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Yes, Your Favorite Actor Was on Days of Our Lives: See Who They Played
“I feel like a spy from nighttime television,” Dick Van Dyke joked about his Daytime Emmy-winning run on Days of Our Lives.
Like sands through the hourglass, some of your favorite actors and celebrities have passed through the halls of the beloved soap opera Days of Our Lives, now streaming its 60th season on Peacock.
That’s actually not so surprising. After all, the venerable series has been airing since 1965. In fact, on August 26, the series begins its must-see 60th season. It’s the latest chapter in the ongoing story of the trials and tribulations of the residents of the fictional town of Salem.
In celebration of the Big 6-0, let’s look back at some of your showbiz faves who’ve spent time in Salem.
What famous actors have been on Days of Our Lives?
Dick Van Dyke
In 2023, Van Dyke, the 97-year-old star of Mary Poppins and The Dick Van Dyke Show, made his daytime debut, per PEOPLE, as an elderly amnesiac who turns up in Salem.
The character ended up being Salem detective John Black’s biological dad.
“I feel like a spy from nighttime television,” Van Dyke joked earlier this year when he won a Best Guest Star Daytime Emmy Award, nbcchicago.com reported.
Betty White
By 1988, the inimitable White had made her mark as the flirty Sue Anne on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the perennially daffy Rose on The Golden Girls.
In January of ’88, NBC Daytime created a contest inviting fans to guess how many times White appeared in its slates of soaps.That included Days of Our Lives, Another World, and Santa Barbara. For the Days promo, Betty appeared with Charles Shaughnessy, as Shane Donovan, and Billy Warlock, as Frankie, per welovesoaps.net.
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Mila Kunis
Kunis made her TV debut in 1994 as a young Hope in the NBC soap. That was four short years before she broke through as the self-possessed Jackie Burkhart on That '70s Show and later went on to star in hit movies as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Black Swan.
Pamela Anderson
In 1992, Anderson had a two-episode arc on Days of Our Lives. That was a year after she began her run on Home Improvement and a couple of years before she’d break through in a mahor way as a lifeguard on Baywatch.
Cindy wasn’t a splashy part, but the character shared scenes with a Salem supercouple: Jack and Jennifer, played by Matthew Ashford and Melissa Reeves. Look for them when the upcoming can’t-miss 15,000th episode of Days of Our Lives airs.
Marla Gibbs
Gibbs is famous for playing Florence Johnston, a no-nonsense maid on The Jeffersons, which ran on CBS from 1975 to 1985. She cleaned up with Emmy nominations in that signature role. She then went on to star in the NBC sitcom, 227.
From 2021 to 2023, Gibbs was cast on Days of Our Lives as Olivia Price, the mother of real estate mogul-turned-Salem mayor Paulina Price (Jackee Harry).
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Jensen Ackles
On The Boys, Ackles plays Soldier Boy, a controversial superhero with a dark streak. He previously hunted demons as Dean during the 15- season run of Supernatural, a fantasy series that wrapped in 2020.
From 1997 to 2000, Ackles played Eric Brady on Days of Our Lives. At the time, Eric was the rule-abiding teenage son of Roman Brady and Marlena Evans.
Ross Mathews
Now you know (and love) Mathews for playing himself on The Drew Barrymore Show and RuPaul’s Drag Race. Between 2008 and 2011, before becoming a household name, Mathews worked his acting chops on daytime TV. He played Chris, a customer at the Salem Health Club who befriends a couple of Salem’s finest, according to E! Online.
Keep up with all the starry comings and goings on Days of Our Lives, now streaming on Peacock.
