Things Only Massive Days Of Our Lives Fans Would Know

Published on July 15, 2019. Updated February 16, 2022

Days of Our Lives (DOOL) is a soap opera that has a long and rich history with over three decades of being on daytime television screens. Fans of the show have watched their favorite characters fall in love, embark on adventures, suffer heartache, and so much more. Think you are a huge DOOL fan? Test your knowledge! Below are some things that only massive Days fans would know.

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12. Original Carrie Brady

Fans have seen actress Christie Clark [pictured] grow right in front of their eyes while playing the role of Carrie Brady. Entering the part at the young age of 13, many forget that she actually wasn’t the first actress to be cast in as Carrie. The original actress to step into the role was Andrea Barber from Full House and Fuller House fame. A child at the time, Barber played the character from 1982 to 1986. Clark would step into the role later in ’86, and never look back.

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11. Raised By Strangers

Speaking of, it’s hard to believe, but there was a prolonged time in her childhood where Carrie was raised by strangers, as both her bio-parents were around. In fact, in 1984 when her dad Roman was thought to be deceased, stepmom Marlena raised her, and even when “Roman” returned in 1986 (who was really John Black), there were years she was living in a home with people who weren’t her parents. Of course, they loved and cared for her as though they were.

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10. Most-Recast Character

While it has been a long time since Mike Horton has graced our daytime screens, he was once a staple in Salem storylines. As popular as the character was back in the day, fans have seen the many faces of Mike over the years as the part has been recast over 15 times since Horton first appeared on the show.

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9. Same Intro Since Its Debut

Soap opera shows evolve over the years, and as such, their intros tend to be updated. While Days has changed quite a bit over time, the one constant that fans can rely on is that hour-glass theme song, which has remained the same since the show’s debut in 1965. In fact, some viewers still get goosebumps when Macdonald Carey’s (Dr. Tom Horton) voice emerges, letting everyone know that the drama is about to unfold by saying, “like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our lives.”

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8. Longest-Standing Character

While may characters have come and gone over the years, some have been able to make a lasting impact. That can certainly be said about Julie Williams, played by actress Susan Seaforth Hayes, who continues to entertain fans to this day on the show. While Hayes wasn’t the original actress to play Williams, the character is the only current role on the show that was seen during DOOL’s debut, and remains in Salem storylines today.

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7. Kayla’s Life Before Patch

Steve and Kayla are like carrots and peas — they just go perfectly! Therefore, it’s kind of weird to think of her with anyone else. Before she met and fell in love with Patch in 1986, Kayla had quite the love life dating characters Tim Casey, Mike Horton, and Chris Kositchek. Since meeting Patch, Kayla hasn’t really been linked with that many people, even while she thought he was dead she only briefly dated Shane Donovan. It seems as if no one really caught her eye after being swooned by Steve.

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6. One Actor, Two Roles

Speaking of Chris Kositchek, most fans may not remember this, but he was originally played by actor Josh Taylor, who currently portrays Roman Brady on the show. He’s not the only Days actor to play two different roles on the show; actor Wayne Northrop was the original Roman Brady in the early ‘80s and ‘90s, and would return to play new character Alex North for a short while in 2005.

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5. The Link To Friends

Most fans know there was a DOOL link to the highly popular sitcom Friends back in the day (pun-intended), when character Joey Tribbiani landed an ongoing role on the show within Friends storylines. It was cool to see familiar faces like Sami Brady, Brady Black, Jack Deveraux, and others in primetime. But, another link to Friends is the fact that John Aniston, who plays Victor Kiriakis, also happens to be the father of Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green on the comedy.

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4. Almost Cancelled

DOOL fans tend to hold their breaths annually when the NBC network announces renewals of programs, and with the rollercoaster-like ratings around all soap operas these days, most show contracts extend for only a year. Having said that, the daytime drama came very close to being canceled in 2007 when then-NBC president Jeff Zucker made a comment about the soap not likely continuing past 2009. Of course, thanks to Days’ fan base it did extend well past that year and seems to be going strong.

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3. The Many Faces Of Eileen

Who missed Eileen Davidson in the role of Kristen DiMera? She joined the cast of DOOL in 1993, and would have a solid run on the show. While most fans are aware that Davidson also played eccentric character Susan Banks, there was a point in time that she played multiple roles as the entire family, including Penelope Kent, Sister Mary Moira Banks, and stepped into the part of a man, portraying Thomas Banks.

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2. Jack Is Alive!

Is anyone ever truly gone in the land of soaps? Not really, and one character you can certainly point to on this subject is Jack Deveraux. Now, he’s not in a spy organization, not really ever a target of the DiMera family and not part of the police department; however, Jack has “passed away” and come back to life four times! Pretty cool, considering how tame Jack is in the adventure department.

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1. Is This Place For Real?

Most fans ask themselves that question daily while watching Days. The show can be very entertaining at times, yet very over-the-top with demon possessions, crazy islands, no one truly dying, and aliens that visit all the time. Having said that, there truly is a little town called Salem (Illinois) in the United States, and while DOOL’s Salem is fictional, characters have referred to Chicago being close to the town and it was confirmed in 2015 on Today that Salem was located in the state of Illinois.