WATCH: DAYS actors handpick their absolute favorite moments from 50 years of history

Posted Friday, October 23, 2015 12:15:26 PM
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WATCH: DAYS actors handpick their absolute favorite moments from 50 years of history

In celebration of Days of our Lives' upcoming 50th anniversary, stars of the NBC soap have handpicked select scenes from over the years that represent some of the moments they're most proud of.

With nearly 50 years of storylines and moments to choose from, it seems almost impossible to name one favorite Days of our Lives moment. But in celebration of the NBC soap's upcoming golden anniversary, several of the show's most popular stars have tried.

SUZANNE ROGERS

Suzanne Rogers looked back on her 42 years as Maggie Kiriakis and chose a 1974 scene in which her alter ego had surgery on her legs to repair a disability. The scene includes a very romantic visit from her soul mate, Mickey Horton (John Clarke), and won Rogers an Emmy -- the first ever in the newly created Supporting Actress category.

"Mickey had promised Maggie that, if she got out of that hospital bed and was able to walk, he would take her dancing -- and he gave her a beautiful pair of red shoes to get her motivated," Rogers told TV Insider of the scene. "I think that's when the audience fell in love with Maggie. Mickey was established from the beginning of the show -- the fans adored him -- and suddenly he has amnesia and he's in love with this crippled girl who lived on a farm. Would Maggie be accepted by the viewers? Those were the days when the show was just half an hour long and only had a core group of actors, maybe 10 or 12. It was really rare to bring on anyone new. In fact, a new face on DAYS was a very big deal!"

STEPHEN NICHOLS

Stephen Nichols looked back on his time as Steve "Patch" Johnson and chose a 1986 scene in which Steve was badly wounded and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) took off his famous patch to clean his face.

"She wants to take care of him -- which means touching his face and taking off that patch -- but he's thinking, 'Oh, no you don't! Back off, baby! You're not looking under there! Nobody looks under there!'" the actor recalls. "But Kayla was persistent and what she saw didn't gross her out or make her scream and run. She accepts Steve completely, and there's nothing more romantic than that."

As fans may recall, the camera never actually showed what was under the patch. "The producers would never go for anything gory or grisly, or showing the eyelid sewn shut or anything like that," Nichols says. "After all that mysterious buildup, it would have to be something pretty horrible. Better that we used our imaginations. Besides, that scene was all about Kayla's reaction to what she was seeing. And Mary Beth's performance was -- as always -- absolutely extraordinary."

KRISTIAN ALFONSO

Kristian Alfonso (Hope Brady) looked back on her 32 years with the NBC soap and wasn't able to choose just one clip. "I have been blessed with so many incredible storylines over the years," Alfonso says. "I just can't narrow it down to one."

Thus, she chose three: the 1984 scene of Hope and Bo (Peter Reckell) at Oak Alley Plantation, her 1998 Princess Gina scenes, and Zack's death in 2006. "I consider [them all] a great gift," she says.





BRYAN DATTILO

Meanwhile, Bryan Dattilo was able to narrow down his favorite scene, and it looks like the 1999 scene in which his alter ego, Lucas Roberts, saves Sami (Alison Sweeney) from death row takes the cake.

"It was the first time DAYS gave me anything serious to do," Dattilo recalls. "I had to be super-dramatic in front of most of the cast and I really wasn't sure if I could pull it off. Up until then, I was the funny guy with the one-line zingers, the amateur who occasionally managed to steal a scene... I remember getting that script and seeing Lucas' lines -- 'I did it! I killed Franco!' -- and thinking, 'Man, this is great!' But my next thought was, 'Damn, I hope this confession doesn't mean I'm leaving the show!' But Lucas couldn't let Sami die. She was the love of his life and she always will be."

MELISSA REEVES

Melissa Reeves (Jennifer Horton) refused to narrow down her favorite scene, instead choosing three like Alfonso: the 1986 Horton family Christmas, the 1987 scene of Jennifer and Frankie in the fishing shack, and Jack (Matthew Ashford) and Jennifer making love for the first time in 1990. "So many wonderful memories!" she enthuses.

DEIDRE HALL

Meanwhile, Deidre Hall picked one of the most famous clips from the soap's history: when her alter ego, Marlena Evans, was possessed by the devil. "People might think I picked this scene because the Satan storyline was so incredibly memorable -- and it was -- but I have a much more personal reason," says Hall. "We shot the fire on the day my son, Tully, was born. Just hours before we were supposed to start the scene, his surrogate mother called me and said, 'I'm in labor!' I ran to [executive producer] Tom Langan and said, 'I know you got a church to burn, but I got a baby to birth! How soon can we get this done?'"

Langan was able to juggle the shooting schedule, hoping to capture the inferno in one take. "It was epic," Hall recalls. "We had the fire marshals there, extinguishers at the ready, and everyone but me and the minimal crew were ordered off the stage. So the church goes up in flames, I stand there with my arms spread out in triumph, enjoying the evil glory of it all, and the whole time I'm listening so hard for Tom to say, 'We have it.' I'm, like, 'Tom, please say it, please say it! And finally he does. 'We have it!' And, without missing a beat, I leaped over everything in the way, ran to my dressing room, grabbed my bag, and headed off to the hospital in my fire-retardant clothes. And, yes, I got there in time for the birth of my son. A happy ending!"

KEN CORDAY

And last but certainly not least, DAYS' executive producer, Ken Corday, was asked to share his favorite scene -- and just like Alfonso and Reeves, he had a tough time narrowing it down and chose three, instead. His choices -- Roman (Wayne Northrup) dying in Bo's arms in 1984, Bo and Hope's wedding in 1985, and Patch and Kayla's wedding in 1988 -- were all from the show's golden age in the 1980s.

What has been your all-time favorite DAYS moment? Did any of the stars' picks surprise you? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, on our message boards, or by submitting Feedback.

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