Wayne Gretzky

Gretzky holds the record for most MVP awards of any player in American professional sports. In the summer of 2004, the show's theme song was changed to give the tune a more majestic feel, but was scrapped after a handful of episodes; the original theme tune was reinstated with no comment from Days publicists. He won nine Hart Trophies, the NHL's most valuable player award, and eight of these were awarded in consecutive years from 1980-1987. Since 1966, the late Macdonald Carey has intoned the legendary epigram "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives." From 1966 to 1994, he would also say, "This is Macdonald Carey, and these are the days of our lives." After Carey's passing, decision was made to remove the second part of the opening, out of respect for Carey and his family. Gretzky's point total including regular season and playoffs stands at an imposing 3,239. As the sun rises, the focus is zoomed out, and the audience sees the entire hourglass. The next closest player in total points for the regular season is Mark Messier at 1,887. In this version, the hourglass starts focus at the bottom-half, overlooking the dawn.

He has the record for most career regular season goals (894), assists (1,963), points (2,857), and hat tricks (50). In 1993, a computerized version of the visual was made, with completely redone sound effects and music. His career regular season stats are equally as impressive. In 1972, the current title lettering was introduced (before then, the show's title was in generic caps). Given that Gretzky was by far the highest scorer of the highest scoring period in the game's history, these playoff numbers appear to be untouchable. In 1966, the focus moved from the entire hourglass to the bottom, with the time trickling away as the theme played. He is the career playoff leader in goals (122), assists (260), points (382), hat tricks (10), and game winning goals (24). Almost completely unchanged since the show's debut in 1965, the titles show an hourglass, as time slowly trickles to the bottom.

His 47 points in 1985 and his 31 assists in 1988 are still records for a playoff year. Days of our Lives has one of the most iconic opening sequences in television history. He had dominated the playoffs like he had dominated the regular season. In the new sitcom Joey, Joey was nominated for "best death scene" in which he was stabbed while performing surgery. During Gretzky's point-scoring streak, he had 61 goals and 92 assists for 153 points. Later, his character was brought back to life in a further spoof on the show (no fewer than thirty-six characters have been "brought back" from the dead on Days). In 1982-83, he had a 51 game point scoring streak that has been compared to Joe DiMaggio's streak in baseball. Joey's fictional stint on the show ended when he angered its writers and his character was killed after falling down an elevator shaft.

He also holds the record for the fastest 50 goals in 50 games or less, which he did in only 39 games and the most goals in 50 games (61, which he did twice). All storylines shown on Friends (with guest shots by actual Days of our Lives stars) were fictional and did not represent what was really going on in the soap opera itself. Some of the more impressive regular season records include most goals in a season (92), most assists in a season (163), and most points in a season (215). Drake Ramoray on the show. He had 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 all-star records. The serial was satirized on the sitcom Friends when one of the principals, Joey Tribbiani (played by Matt LeBlanc), got a job as Dr. Wayne Gretzky held or shared 61 NHL records upon his retirement on the 18th of April, 1999. By the summer and fall of 2005, the soap brought back some of its fan favorites from the 1980s and 1990s including Austin Peck (Austin Reed), Billy Warlock (Frankie Brady) and most recently Christie Clark (Carrie Brady).

For more information and a list of Gretzky's official and unofficial records, see Wayne Gretzky's records.. In recent months the show's producers have begun to focus more on the past as they've shifted focus back onto Jack and Jennifer as well as restocking the Horton family tree by way of SORAS Abby to a teenager and having Patrick and Billie take in Abby (Ashley Benson)'s orphan friend Chelsea Benson (Mandy Musgrave, then Rachel Melvin), in which Bo and Billie found out that Chelsea is their presumed-dead daughter, Georgia Brady. ^[27]. North had been using hypnosis on Marlena and trying to help her recover her past -- a yet-another-retconned past in which the two of them were married!. Police sources have told the paper that there is no evidence that Gretzky made any bets, but are attempting to find out if Gretzky placed any bets through his wife. Dr. I'll say it one more time: I didn't bet, didn't happen, not going to happen, hasn't happened, not something I've done." ^[26] Reports by the Newark Star-Ledger stated that the New Jersey State Police possessed wiretaps with Gretzky on tape speaking about the betting ring. In a twist, Alex North was played by none other than Wayne Northrop the original Roman Brady.

I did nothing wrong, or nothing that has to do with anything along the lines of betting; that never happened .. She awoke in the hospital to find she had amnesia, and John was convinced to call in a specialist named Alex North. On the matter, Gretzky stated: "I'm still going to coach the Phoenix Coyotes. Marlena lost her baby after a tumble down the stairs, due to the high risk pregnancy and the stress involved in her marriage. Bets were allegedly taken from NHL players as well as several celebrities, including Gretzky's wife, Janet Jones. Roman and Kate separated, but mostly due to her constant interference in Sami's life. On February 7, 2006, Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet was implicated in a southern New Jersey based gambling ring. However, the truth came out as John and Marlena and Roman and Kate tried to mend their troubled marriages.

These distinctive and long-discontinued helmets are today a collectors' item among hockey players and fans. Meanwhile, Marlena discovered she was pregnant with Roman's child, though she kept this from John because he was going through withdrawal from the painkillers to which he had become addicted to while Marlena was presumed dead. ^[25] The model of helmet that Gretzky wore throughout his career, the Jofa VM, is now known more popularly as the "Gretzky helmet", even though it was a popular model worn by many NHL players in its time. Many were not comfortable with the use of a war in which many real soldiers had suffered and died as well as the controversial decision to have Philip lose his leg. In poker, a pair of 9s is sometimes called a Gretzky. It was during his first mission after his rescue that Philip lost his leg to a landmine, sending him home as a result. ^[24] Forbes estimates that Gretzky earned $93.8 million from hockey and endorsements from 1990-98. Tony meanwhile escaped capture though the guys' attempt to bring Philip home was rejected by Philip, who opted to stay behind to help his fellow troops free the Iraqis from Tony's remaining forces.

After his retirement, he became the spokesman for Power Automotive Group of Southern California, and Tylenol Arthritis Formula. Aiding him in the mission was Philip's half-nephew, Brady, his half-brothers, Lucas and Rex, and Sami, who was in disguised as a male reporter named Stan (in truth, Alison Sweeney was on maternity leave and Dan Wells was hired to play her in drag) who proceeded to play the four rescuers and Tony against each other before helping the men rescue Philip. He owns a restaurant, Hespeler sports equipment, and co-owns a chain of roller-hockey rinks. Meanwhile Shawn, having slept with Belle during a snowstorm shortly before Philip was deployed, was filled with guilt and sought to make amends by going over to Iraq and rescuing Philip from the portion of the country that Tony's army of European mercenaries had conquered. In 1998, he launched a line of fashion menswear, ^[23] and signed a licensing agreement with a phone card company. He had assembled a literal army of highly trained mercenaries and sought to conquer Iraq as part of his scheme for world domination. He posed for the cover of Cigar Aficionado Magazine with Janet. While Philip tolerated Shawn's obsession with his wife for the sake of Belle, Philip soon found his life irreversibly altered when Philip (who was a Marine) was sent on a mission to Iraq, where he was promptly captured and tortured by Tony.

He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1989 and lent his likeness to a 1992 cartoon show, ProStars, ^[22] and video games in 1996, 2004, and 2006. After escaping Jan's cage, Shawn crashed his motorcycle into the church in a failed attempt to stop the wedding of Belle Black (now played by Martha Madison) and Philip Kiriakis (played by Real World alumni Kyle Brandt) as his obsession with Belle caused him to stalk her and consume large amounts of booze to deal with his depression. He and his son Ty did commercials for the Sharp Viewcam. Nicole permanently scarred Chloe but when Brady found Chloe, he told her her scars didn't matter. ^[21] Past and present plugs include Thrifty Car Rental, Peak Antifreeze, Ford Motor Company (in Canada only), Coca-Cola, Esso, McDonald's, Campbell's Soup, Primestar TV, Upper Deck, Nike, Ultra Wheels, Hallmark Cards, Zurich Insurance, Tylenol and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Eventually, Nicole found out Chloe was alive and through a convoluted series of events, was mistaken for a doctor and had to perform plastic surgery on Chloe's face. While in Edmonton, he endorsed everything from soft drinks and blue jeans to his own wallpaper, pillow cases, breakfast cereal, chocolate bars, and a Mattel "Great Gretzky" doll. Chloe was disfigured in a limo accident and faked her death rather than meet Brady without her beautiful face.

