Days of Our Lives Star John Aniston (Victor Kiriakis) 1933 -2022

[Zoneboy]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv...er-1235261307/

John Aniston, the charming Greek-born actor who for more than three decades portrayed the ruthless Victor Kiriakis on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, has died. He was 89.

The father of actress Jennifer Aniston died Friday, his daughter announced.

“Sweet papa …⁣ John Anthony Aniston,” the Friends mega-star wrote in a tribute post on Instagram Monday, “You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace — and without pain. And on 11/11 no less! You always had perfect timing. That number will forever hold an even greater meaning for me now.”


Aniston had played a different character, a doctor, on Days of Our Lives in 1969-70, then worked on two other daytime serials, CBS’ Love of Life and CBS/NBC’s Search for Tomorrow, before returning to Days in July 1985. He received a Daytime Emmy nomination for his efforts in 2017.

“Soap operas have just the right amount of recognition. You get just enough to satisfy your ego but not enough to disrupt your life,” he said in a wonderful 2018 interview with Adrienne Faillace for the Television Academy Foundation website The Interviews. “Whereas some people, my daughter being one of them, can’t go anywhere.”

The dashing Aniston also appeared twice on Kojak — that show’s star, the late Telly Savalas, was Jennifer’s godfather — and also showed up on episodes of Combat!, I Spy, The Virginian, That Girl, Airwolf, Star Trek: Voyager, The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, Cold Case and Mad Men.

In the early 1970s, Aniston made it through three auditions to play newscaster Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but the part eventually went to Ted Knight.

“The original script described [the character] as the Marcello Mastroianni of Minneapolis,” he said. He was told he didn’t get hired because producers “didn’t want the possibility of a romance between Baxter and Mary.” When he saw the show, he realized that Knight was perfect for the part.

One of four children, Yiannis Anastasakis was born on July 24, 1933, in Chania on the Greek island of Crete. His father, Antonios, had gone back and forth between the U.S. and Greece before leaving his home country for good in 1935, bringing the family to Chester, Pennsylvania, where he opened a restaurant.



Aniston started acting in plays in high school and did two seasons of stock at the Allenberry Playhouse while attending Penn State University. After getting his bachelor’s degree in arts and letters, he served in the U.S. Navy as an intelligence officer based in Panama.

He moved to New York and in 1959 got a guest spot on the CBS cop show Brenner, starring Edward Binns, and began a 14-month stint playing a Native American, Chief Brown Bear, in the comic off-Broadway musical Little Mary Sunshine, starring Eileen Brennan.

Aniston tried for a part on Days of Our Lives and lost out to Bill Hayes, but he accepted an offer to play Eric Richards, a prison doctor.

After being thwarted in a bid to go to medical school in Greece, he returned to acting, spending three years as the Spaniard Edouard “Eddie” Aleata on Love of Life — Christopher Reeve played one of his stepsons — and six as the philandering Martin Tourneur on Search for Tomorrow. His daughter, then just a kid, appeared on that soap as an extra.


“I told her you don’t want to be in show business, show business stinks,” he recalled. “I tell everybody who wants to be an actor, ‘Don’t be an actor, be something else.’ Because if my telling them to stay out of show business is going to keep them out, they shouldn’t be in it in the first place.

“But I knew right from the beginning when Jennifer started auditioning for things [she would be a success], because she always got called back.”


Aniston said portraying the Greek crime boss Victor in the town of Salem appealed to him because “you could punish your enemies and reward your friends. What’s not to like?” His character was married five times, spent a year and a half in a coma and once was killed off, only to be found alive on the island of Melaswen (that’s new Salem spelled backward).

Friends fans know full well that in a second-season storyline, Joey Tribbiani, played by Jennifer’s castmate Matt LeBlanc, gets a job on Days of Our Lives, but his neurosurgeon character, Dr. Drake Ramoray, is killed off after falling down an elevator shaft.

Aniston was married to late actress Nancy Dow (Jennifer’s mother) from 1965 until their 1981 divorce and to actress Sherry Rooney, whom he met on Love of Life, since June 1984. In addition to his wife and daughter, he is survived by his son, Alexander.

Acting, Aniston pointed out in his TV Academy Foundation interview, “beats working for a living. Especially when you’re doing theater, you can feel the beast … When you’re in a play and you really control the audience, it’s a lot of fun.”

[TVLegend]

NOOOOO damnit!

