Our Lives'' characters (1970s)
*
''Days of Our Lives'' characters (1980s)
*
''Days of Our Lives'' characters (1990s)
*
''Days of Our Lives'' characters (2000s)
*
''Days of Our Lives'' characters (2010s)
*
''Days of Our Lives'' cast members
*
List of previous ''Days of Our Lives'' cast members
Notes and references
{{Days of Our Lives characters, present
1960s
File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...