They have 5 children: model/pop singer Paulina Gretzky, Ty, Trevor, Tristan, and Emma. While Victor was presumed dead (actually bonding with old love Caroline on Melaswen), Nicole seduced Brady. The event reportedly cost Gretzky over $1 million; Janet's dress alone cost $40,000. Actress Heather Tom wrote an op-ed in Soap Opera Digest criticizing the story as inaccurate and irresponsible. "Guards" from the Edmonton Fire Department stood on the church steps. Many fans complained that rather than using the storyline as a discussion on the pros or cons of abortion, viewers watched as Mimi was 'punished' for her choice by developing an infection which rendered her barren and losing Rex's love. Joseph's Basilica in Edmonton, Alberta was dubbed "The Royal Wedding" by the press and broadcast live throughout Canada. Ultimately, Mimi was released from jail when it was proven that Jan's coma was an accident but Belle revealed to Rex the truth about Mimi's abortion and Rex dumped Mimi as a result of her lies.

^[20] Their July 17, 1988, Anglican Church nuptials at St. Meanwhile, Jan found out about the abortion and blackmailed Mimi, culminating in Mimi accidentally putting Jan into a coma, then pleading guilty so she would receive a lengthy jail term and never have to face Rex again. Gretzky met American actress Janet Jones in 1984 when he was a judge on the show "Dance Fever" and she was a dancer and they begin dating in 1987. The truth was kept from Rex for many months as fans were forced to watch Rex and Mimi perform the same scene of Mimi trying to tell the truth to Rex only have something interrupt her before she could tell Rex the truth. ^[19] The game was subsequently released on DVD. Another more controversial storyline was Mimi's decision to have an abortion after becoming pregnant with Rex's child on the basis that Rex would not want a child due to the couple's poor financial status. Preceding the NHL game was an exhibition game that reunited Gretzky and many of his retired Oiler teammates against a group of retired Montreal Canadiens players in front of an ice hockey record 57,167 fans and millions more on TV. She also did serious damage to Lucas and Sami's relationship by having Sami drugged and placed with her ex-boyfriend Brandon, resulting in Lucas pulling out of their planned wedding.

The Heritage Classic was the first NHL game to be played outdoors, at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Meanwhile Belle, who Shawn had left on bad terms with when her refusal to give vital information about her mother being the serial killer resulted in the "deaths" of Shawn's maternal grandfather Doug and his maternal great-grandmother Alice, and Phillip found themselves forced together by Kate, who spent time manipulating the love lives of her children. In 2003, Gretzky took to the ice one last time to help celebrate the Edmonton Oilers' 25th anniversary as an NHL team. In a homage of Marlena's many visits to the prison cages of Stefano, Shawn was kidnapped by his insane childhood friend, Jan Spears (Heather Lindell), and kept in a cage for months while she pulled every trick in the book to seduce him into having sex with her. Even though he wasn't officially a member of the management staff, he was consulted regularly about decisions, aiding in Canada's gold medal win at the 2005 Worlds. As 2004 progressed, the slow-paced storylines continued, and ratings fell. ^[18] He was asked to manage Canada's team at the 2005 Ice Hockey World Championships, but declined due to his mother's poor health. Victor and Caroline were spirited away yet again by Tony, who was later apprehended, and Victor and Caroline were allowed to return to Salem.

Gretzky will once again act as Executive Director of Canada's men's hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. After a fire in the castle, Jack, Cassie, Roman, and Marlena escaped and returned to Salem. In retrospect, Gretzky's outbursts against the media turned out to be a galvanizing force for the Canadian team in the quest for the gold; they can be compared to Phil Esposito's legendary rant against Canadian fans during the 1972 Summit Series. Marlena and Roman saw John and Kate having sex and, out of grief and desperation, had sex, too. The coin is now at the Hockey Hall of Fame; a specially-minted loonie was placed at centre ice for the finals of the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. While battling his addiction, John became involved with Kate Roberts. This information was leaked to both teams and it became a good luck charm. She caused John to be wracked by excruciating pain and got him hooked on drugs.

While forming the ice, a Canadian loonie was used to mark centre ice. Devestated at losing her parents and her new found love with Lucas Roberts, Sami began to act out again, and disguised herself as a man named Stan (while Alison Sweeney was on maternity leave). to win the gold medal 50 years to the day after the Edmonton Waterloo Mercurys won the nation's last gold medal in ice hockey. Roman and Marlena were thrust together in yet another part of the castle, though they weren't seen often, and began to fall in love again. Canada beat the U.S. Victor and Caroline became close again, while a segregated Jack and Cassie began to scheme to escape. American fans online began calling Gretzky a "crybaby"; defenders said he was merely borrowing a page from former coach Glen Sather to take the pressure off his players. Eventually, it was revealed that the six victims were in fact being held by a very much alive Tony in a European castle (the fate of Colin Murphy is unknown, though he is believed to be dead).

the Czech Republic, as he launched a tirade against the perceived negative reputation of Team Canada amongst other national squads, and called rumors of dissent in the dressing room the result of "American propaganda." "They're loving us not doing well," he said, referring to American hockey fans. Maggie found that Mickey, now played by veteran actor John Ingle, had remarried, while Abe began to suffer from blinding headaches that led to blindness. His temper boiled over after Canada's 3-3 draw vs. The remaining islanders returned to Salem to attempt to regain the lives they had lost. On February 18, he lashed out at the media at a press conference, frustrated with speculation regarding his team's uninspiring 1-1-1 start. Marlena, Roman, Jack, Cassie, Victor, Caroline, and Colin were presumed dead. Gretzky was Executive Director of the Canadian men's hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. The captives ultimately were rescued from Melaswen, but Tony triggered a volcanic explosion resulting in a tidal wave.

Assistant coach Rick Tocchet assumed the position until Gretzky's return on December 28. Tony and John had a final duel to the death in Tony's faux Zen chamber, resulting in Tony's apparent demise. Unfortunately, his mother would lose her battle to lung cancer two days later, passing away on December 19, 2005. Bo, Hope, Jennifer, John, and Patrick all made it to the island, and were reunited with their lost love ones. Gretzky took an indefinite leave of absence as coach on December 17, 2005 to care for his ill mother in Brantford, Ontario. The seemingly dead Colin Murphy was also a prisoner on Tony's island, as was Billie Reed, now played by Julie Pinson. His first coaching victory was October 8, 2005, beating the Minnesota Wild 2-1. The plan was also part of his revenge against his half-brother John Black, who he could never surpass, or forgive for his betrayal with Kristen.

Gretzky made his coaching debut on October 5, 2005, the opening night of the 2005-06 NHL season, losing 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks. However, Tony was responsible for everything, and had done so to destroy Salem's greatest love stories and prove that he was more powerful than his father Stefano ever had been. In the time leading up to Gretzky's announcement, several prominent free agents signed with Phoenix citing the chance to play for Gretzky, including Brett Hull. Tony eventually revealed himself to the survivors, though he claimed to be a victim as well. This was annouced following the conclusion of the 2004-05 NHL lockout and may have been partly a marketing decision due to the league's financial struggles, though few question Gretzky's overriding motive to win hockey games. Victor, though not a victim of the Salem Stalker, was also on the island of Melaswen, or New Salem spelled backwards. Despite previous assurances, in August 2005 Gretzky agreed to become the new coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. Alice was later joined by Roman and Abe, who revealed that the entire charade had been faked by an unknown enemy, though most believed it to be Stefano or Tony (who was the only victim not to be found on the island).

^[17]. As she explored the town she ran into Alice Horton, who was alive after all. Rumors began regarding Gretzky becoming the head coach of the team, but were nixed by Gretzky and the rest of the Coyotes' ownership. After Marlena was "killed" in a prison riot arranged by Nicole, Marlena found herself alive in a seemingly deserted Salem. Later that year, he became Alternate Governor and Managing Partner of the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team. In the midst of this original cast member John Clarke (Mickey) left, which added to the controversy but since the show's ratings were now levelling out with the revelation that Marlena was the killer, the show's efforts were deemed a success by Soap Opera Digest. Gretzky's famous #99 was retired league-wide at the 2000 All-Star Game. The storyline was extremely controversial as many of the victims were longtime fan favorites.

The NHL then stated that he would be the last player to do so. After a nasty fight, Marlena ended up in the hospital, where under the influence of truth serum admitted that she killed everyone because Abe had discovered that she intended to stop Roman from marrying Kate Roberts, though a non-drugged Marlena apparently didn't remember any of the crimes. Gretzky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 22, 1999, becoming the tenth player to bypass the three-year waiting period. Alice, however, was able to call John Black (Drake Hogestyn) and warn him that Marlena was the killer. No less an expert Bobby Orr said he "thinks so far ahead," while Gretzky himself referred to it as having "...a feeling about where a teammate is going to be, a lot of times, I can turn and pass without looking." ^[16]. Marlena confronted Alice, who despite heavenly interventions by Abe, Maggie, Caroline, and Roman, was suffocated by one of her homemade donuts that had brought joy to the people of Salem since the beginning of the show. By the time of his retirement, Gretzky had become known for setting up behind the net, passing to teammates like Luc Robitaille or Mark Messier or jumping out quickly for a wrap-around goal. He left a note that was found by town matriarch, Alice Horton (Frances Reid).