RIP.

[Wawwie]

No more uncle Vic for Justin, Sonny, Brady, etc. I wonder how DOOL will write for his demise. I hope they don't have Maggie turning to the bottle again.

[shandy630]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

No more uncle Vic for Justin, Sonny, Brady, etc. I wonder how DOOL will write for his demise. I hope they don't have Maggie turning to the bottle again.

Victor was actually Brady's grandfather (by his late daughter, Isabella).

[Yong Fang]

I stopped watching Days of Our Lives after college around 1989. How long did Aniston stay on the series? I think for many years after that past 2000. I remember how Patch, Roman, John Black and whoever wanted Victor in prison, but Victor was slippery as a fish.

Aniston I think gives good advice to people who want to be actors, it seems it would be a very tough business to crack and get into to make a living from it, few succeed to make a decent living from it, much less get famous and rich. Jennifer Aniston made it partially because her father had connections in the business. Nothing wrong with that, but it isnt like Jennifer was a nobody bussing tables trying to get her big break. I think a lot of being a successful actor is being the right face at the right time in the right place.

[Dude111]

Very sad..........

[Sgt. Saunders]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Very sad..........

John Aniston was an excellent actor. I did not know that he was also a US Navy veteran.

I believe that Mr. Aniston appeared very early in his acting career with the great Telly Savalas as Greek soldiers fighting the Nazis in an episode of the terrific World War II tv series, “Combat.”

Requiem aeternam, Mr. Aniston.

[MrCleveland]

Too bad John Aniston wasn't on Friends...or was he?

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by shandy630

Victor was actually Brady's grandfather (by his late daughter, Isabella).

That's right. Victor was also grandpa to Shawn Douglas and Ciara.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Saunders

John Aniston was an excellent actor. I did not know that he was also a US Navy veteran.

I believe that Mr. Aniston appeared very early in his acting career with the great Telly Savalas as Greek soldiers fighting the Nazis in an episode of the terrific World War II tv series, “Combat.”

Requiem aeternam, Mr. Aniston.

John Aniston was great friends with Telly Savalas. He made Telly his daughter, Jennifer Aniston's godfather.

[shandy630]

Originally Posted by MrCleveland

Too bad John Aniston wasn't on Friends...or was he?

His daughter was on Friends. I believe he may have made a guest appearance or two.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by shandy630

His daughter was on Friends. I believe he may have made a guest appearance or two.

John Aniston was never on Friends. Jennifer Aniston was married to Brad Pitt during the later seasons and had him make an appearance for one of the episodes.

[shandy630]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

John Aniston was never on Friends. Jennifer Aniston was married to Brad Pitt during the later seasons and had him make an appearance for one of the episodes.

I know Brad Pitt made an appearance for a Thanksgiving episode.

John did appear on The West Wing, which was also known for having famous guest stars and cameos.

[TMC]

The Villain Evolution Of Days Of Our Lives' Victor Kiriakis

BY AMANDA LYNNE/JAN. 12, 2023 2:11 PM EST

When it comes to villains, "Days of Our Lives" knows how to bring the drama. The soap opera has been delivering shocking moments and devious characters for decades. Over the years, fans have watched Salem troublemakers such as Vivian Alamain and Kate Roberts stir up controversy around town. Others like Sami Brady, Nicole Walker, Claire Brady, and Gabi Hernandez have also gotten a reputation for causing chaos wherever they go, per Fame 10.

Other villains like Xander Cook, Kristen DiMera, Orpheus, Clyde Weston, and Andre DiMera have also left destruction in their paths (via Nine). However, the two biggest villains to ever step foot into Salem are Stefano DiMera and Victor Kiriakis, the latter of which was played by the talented John Aniston. The two men caused an unbelievable amount of devastation over the years. While Stefano was arguably the most dangerous and notorious big bad to ever appear on the sudser, per TV Overmind, Victor wasn't far behind with his criminal activities and devilish schemes.

Victor began causing trouble from the moment he stepped into town, and while he had his moments of redemption through the years, his villainous side was never hidden far under the surface. Despite all of the pain he caused during his lifetime, Victor proved to be one of the most beloved characters in the show's history.

[TMC]

Victor Kiriakis' Most Memorable Days Of Our Lives Stories

During his reign as one of Salem's biggest villains and most popular characters, Victor Kiriakis has had some truly memorable moments. Here's a look back.