It was said that he "seems to have eyes in the back of his head" and had a knack of "rolling with a check." ^[15]. Doug Williams (Bill Hayes) discovered Marlena's treachery and was stabbed to death in the cemetery. At 16, Gretzky's skills were already described as "a magic touch," that he was a good shot, moved the puck very well and never quit, playing both ways (adept at playing defense as well as offense) and a player that any team could build their hockey club around. The death was attributed to the Salem Stalker at first, but later the police became unsure. Gretzky's dominance throughout his career was attributed to the amount of time he practiced (by his own admission at least 4-5 hours a day) and also that he was a natural prodigy. In the meantime, an insane Jan Spears (Heather Lindell), electrocuted Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston) in an convoluted attempt to win the heart of Shawn Brady. Gretzky was named as the first, second, and third star of both games. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall).

He scored his final point in this game, assisting on the lone New York goal scored by Brian Leetch. Tony survived the attack, but was given a lethal dose of medicine by the murderer who was revealed to be none other than Dr. ^[14] The Star-Spangled Banner, sung by John Amirante, was changed from "the land of the free" to "the land of Wayne Gretzky". Roman Brady's (Josh Taylor) throat was slashed at his wedding to Kate Roberts, and Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) was mauled by a tiger the killer let loose at a fundraiser where he had promised to reveal the Salem Stalker's identity. In place of "O Canada, we stand on guard for thee", Bryan Adams sang "We're going to miss you Wayne Gretzky". Caroline Brady (Peggy McCay) was poisoned at church during a memorial service, and her granddaughter Cassie (Alexis Thorpe) was stabbed to death and placed in a pinata on Thanksgiving. The national anthems in that game were adjusted to accommodate Gretzky's departure. Maggie, who had seen Abe's death but mentally blocked it out, found herself a victim of the serial killer, who bludgeoned the recovering alcoholic with a liquor bottle.

His last NHL game in Canada was on April 16, 1999, in a 2-2 tie with the Ottawa Senators, and his final game was a 2-1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 18. Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford) was killed by a brick to the head, since he had been working with Abe on a story. ^[13]. Even more stunning was that he pointed to Maggie Horton (Suzanne Rogers) as he lay dying, though she was never considered a suspect in his murder. Many attribute Canada's failure to head coach Marc Crawford's decision to use a defenceman, Ray Bourque, and not Gretzky in the shoot-out against Dominik Hasek. The storyline began with the shooting of Commander Abe Carver (James Reynolds), which stunned the city of Salem. Expectations were high for the Canadian team, but without the presence of Mario Lemieux (with whom Gretzky did well in the 1987 Canada Cup) and several other star Canadians due to injury, the team lost to Finland for the bronze medal. His major storyline to save Days was the ultra-controversial Salem Stalker storyline.

He participated in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. With ratings at an all time low and NBC threatening to cancel the series, James Reilly was brought back as head writer in the summer of 2003 and given carte blanche to "fix" the show. The experts voted Gretzky number one, ahead of the once seemingly incomparable Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe. Victor was soon presumed dead and was therefore unable to prevent Nicole from seducing Brady. In 1997, prior to his retirement, The Hockey News named a committee of 50 hockey experts (former NHL players, past and present writers, broadcasters, coaches and hockey executives) to select and rank the 50 greatest players in NHL history. Much to Victor's horror, Nicole became involved with Brady. He played his final three seasons there and helped the team reach the conference finals in 1997. Having survived a near fatal stroke that left him paralyzed for several years, Victor was determined to never be helpless again and used the fact that Nicole murdered rogue doctor Colin Murphy (Justin Melvey) when he tried to blackmail her to keep her under his thumb.

Gretzky ended his professional career with the Rangers. As her marriage to Lucas ended, she married Victor and soon found herself super-rich and super-powerful, though Nicole found herself outmatched when she crossed swords with Victor. On July 21, he signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent, rejoining Mark Messier. Through the Robertses, Nicole discovered the power of money and quickly manipulated her way into the bed of Victor Kiriakis, much to Kate's horror. While he scored 37 points in 31 games for the team (regular season and playoffs), and they got within one overtime game of the Conference finals, he never clicked with the team or with sniper Brett Hull on the ice as well as many had expected. Originally a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, Nicole was hired as a model by one time Titan Industries employee Sami, and Kate later paid her a large sum of money to marry her son Lucas, to help Lucas win custody of his son. Louis Blues in a trade for Patrice Tardif, Roman Vopat, Craig Johnson, and draft picks. Finally, the writers eagerly exploited the show's newest (at that time) character, Nicole Walker (Arianne Zuker).

On February 27, 1996 he joined the St. Finally, the new struggles against Tony resulted in the sudden, surprise revelation that John Black, rather than just being a semi-amnesiac former mercenary-turned-wealthy local businessman, was in fact Salem's resident ISA agent-in-place, and naturally his #1 assignment was to wage the ongoing battle against the DiMera clan (the exact timing of his employment by the spy agency was never revealed; it was just sprung on the audience out of the blue one day). Long before that, running out of time and looking for a team with which he could win again, Gretzky had been traded from the Kings at his request. He also served as a catalyst for Sami and Lucas to finally acknowledge their feelings for each other, when Sami was nearly killed by Tony when she confronted him over his helping Lexie ruining her relationship with Lexie's stepson Brandon Walker (Matt Cedeno). The team began a long slide that continued despite numerous player and coaching moves and failed to even qualify for the playoffs again until 1998. The dairy contained all of the information pertaining to the Brady / DiMera feud, revealed that John was the son of Daphne DiMera and therefore Tony's half-brother, and further solidified Tony as the new antagonist of the show. After winning the first game of the series, however, the team lost the next four in a row to the Montreal Canadiens. Tony's fugue states led him to a DiMera island compound on a string of islands shaped like the Gemini constellation and on the island, he used the blue key to open a box containing Stefano's dairy.

Gretzky's tenure with the Kings reached its peak when he scored three goals in game seven of the 1993 Western Conference Finals against Toronto, propelling the Kings into the Stanley Cup Finals. It turns out that the key unlocked the bracelets of the Gemini Twins, mind-controlled teenage-aged pawns of Stefano. ^[12] In 1990, the AP named him Male Athlete of the Decade. Stefano had left him a blue key that he said would unlock the secrets to his past and future, and John and Tony spent many months racing to learn the secrets of the key first. Sun Belt. His motives remained unclear for many months as he put subtle plans into motion and worked at creating tension among many characters. hockey markets on "the NHL map"; not only did California receive two more NHL franchises (the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the San Jose Sharks) during Gretzky's tenure in L.A., but his popularity in Southern California proved to be an impetus in the league establishing teams in other parts of the U.S. Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) returned as the new head of the DiMera family, to steal Marlena away from John.

Many credit Gretzky's arrival with putting non-traditional U.S. Eventually Brady and Chloe became a couple, but his grandfather, Victor, felt that Chloe was not good enough for him and got her an overseas job singing opera. Gretzky finished second in scoring but narrowly beat out Mario Lemieux (who scored 199 points) for the Hart Trophy as MVP. Brady was alienated from his family because of his hatred of Marlena, and confided in Chloe. Gretzky led his team back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series 4-3. Philip had originally dated her only as a prank (he planned to dump her and break her heart), but he soon fell in love with her. Despite being underdogs against the defending Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers, Gretzky led the Kings to a shocking upset of his old squad. After many taunts as "Ghoul Girl" she shocked the students at the Last Blast Dance by throwing off her cloak to reveal a sexy red dress.

The Kings, who then played their home games at the Great Western Forum, boasted numerous sellouts on their way to reaching the 88-89 playoffs. Chloe initially wore all black ensembles and big glasses. Gretzky's first season in Los Angeles saw a marked increase in attendance and fan interest in a city not previously known for following ice hockey. Craig Wesley (Patrika Darbo and Kevin Spirtas). After "The Trade", Gretzky's personal popularity sank across Canada, but only temporarily. The other big teen stories of the time were Brady and Philip's rivalry over Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin), daughter of conniving Nancy and Dr. ^[11] Others believe it was Pocklington who instigated the trade, seeking to benefit personally from the transaction. The main storyline of the time involved the relationship between Shawn and Belle, who vowed to remain virgins until they married and exchanged "purity rings" as a sign of love.

^[10] Gretzky himself was considered a "traitor" by some Canadians for turning his back on his adopted hometown, his home province, and his home country; his motivation was widely rumoured to be to further his wife's acting career. They were soon joined by Cassie (Alexis Thorpe) and Rex (Eric Winter), who were ultimately revealed to be the offspring of Kate and Roman, who Marlena gave birth to while she was believed to be dead, and Mimi Lockhart (Farah Fath), Belle's best friend, whose father lost his job and abandoned his family. "The Trade," as it came to be known, upset Canadians to the extent that New Democratic Party House Leader Nelson Riis demanded the government block it, ^[9] and Pocklington was burned in effigy. The show continued on with plotlines that primarily focused upon new teenage characters including Belle Black (Kirsten Storms), Brady Black (Kyle Lowder), Shawn Douglas Brady (Jason Cook), and Philip Kiriakis (Jay Kenneth Johnson). On August 9, 1988, in a move that drastically changed the dynamics of the NHL, Gretzky was traded with Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski by the Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million cash, and the Kings' first-round draft picks in 1989, 1991, and 1993. She even became best friends with bitter enemy Hope. The Oilers, with Gretzky, also won the Cup in 1985, 1987, and 1988. Eventually, Lexie was committed and was able to resume a normal life.

Since the Order ceremonies are always held during the hockey season, it took 13 years, seven months and two Governors-General before he could accept the honour. After Joseph Mascolo left the show, Lexie became the head of the Dimera crime syndicate, a move that left many longtime viewers scratching their heads at the nonsensical shift the good doctor's character had gone through. Gretzky was named an officer of the Order of Canada on June 25, 1984 for outstanding contribution to the sport of hockey. Lexie worked overtime trying to hold on to baby Isaac, falling under her father's influence and the DiMera curse. The following season, the Oilers met the Islanders in the Finals again, this time winning the Stanley Cup, their first of five in seven years. All was not well, since Bo and Hope's baby had been switched with Lexie Carver's (Renee Jones) adopted baby by her father Stefano. In 1983, they made it to the Stanley Cup finals, only to be swept by the three-time defending champion New York Islanders. John won, but many fans wanted Bo, Hope's husband, to be the father, and after a change in headwriter, the show rewrote history to reveal that Bo was the father after all.

The Oilers were a young, strong team featuring forwards Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, and Jari Kurri, defenceman Paul Coffey, goaltender Grant Fuhr, and Gretzky as its captain. Hope became pregnant, and NBC began a much-publicized campaign asking fans to decide who should be the father of Hope's child - John or Stefano. ^[8] The same success was not immediate when they joined the NHL, but within 4 seasons, the Oilers were competing for the Stanley Cup. who was eventually freed and reunited with Bo. The Edmonton Oilers finished their last WHA season first overall in the regular season. The real princess Gina came out of the woodwork, spruced herself up, and kidnapped the real Hope.. The following seasons would see Gretzky break his own assists record three more times (125, 135, and 163) and his point record one more time (215).^[7] By the time he finished playing in Edmonton, he held or shared 49 NHL records, which in itself was a record. Unfortuntately, by that time, many viewers were tired of having their intelligence insulted and thought that there was no hope left for Days.

He was also named Sports Illustrated Magazine's 1982 "Sportsman of the Year.". This led to a controversial episode of the series where Hope and John had sex on a submarine, which many fans denounced as a massive betrayal of their respective marriages while other fans accepted the scene as not an act of adultery since both Hope and John were under the influence of Stefano's control at the time. He ended the 1981-1982 season with records of 92 goals, 120 assists, and 212 points in 80 games, becoming the first player in NHL history to break the 200 point mark.^[6] That year, Gretzky became the first hockey player and first Canadian to be named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year. Finally, the whole storyline with regards to Hope's missing years ended when Stefano brainwashed Hope into becoming Gina again while at the same time restoring John's memories so as to bring them under his control once and for all. Later that season, Gretzky broke Esposito's record for most goals in a season (76) on February 24, 1982 scoring four goals to help beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-3. Sami's wedding disasters are a theme that will be replayed over and over in the future. His 50th goal of the season came on December 30, 1981 in the final seconds of a 7-5 win against Philadelphia and was his fifth of the game. Austin, after a fling with Greta Von Amburg (Julianne Morris) that ended with a laughbly bad virtual reality "Garden of Eden" storyline, finally agreed to marry Sami, but left her at the altar when he learned how Sami lied to him about Will being physically abused by Lucas to get him to take her side in the custody case.

Set by Maurice "Rocket" Richard during the 1944-45 NHL season and tied by Mike Bossy during the 1980-81 NHL season, Gretzky accomplished the feat in only 39 games. Lucas and Sami waged a violent war for custody of Will that ended with Victor stepping in and forcing Lucas and Kate to sign full custody of Will to Sami in exchange for Sami turning over all blackmail material she had on the two. During the 1981-82, he surpassed one of the game's most cherished records: 50 goals in 50 games. The villainous Vivian, who quickly went from feared villain to comic relief, left town in February 2000 with her loyal manservant Ivan Marais when he came into a small fortune. He won his second straight Hart Trophy. Mike and Carrie ended up falling in love, and leaving town together for Israel in November 1999. In his second season, Gretzky won the Art Ross Trophy (the first of seven consecutive ^[5]) with a then-record 164 points, breaking both Bobby Orr's record for assists in a season and Phil Esposito's record for points in a season. For the next few years the show was written by Sally Sussman Morina, who wrapped up many of Reilly's stories.

The rule was later changed. By the end of 1997, Reilly left the show to begin work on his new series Passions, which left many subplots up in the air as writers scrambled to resolve the writer's loose ends. He became the youngest player to score 50 goals but was not eligible for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given to the top NHL rookie, because of his previous year of professional experience. Roman was terminally ill, and Marlena and John had to hide their relationship so she could pretend she loved Roman. He was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's Most Valuable Player (the first of eight in a row ^[4]) and tied for the scoring lead with Marcel Dionne with 137 points, which remains the most points by a first-year player. A fairly controversial move was Reilly's decision to hire Josh Taylor, who played the popular supporting cast member Chris Kositchek from 1977-1987, to play the role of Roman Brady without any sort of storyline to explain away the drastic change in the character's appearance. In his first NHL season, 1979-80, Gretzky proved his critics wrong. Marlena and John were finally able to admit their true feelings, and prepared to marry.

^[3]. Susan and Edmund, meanwhile, were allowed to leave town, in 1998. Gretzky's success in the WHA carried over into the NHL, despite some critics suggesting he would flounder in what was considered a bigger, tougher, and more talented NHL. Kristen was shown imprisoned with a shiek, living out the fate she had wanted Susan to suffer. After the World Hockey Association folded in 1979, four teams, including the Edmonton Oilers, joined the National Hockey League. In one of many twists it turned out that Kristen wasn't the actual victim, but a newly discovered pill popping sister of Susan's: the English actress Penelope Tate (Davidson's fifth and final character). That would be Gretzky's only season in the WHA, which folded following the Avco World Trophy finals. Kristin's lifeless body was found in a pool, and it was revealed that Edmund accidentally drowned her.

Gretzky would go on to capture the Lou Kaplan Trophy for rookie of the year, finish third in league scoring (110 points), and help the Oilers to first overall in the league. Meanwhile, Kristen continued to accumulate enemies in Salem, including Marlena, John, Laura Horton, Vivian, Celeste, and a newly returned Edmund and Susan. On Gretzky's 18th birthday, the 26th of January, 1979, Pocklington signed him to a 21-year personal services contract (the longest in hockey history) worth $4-5 million US. Susan left town and fell in love with an Englishman named Edmund. Paying $700,000, Pocklington purchased Gretzky as well as two other Indianapolis players, goaltender Eddie Mio and forward Peter Driscoll, although the announced price was actually $850,000. Their reunion gave Days its highest ratings in almost a decade, coming within two tenths of a point of knocking off perennial number one The Young and the Restless. He sold Gretzky to his former partner and then-owner of the WHA's Edmonton Oilers Peter Pocklington. John left Kristen and was finally free to reunite with his soul mate Marlena.

Only eight games into the 1978-79 WHA season, Skalbania needed money. Susan attempted to marry John in an Elvis themed wedding, but Marlena and Kristen managed to escape from the room and all was revealed. Knowing that the WHA was fading, Skalbania felt owning the young star was more valuable than owning a WHA team. Kristen soon found herself in the same situation, when Susan turned the tables on her and put Kristen in the room with Marlena. Racers owner Nelson Skalbania signed the 17-year-old to a personal contract worth between 1.12 and 1.75 million dollars US over 1 to 2 years. After discovering Kristen's deception, Marlena found herself locked in a secret room in the wine cellar of the DiMera mansion, where she was to be held until Stefano could spirit her away again. The National Hockey League (NHL) does not allow the signing of players under the age of 18, but the WHA had no rules regarding such signings. It was revealed that Susan was a triplet, and had a nun sister named Mary Moira and a brother named Thomas, who along with Kristen and Susan were all played by Eileen Davidson.

The following year (1978-79) he signed with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) as an underaged player. She was able to pass herself off as Kristen in front of John, with Vivian's help (who was being forced to help by Stefano). ^[2]. Susan was an unsophisticated, pregnant bumpkin that looked just like Kristen (with very bad teeth). At Coach Muzz MacPherson's suggestion, Gretzky settled on 99. Kristen sank deeper and deeper into evil, and was introduced to Susan Banks by Stefano. He had originally wanted to wear number 9 — for his hero Gordie Howe — but it was already being worn by another teammate named Brian Gualazzi. Evans quiet about her renewed feelings for John.

While playing for the Greyhounds, he began wearing the number 99 on his jersey. Holding her baby's perilous condition over Marlena, Kristen was able to keep Dr. Marie Greyhounds. In order to protect her relationship with John, Kristen didn't tell anyone that she had lost the baby, and went so far as to force Stefano to help her perpetrate the lie. He played a season in the Ontario Hockey League at the age of 16 with the Sault Ste. Kristin ended up losing her baby, and also discovering Marlena's rekindled feelings for John. At 14, playing against 20-year-olds, he left Brantford to further his career and signed with his first agent. In an underground explosion, Stefano appeared to die (yet again), as did Kristen's mother Rachel.

At age 10 he scored 378 goals and 139 assists in 85 games, and the first story on him was published in the Toronto Telegram. Stefano's "People of the Night" found John guilty, but he was saved from having his head chopped off by his aunt Vivian, who was romantically involved with Stefano. At age 6 he was skating with 10-year-olds. For revenge against John, Stefano kidnapped him and took him to Paris where he was put on trial for the wrongs he had perpetrated against Tony. ^[1] Taught by his father Walter, Gretzky was a classic prodigy. Kristen ended up becoming pregnant, further enraging Stefano. Gretzky's grandfather emigrated to Canada at the beginning of the 20th century from the town of Mogilev in Belarus. Kristen and John resumed their romance, though neither knew that Marlena's romantic feelings for John had returned.

. Marlena never gave up on John, and was instrumental in proving John's innocence, despite Kristen's giving up on him. He also became part owner of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2000 and following the 2004-05 NHL lockout became their head coach. While Tony was shown framing John for what was actually a suicide, it was later revealled that Tony's cousin Andre had been convinced that he had the same blood disease as Tony and was the actual victim. He retired from playing in 1999, becoming Executive Director for the Canadian national men's hockey team during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Kristen's love for John was tested when her husband Tony, who believed he had a fatal blood disease, framed John for murdering him. He was the only player to total over 200 points in a season, accomplishing the feat 4 times; in addition he tallied over 100 points in 15 seasons, 14 of them consecutively. Kristen had unfortunately married Tony DiMera, in order to eliminate any lingering feelings Father John might have for her.

He set 40 regular season records (including 9 MVP awards and 10 scoring titles), 15 playoff records, 6 All-Star records and won four Stanley Cups. In the end, however, Marlena was freed from Satan's grip through the love of John, who then left the priesthood and attempted to restart a relationship with Kristen. Identified as a hockey prodigy at a young age, Gretzky regularly played at a level far above his peers, eventually becoming a full professional at the age of 17 in the World Hockey Association, leading to a long career in the National Hockey League. Caroline, Kristen, and John and many of Marlena's other friends took part in long series of exorcisms that appeared to kill Marlena. Among his many awards and achievements, he is the only player to ever have his playing number, 99, officially retired across the entire National Hockey League. The chemistry between the actors was so palpable that many viewers began to root for the Devil. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, he is known as "The Great One", and is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players ever to play the game and the best of his era. There were also several seduction scenes where MarDevil tried to seduce Father Black, pushing the envelope for love scenes on Days.

Wayne Douglas Gretzky, OC (born January 26, 1961) is a former professional ice hockey player and is currently part-owner and head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. In other demonic twists Marlena morphed into a leopard and was seen levitating several times. NHL Second All-Star Team-1980, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998. In an attempt to steal John's soul (who at this point still believed he was a priest), Marlena morphed into Kristen, at one point in order to seduce him, but what the devil soon realized was that John really wanted Marlena and then tried to take his soul away. NHL First All-Star Team-1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991. Various plagues were visited upon Salem, and Marlena began to terrorize the town by desecrating Christian symbols and anything relating to Christmas. NHL All-Star Game MVP-1983, 1989, 1999. Marlena was corrupted by drug fuel evenings manipulated by Stefano, who gained access to her apartment by blackmailing next door neighbor Mike Horton.

Lester Patrick Trophy (outstanding service to hockey in the United States) -1994. Simpson trial and complaints from critics who felt that demonic possession was too over the top a storyline. Chrysler-Dodge/NHL Performer of the Year -1985, 1986, 1987. The plot brought Reilly high ratings despite numerous interruptions due to coverage of the O.J. NHL Plus/Minus Award (best plus-minus rating) -1982, 1984, 1985, 1987. Meanwhile the success of Carly's buried alive storyline cause Reilly to branch out into his most controversial storyline to date, a year long storyline involving Marlena becoming possessed by Satan. Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (most gentlemanly player) -1980, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999. Later it was found that Tony had slipped into a coma and Andre was really the one who had killed himself.

Pearson Award (outstanding player, voted by the players) -1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987. He formed a plan to kill himself and frame John for murder, which was successful. Lester B. Afflicted with a fatal blood disease compounding his grief, Tony took up his role as a true DiMera and decided to get revenge. Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff most valuable player) - 1985, 1988. After a few mishaps, Tony was able to marry Kristen but she ultimately left him for John Black after a long-running affair with him. Art Ross Trophy (scoring champion) -1981, 1982 ,1983 ,1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1994. In comparison to the other eras, Tony was portrayed as a protagonist this time, who wanted to legitimize the DiMera business.

Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player) -1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989. Tony had reconciled his differences with Stefano during their absent years from the show. Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) returned under Reilly's pen in 1993 to take care of an ill Stefano and to marry his longtime sweetheart, Kristen. Bo and Billie later discovered their daughter had been in Salem the entire time, and was in fact Chelsea Benson, the teenaged best friend of Abby Deveraux. Recently it was revealed that Georgia had been spirited away by DiMera minions and given to new parents to raise.

Billie returned, however, now played by Krista Allen, and ultimately became pregnant by Bo, though the child appeared to be stillborn. In order to give Bo space to explore his feelings for his newly returned wife, Billie left for Europe. Eventually, Hope would regain her memory, ending Bo's marriage to Billie, as he and Hope were still legally married. Billie and Bo would eventually marry, and "Gina" even dated Mike for a short time, though they both felt more of a familial bond than anything romantic.

Hope was declared dead again, after several events lead everyone to believe the two couldn't be the same person. The return of Hope, who believed her name to be Gina, created havoc for Bo and his new girlfriend Billie. The two were able to break free with help from an amnesiac Hope, who had been held prisoner by DiMera during her absence. Reilly's second major storyline saw the return of Stefano, who with the help of his longtime lover, the psychic Celeste Perrault (Tanya Boyd), kidnapped Marlena and John.

These new storylines generated much notice but problems developed when Patrick Muldoon left the show, forcing the casting of Austin Peck as the new Austin Reed. Finally, one of Salem's legendary rivalries was born, as Kate and Sami became mortal enemies due to Sami's manipulations of her two sons. Lucas declared his undying hatred for Sami, as he had longstanding issues with his own absent father. However, the truth about young Will's paternity came out, resulting in a wedding for Austin and Carrie.

Meanwhile Lucas used his other half-brother, Mike Horton (Roark Critchlow), to break Austin and Carrie up by having Mike steal Carrie away from Austin. With help from Vivian, Sami convinced Austin he was her baby's father and attempted to get him to marry her. She ran to Lucas's arms, and they slept together in an effort to get over their mutual heartbreak over Austin and Carrie's relationship. Sami drugged Austin and seduce dhim only to run from his house when Austin called her "Carrie".

Austin showed her great kindness and she became obsessed with him. This quickly became a town scandal and an already troubled Sami was humiliated, slipping further into manipulative and self-destructive patterns. Alan raped Sami and she eventually shot him in the testicles, effectively castrating him. Sami was infatuated with a young man named Alan, who wanted her sister.

Quickly Reilly created a love rectangle between Austin, Sami, Carrie, and Lucas that would borrow from previous love triangles, most notably the Bill/Mickey/Laura triangle from the early 1970s. Austin was a boxer whose budding romance with Carrie suffered after a mobster threw acid in her face (Austin was the intended target). Meanwhile Austin and his sister Billie (Lisa Rinna) were children of a previous marriage of Kate that had ended in Kate having to abandon her children to an abusive father. Lucas himself was the offspring of a relationship between his mother Kate Roberts (Deborah Adair) and Bill Horton, retroactively inserted into Days canon as the event that caused Laura Horton to have her nervous breakdown.

Besides Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney), these included her half-sister Carrie (Christie Clark, who had been a cast member since she was a little girl) and dysfunctional half-siblings Lucas Roberts (Bryan Dattilo) and Austin Reed (Patrick Muldoon). Reilly also began to fill the show with new young actors to help promote the show to younger viewers. After a year of sporadic appearances, Peter was arrested at long last and a far less popular Jack, Jennifer, and Abby reunited and left the show for Africa in 1998. The newly recast Jack (Steve Wilder) and Jen finally did reunite but were forced to flee Salem to avoid Peter, who was now infected with a disease that caused him to go insane and to possess insanity-induced super-strength.

Rumors flew about the real reasons for her departure and the role of Jennifer was quickly recast with look-alike Stephanie Cameron, along with a brand new recast of Jack when replacement Mark Valley left the show. A monkey wrench was thrown into the story when Reeves quit the show in the fall of 1995 without advance notice. While in a rehab facility she slept with Jack - they had no idea of the other's identity as they had never met and were using assumed names. Laura was suspicious of Peter, so he had her office painted with toxic chemicals to send her around the bend.

Adding to the drama was the return of Jennifer's long-institutionalized mother Laura (now played by Jamie Lyn Bauer). Jennifer quickly moved on with Stefano's mysterious ward, Peter Blake (Jason Brooks) brother to John's new love Kristen, but Jack (now played by Mark Valley) ended up returning. The exits were controversial with some fans, particularly the decision to have Jack desert his wife and daughter. Jack fled town after being rendered penniless and emotionally dead upon learning that his daughter Abby had cancer caused by toxic chemicals he had authorized to be dumped years earlier.

The happy family ended up leaving town for a life together in Europe. Carly and Lawrence's complicated and often adversarial relationship ended up turning to love as they reclaimed Nicholas, the child they long believed dead from Vivian. With ratings at a high level, the show was forced to fire popular actors Matthew Ashford, Michael Sabatino, and Crystal Chappell, who were demanding storyline approval in contract negotiations. The storyline shot up the ratings as NBC heavily promoted the storyline with lurid commercials hyping it.

One of his first major storylines was to have Carly Manning be buried alive by John and Lawrence's insane aunt, Vivian Alamain (Louise Sorel). Reilly. In 1993, the show began to drift towards more supernatural storylines when the hiring of new head writer James E. Sami, meanwhile, never forgave Marlena and John (who Sami considered a second father) for betraying Roman like they did, with the incident triggering a serious turn to the dark side for Sami.

The scandal would force Marlena to raise Belle alone while John found comfort with a new arrival in Salem, social worker Kristen Blake (Eileen Davidson). Unable to forgive Marlena, Roman fled town in disgrace at being cuckolded by John. Ultimately, Sami was exposed after kidnapping and attempting to sell her younger sister Belle (named for the late Isabella Black). When she became pregnant as a result of this fling, she believed the child to be Roman's and was aided in this belief by Sami, who altered a paternity test to make it appear that Roman was the father.

on a conference table at Victor Kiriakis's new Titan Industries office building. After dealing with his grief, John began a controversial affair with Marlena, which culminated with Marlena and Roman's daughter Sami (Alison Sweeney) catching them having sex.. Meanwhile, John and Isabella's happiness was shortlived, as Isabella was given fatal pancreatic cancer to accommodate the exit of Staci Greason when contract talks broke down because the actress demanded too much money. Much had changed since Roman was last in town, and he struggled to fit into the canvas.

Marlena reunited with the real Roman while John and Isabella celebrated their relationship with the birth of their first (and only) child Brady, named after the family that had taken John in as their own. However, years later it was rewritten yet again that John was actually the illegitimate son of Daphne DiMera, Stefano's deceased common law wife and Alamain sister, and an as-yet-unrevealed father (fan speculation continues to center on Shawn Brady, which would make him Roman's half-brother and may explain why he shared enough similarities with Roman to be able to replace him so easily and for so long). Eventually it was revealed that John was a mercenary, con artist, and jewel thief who worked with Gina von Amberg, a royal princess who was a con artist like her lover on the side. First it was revealed that he was a member of the wealthy Alamain family, and then he was a priest who Stefano's mistress confided in.

His character has been retconned at least 6 or 7 times over the period 1986-2000. He is, to date, quite possibly the most continually rewritten character in the history of television. Through many different writing regimes, John's past would change considerably. It was also apparent that Hogestyn was either a few years younger than Northrop, or it was just that being couped up in Stefano's prison for 7 years had caused Roman not to age quite as well as his Salem-bound counterpart.

The return of the "real" Roman was particularly amusing to fans who paid close attention to the obvious physical differences between Northrop and Hogestyn, and wondered how anyone, particularly Marlena who had slept with both men, would readily accept one in place of the other (Hogestyn was taller, hairier, had darker and straighter hair, and was right-handed, in contrast with the shorter, smoother, curly-haired, left-handed Northrop). However, since Hogestyn's Roman had moved on to Isabella, a compromise was struck: Northrop returned as Roman and it was revealed that Hogestyn's character, John Black, was a mercenary in the employ of Stefano DiMera's criminal organization who had his memories taken from him and was brainwashed into thinking he was Roman as punishment for betraying Stefano (as well as a means of carrying on his favorite hobby--the continual torment of the Brady family). The producers were interested but knew quite well that Hogestyn was extremely popular with viewers and they couldn't just fire Hogestyn. Hall would only agree to return if the show also brought back her close friend Wayne Northrop in the role he originated, Roman Brady.

Behind the scenes, the reason for such a massive swerve was that the producers approached Deidre Hall about returning to the show in the role of Marlena after a 5-year absence. As "Roman" sought out Stefano to seek vengeance, another shocking secret emerged as it was revealed that "Roman" was not really Roman and that the real Roman, Wayne Northrop, was also Stefano's prisoner all of those years. It was later revealed that she had been used as a surrogate for the real Roman's twin children (Rex and Cassie) with former Dimera employee Kate Roberts's (Lauren Koslow) eggs. Marlena's death had been faked, and she had been the prisoner of Stefano Dimera.

Meanwhile Isabella and "Roman" married but their married bliss was quickly shattered by the shocking return from the dead of "Roman's' wife Marlena Evans. Meanwhile Bo (now played by Robert Kelker Kelly) began a relationship with Carly, whose parents were demanding her to marry the villainous Lawrence instead. Lawrence raped Jennifer which put him at odds with her husband Jack. With Patch gone, his beloved Kayla, after a romance with her former brother-in-law Shane which generated a negative fan response, was soon written out of the show as well in 1992.

Nick was later killed by a temporarily insane Jo Johnson (Joy Garrett), Patch and Jack's mother. Due to the popularity of the character, the writers set up an "out" to bring Steve back at a later date (an out that as to this day has yet to be used). Lawrence quickly made his bones as the new arch-villain by murdering, with the aid of Nick Corelli (George Jensky), Patch in October 1990. The arrival of Carly Manning would bring a new umbrella storyline involving Carly's childhood friend Jennifer (now married to Jack) and Frankie Brady, who was retroactively declared to be Carly's brother and their war against the show's newest villain Lawrence Alamain (Michael Sabatino).

Returning home, Bo would begin a flirtation with newly arrived doctor Carly Manning (Crystal Chappell). The lack of chemistry between John (Drake Hogestyn) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso), not to mention all the rewrites of popular history, doomed the story from the beginning, but the stubbornness of the show's producers and writers couldn't be stopped, and Days suffered the erosion of it most loyal fanbases. This story, the attempted John/Hope pairing, proved to be the least popular Days story ever, turning the fans off in such large numbers that the show lost almost a million viewers in the span of two months during the infamous jungle story where John and Hope bonded. Hope would be brainwashed as a pawn of Stefano, who used her as a replacement for her evil doppleganger Gina von Amberg (Greta's mother), a princess who along with her mercenary lover John Black, stole valuable items for Stefano.

It would later be revealed that Ernesto had traded Hope to the DiMera family and that a lookalike named Greta von Amberg was the victim instead. In the end, everyone made it back to Salem save for Hope, who was "killed" by way of being dropped in a vat of acid in an exploding cage by Ernesto. As the shipwrecked characters tried to escape the island, Jack and Jennifer both finally made love in a nearby cave while "Roman" and Bo both reconciled after a lengthy period of tension between the two (including a plot where Bo sided with Ernesto as part of a scheme to find out what he was planning to do against his father Victor). Luring his enemies onto a cruise ship, he destroyed the vessel, shipwrecking the characters on an island he controlled.

Also on board for the cruise were: Isabella Toscano, Bo Brady, Hope Brady, Jack Deveraux, Jennifer Horton, and a newly returned Julie Williams. The plot revolved around Ernesto's scheme to kill off his assorted enemies, most notably Victor Kiriakis and "Roman". The Cruise of Deception was a massive storyline that began in the summer of 1989 and ran up through the end of the summer of 1990, resulting in numerous storylines finally being resolved and setting up new, more complex stories in its wake. The relationship and their connections to the various characters on the show would lead to one of the most famous "umbrella story" of the show's run: The Cruise of Deception.

He eventually started a lackluster relationship with a new character named Isabella Toscano (Staci Greason) (Side note: Hogestyn complained about being on the backburner in several magazine articles before Hall's triumphant return several years later to bring the ratings back up and in the process, help make him the most popular male on soaps.), who was the sickly daughter of a crime boss named Ernesto. Hogestyn stayed on and Roman attempted to start several relationships, including an ill fated romance with Diana Colville (Genie Francis, of General Hospital fame). Ultimately, Deidre Hall left the show in 1987, and Marlena was presumed dead in a plane explosion. Now played by Drake Hogestyn, the character was eventually revealed to be "Roman", and the "Roman"/Marlena relationship once again became popular amongst viewers and they remarried.

But the Pawn escaped Victor, adopted the name "John Black" after seeing it on a war memorial, and set about finding about his past on his own, and with his new friend Marlena. There was even a brief flirtation with the idea that the Pawn was Stefano himself. Victor won, and returned to Salem with the Pawn, and set about trying to unravel the mystery of his identity for his own purposes. Temporarily nicknamed "the Pawn", he was actually "auctioned off" by a DiMera henchman named Petrov during an adventure in Miami, with the primary bidders being a corrupt ISA official, and Victor Kiriakis.

It was explained that Roman was recovered by Stefano after his fall from the cliff, given immediate medical attention, brainwashed into believing that he was one of Stefano's assassins, given extensive training in the martial arts, and had plastic surgery to give him a brand new face. In 1986 it was decided by the writers to recast the role of Roman but rather than just replace him, it was decided to outright explain why he was now being played by a different actor. His character of Roman Brady was killed off in 1984 when he fell off a cliff on a tropical island in the Caribbean after being shot by Stefano. The controversy began when Wayne Northrop left the show due to problems with the direction of his character.

The struggle to eliminate Roman Brady would ultimately result in a complicated, long-running, and often retconned storyline over the "real" Roman Brady and the identity of John Black. Marlena and Roman would go on to have twins named Samantha (for her late sister) and Eric (for his late uncle). Stefano also had a burning obsession with Marlena that was complicated when it was revealed that Roman had previously been married to Stefano's daughter-in-law Anna (Leann Hunley) with whom he had a daughter named Carrie. On a personal level, Stefano also had a burning hatred with the Brady family over some unknown slight that occurred in the distant past in Ireland, that somehow involved a young Shawn Brady.

The seemingly aristocratic DiMera family actually headed a mysterious organization that operated on a global level, and was something of a cross between a crime syndicate and terrorist organization. The clan was headed by Irish-Italian patriarch Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo), who in the early 1980s relocated his family to Salem, USA. While Victor mellowed over the years, the DiMeras remained villainous. Victor's schemes also involved other villainous individuals and families, including ex-ISA agent Orpheus, Ernesto Toscano, Lawrence Alamain, Vincent Moroni, the drug-dealing Torres family, and of course, the sinister DiMeras.

She did, but soon reunited with Shane and remained married to him for a number of years. Caroline's daughter Kim Brady (Patsy Pease) befriended Victor to find incriminating evidence against him, but he uncovered her true motives and threated to kill her true love Shane Donovan (Charles Shaughnessy) unless she broke up with Shane and married Victor. The revelation that Bo was Victor's son caused Victor to renounce crime and go legit but the revelation caused problems for Shawn and Caroline Brady's relationship that would last for several years. However despite his evil, Victor had a dark secret that ultimately led to his redemption: years earlier Victor carried on an affair with Caroline Brady that resulted in the conception of Bo Brady.

Nonetheless, Victor routinely found himself in conflict with the Salem police department and the ISA over his illegal activities. There has also been some uncertainty over the history of the Kiriakis clan as well; in some instances it has been referred to as a very old and powerful dynasty, while other times it has been hinted that Victor himself grew up in much more impoverished circumstances. It's been hinted over the years that although based in Salem, a heavy amount of Victor's illegal operations took place in Chicago, Miami, Naples, and his native Greece. The Kiriakis Family was headed by Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston), a wealthy Greek businessman who had ties to organized crime, especially drugs, prostitution, and underage pornography.

Several Salem residents, including Roman Brady, Shane Donovan, John Black, Steve Johnson, Kimberly Brady, Billie Reed, Philip Kiriakis, and Bo Brady, were revealed to having served at one time or another with the ISA. Stories involving police mysteries and spy adventures unfolded, including the creation of a fictional spy agency, the International Security Alliance (ISA), to battle the unusually high-level and far-reaching global criminal conspiracies involving the Kiriakis and DiMera clans. It was the series of complications caused by this struggle that led to the "action-adventure" element that virtually came to define the show in the mid-to-late 1980s (and was attempted to be duplicated in the late 1990s and early 2000s). Both were created by show writers, who felt that the series was lacking villains for the main characters to struggle against.

Another addition to the show in the 1980s was the creation of two new families, the DiMera and the Kiriakis families. Frankie was revealed to be European royalty, and moved to Africa with Shane's daughter Eve (Charlotte Ross). The two became a couple but quickly broke up as the writers came up with the idea of pairing Jennifer with Jack Deveraux, which led to a lengthy courtship as Jennifer "redeemed" Jack through their love. Frankie was a teenager who was had been legally adopted by Shawn and Caroline Brady.

Jennifer quickly became a popular figure and began a friendship with another new character, Frankie Brady (Billy Warlock). Laura and Bill Horton's daughter Jennifer (Melissa Reeves) was brought back, now as a wild teenager sent to live with Tom and Alice Horton so as to provide the young girl with the stable home that her parents were incapable of giving her. As the show began to regain its popularity, it was also decided to bring the focus back to the Horton family, who by the mid-1980s was marginalized in favor of focus on the Brady family. Ashford was highly identifiable in the role, and future recasts brought their own style (Mark Valley, Steve Wilder).

Indeed, rather than whitewashing the rape story the writers exploited it as a source of great angst for Jack, who struggled with his guilt over the incident for several years. Jack was an extremely complex character whose dark edge was complemented with a level of existential angst over his very identity after learning that he was adopted and after his rape of Kayla. Despite his villainous behavior, when the role was recast with Matthew Ashford, Jack quickly garnered fan interest. Kayla and Jack quickly divorced afterwords and Patch and Kayla finally reunited.

In the ensuing struggle, Patch dropped Jack from the roof and the fall caused Jack to suffer extreme damage to his kidneys, forcing Patch to make the controversial decision to give Jack one of his kidneys. Kayla quickly told Patch, who attacked Jack on the roof of a nearby building. Meanwhile Kayla began an affair behind Jack's back with Patch and that when the affair was exposed, Jack committed spousal rape against Kayla. The rivalry between Jack and Patch over Kayla took an even greater turn when it was revealed that Jack was Patch's long lost brother, a revelation that led to Jack slip into a great depression over his confusion over his new identity.

Jack Deveraux (originally played by Joseph Adams, then by James Acheson) was a politically ambitious newspaper reporter from a wealthy family who became the spoiler for the relationship between Patch and Kayla, ultimately marrying Kayla during a period of health problems that left Jack near death. The show also gained ground with addition of two new characters, Steve Johnson (aka "Patch", due to the fact that the character wore an eye-patch after losing an eye while a Merchant Marine) (Stephen Nichols) and Kayla Brady (most notably played by Mary Beth Evans), whose courtship became a major storyline for the series in and helped to lead to the introduction of one of the show's most popular characters. The most popular of these couples included Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso) Brady, who quickly became the focal point of the show during the mid-80s and helped the show regain its popularity. Meanwhile on rival network ABC, the intense popularity of the pairing of Luke and Laura on General Hospital led to Days of Our Lives to attempt to cash in on the phenomenon of the "supercouple" by pairing off their assorted characters into various relationships.

DAYS dedicated Lee's remaining episodes in memory of Benet, and said Lee left town. Benet performed the scenes without complaint, but one day in 1982 she committed suicide. Falken Smith did not realize Benet's own child had recently died. Perhaps the only low point in her era was a storyline where Doug's long-lost wife Lee (Brenda Benet) agonized over her child's extended hospitalization and illness.

Falken Smith left again in the early 80's due to another contract dispute. Falken Smith was again rehired and her Salem Strangler storyline, along with the intense focus on Marlena and Roman, propelled the show to a revival. Nearly one million viewers defected between 1980 and 1981, and of the nine characters introduced in that year, only chanteuse Liz Chandler (Gloria Loring) gained a following and stayed around. To the surprise of the show, fans were not impressed by the characters who took their place.

In 1979 and 1980, nearly a dozen characters were written out of the series. Al Rabin, the executive producer at the time began to phase out people he viewed as contributing to an atmosphere of "negativism". At one point Susan Seaforth Hayes' mother was headwriter. Falken Smith left in the late 70's over a contract dispute and through a slow but steady decline in numbers, turmoil gripped the cast and crew.

By the end of the 1970s, the show had gone through numerous creative changes behind the scenes. As part of new headwriter Nina Laemmle's strategy to makeover the show, nine new characters were written in to make up for the absences. They included Bob Anderson, Brooke Hamilton, Margo Horton, Linda Anderson, Phyllis Curtis, and Robert LeClair. Over six months, and around Valentine's Day, fourteen characters were written out of the show.

Bill and Laura's exit was part of a shift in the show that would come to be known as the Valentine's Day Massacre. Their daughter Jennifer meanwhile would be sent to boarding school. Laura would be placed in a mental institution and enter into a catatonic state while Bill Horton shamefully left Salem. Laura began a slow and steady breakdown culminating in a nightmarish sequence where Laura forced her daughter Jennifer on a bus all by herself so that she could go and attempt to hang herself.

The show ended the decade with a literal bang as longtime favorites Bill and Laura Horton were written out of the show in a controversial storyline involving mental illness and adultery as Bill Horton began cheating on Laura, whose mind had become horribly unstable due to years of hiding the identity of her son Mike's father from him. Fans picketed NBC studios, but writers quickly revealed that it was Marlena's evil twin sister Samantha (who had been played by Deidre Hall's real-life twin Andrea for five years), and the show finally reunited Marlena and Roman, and they became the show's main "supercouple". The romance appeared to be short lived, when the Salem Strangler was seen killing Marlena. Proving opposites attract, Marlena and Roman became romantically involved.

After her marriage to Don ended, Marlena became the focus of the Salem Strangler, a serial killer whose unwanted attentions caused Roman Brady to move into Marlena's apartment. They had a son (D.J., who died of SIDS). Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall), who was a favorite of then head writer Pat Falken Smith (who took over after the departure of Bill Bell), Marlena Evans quickly became the show's main heroine and started a popular romance with lawyer Don Craig (Jed Allan). By the late 70s, the popular character was Dr.

Meanwhile the show began to focus more and more on an assortment of doctor characters introduced onto the show, who gained popularity amongst viewers. The show's writers would create a brand new family in the form of the middle-class Irish-Catholic family "The Bradys", who were anchored by Shawn and Caroline Brady and featured an assortment of children including Roman (originally played by Wayne Northrop) and Bo (played by Peter Reckell. The expansion of the show to an hour also allowed for the writers to expand the focus of the show beyond the Horton family. Bell agreed to provide story outlines which would run up to 1975-1976.

He created the Bill/Mickey/Laura triangle, a popular rivalry between Julie Olson and Susan Hunter, and was considered such an integral part of the program that when he left the series in the early 70's to create The Young and the Restless, NBC sued him to make him stay. Bell took over as headwriter. The show's initial storylines were co-written by the Cordays and Irna Phillips but the first real success began in the late 60's when William J. For its first 20 years on the air, Days of Our Lives was supervised by Betty Corday (her husband Ted Corday created the show but died a few years after the premiere), with her son Ken taking an increasingly large role in production.

The two would stay on the show for several more years before ultimately leaving the series early during the 1980s as their characters were being phased out in favor of new characters/relationships, but have since made numerous returns to the show since the early 1990s. Julie was divorced quickly and the two were married within weeks (in tune with the viewers' collective clamor to have the characters finally wed). En route, Doug was involved in a car accident and Julie rushed to his side. Eventually, Doug was fed up and went back to his ex-wife Kim (she had tricked him into coming back to her by saying their divorce was never final).

Julie was trapped in a loveless marriage to Bob Anderson, and although she did not want to be wed to him, he gave her security. Not long after, Addie died; she was hit by a truck as she pushed her young child's stroller to safety, but even then, Doug and Julie were not free to be a couple. In the story, Addie had assumed that she had started menopause, but found out otherwise). Addie's bout with leukemia cemented his bond to her, and she bore him a child named Hope while she was in a coma, near death from cancer (Addie was over 40 during her pregnancy; women giving birth late in life was a plot element generally left undiscussed in the early 1970s.

Doug and Julie had a rough time getting together, as Doug had once married her mother Addie (at first he was only using her for her money, but then they fell in love, even though he still loved Julie). In time, however, Doug truly fell in love with her. After some soul-searching, she realized that she could not pay off Doug to date Julie, but he told her that she couldn't back out. Susan would have no part of it, instead having him date her rival Julie.

After he was paroled, Doug came to town, intent on wooing Susan and getting his hands on some money. While in jail, Bill accidentally tipped off Doug to the fact that Susan Hunter (Denise Alexander) had come into a big inheritance as her husband was recently deceased (she had killed him, but was allowed to have the money as it was proven she was temporarily insane). The two met after Doug Williams was introduced as Bill Horton's cellmate in prison, when Bill Horton was convicted of manslaughter against Tommy Horton's wife Kitty. Another popular storyline/couple on the show during the 1970s was the relationship and marriage of wildchild Julie Olson and lounge singer turned conman Doug Williams (Bill Hayes).

Ultimately Mickey regained his memory and returned to Salem with Maggie while Laura and Bill would finally marry and have a second child Jennifer. During this time, Mickey would meet a crippled farm girl named Maggie Simmons (Suzanne Rogers) and fall in love with her. He checked himself out of the hospital and wandered to a farm, calling himself Marty Hansen. Mickey had a heart attack and a subsequent stroke, which caused him to have amnesia.

Laura sought to pass the child off as her husband Mickey's son but ultimately, it was revealed that Mickey was sterile and the truth about their son Mike Horton's parentage was revealed. The storyline began with a temporarily insane Bill Horton raped Laura and impregnated her as a result. Considered to be one of the most beloved Days of Our Lives storylines and one of the longest running storylines of the show's history, the Bill/Laura/Mickey triangle lasted for nearly a decade and was the first major storyline of the series to gain major attention from casual fans due to its twists, turns, use of dramatic pacing, and the controversial use of rape as a major plot element. Tom and Alice's other children, Bill and Mickey, fought over the affections of lovely Laura Spencer, played by Susan Flannery.

When they learned of each other's true identities, Marie was so ashamed that she went to live in a convent. Unknowingly, his sister Marie fell in love with him. Tom Horton, Jr., presumed dead in Korea, came home with a disfigured face and a new identity. Their daughter Addie (Patricia Huston, then Patricia Barry), married to Ben Olson, had much trouble raising their rebellious daughter Julie as well as their son Steven.

In the beginning, when the story did not revolve around either Tom or Alice, the love lives of their five children were put on display. One notable piece of trivia that comes from the first episode is that apparently, Salem was supposed to be Salem, Massachusetts since Marie mentioned moving to Boston once she got married to Tony. Unlike most daytime programming of the time, all of the Days of Our Lives episodes still exist. On November 8, 2005, the cable channel SOAPnet aired the first two episodes of the series.

Colla). Tom's wife Alice (Frances Reid) was lamenting the reality of all her children leaving her; her daughter Marie (at that time played by Maree Cheatham) was going to be married to Tony Merritt (Richard A. At home, Dr. Tom Horton (Macdonald Carey) and his son (Julie's uncle) Mickey (then John Clarke) were called down to the police station to resolve the matter.

As a result, her grandfather, Dr. She lied about her last name, telling the store detective that her name was Julie Horton. The first episode revolved around teenager Julie Olson (first played by Charla Doherty; since 1968 the role has been played by Susan Seaforth Hayes) stealing a mink from Bartlett's Department Store. .

The serial is set in the fictional village of Salem. Originally, the show had the Hortons as its core family. It debuted on November 8, 1965, and can still be viewed weekdays on the NBC network and around the world. Days of our Lives is a long-running American soap opera.

Tom Horton, MD) Original Cast Member, 1994. Macdonald Carey (Dr. Marcus Hunter, MD), 2004. Richard Biggs (Dr.

Brenda Benet (Lee DuMonde), 1982. Lois Banks) (until February 24). Gigi Birmingham (Dr. Olivia & Ava White (Claire Kiriakis).

Chase & Tyler Johnson (Theo Carver). Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie Olson Williams). Bill Hayes (Doug Williams). Christopher Gerse (Will Roberts).

Tanya Boyd (Celeste Perrault). Daphne Bloomer (Eugenia Willens). John Aniston (Victor Kiriakis). Billy Warlock (Frankie Brady).

Josh Taylor (Roman Brady). Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady). Suzanne Rogers (Maggie Simmons Horton). James Reynolds (Abe Carver).

Frances Reid (Alice Grayson Horton). Melissa Reeves (Jennifer Horton Deveraux). Peter Reckell (Bo Brady). Julie Pinson (Billie Holiday Reed).

Austin Peck (Austin Reed). Frank Parker (Shawn Brady). Rhasaan Orange (Tek Kramer). Alex North).

Wayne Northrop (Dr. Rachel Melvin (Chelsea Benson). Peggy McCay (Caroline Brady). Martha Madison (Belle Black Kiriakis).

Lauren Koslow (Kate Roberts). Lexie Brooks Carver). Renée Jones (Dr. John Ingle (Mickey Horton).

Brody Hutzler (Patrick Lockhart). Drake Hogestyn (John Black). Marlena Evans). Deidre Hall (Dr.

Farah Fath (Mimi Lockhart). Judi Evans Luciano (Bonnie Lockhart). Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Roberts). Jason Cook (Shawn-Douglas Brady).

Christie Clark (Carrie Brady). Darin Brooks (Max Brady). Kyle Brandt (Philip Kiriakis). Steve Blackwood (Bart Beiderbecke).

Ashley Benson (Abby Deveraux). Matthew Ashford (Jack Deveraux). Kristian Alfonso (Hope Williams Brady).