This week, Days of Our Lives celebrates 60 years of drama with a gala event—and over the weekend, Woman’s World snuck into the soap opera’s real-world anniversary party to mingle with stars Deidre Hall, Susan Hayes, Stephen Nichols, James Reynold, Eric Martsolf, Emily O’Brien, Linsey Godfrey, Emily O’Brien, AnnaLynne McCord, Suzanne Rogers, Jackée Harry, Martha Madison, 2025 Daytime Emmy-winner Paul Telfer and more!
Salem’s on-air celebration promises glitz, glam, and of course a big twist (or two?), along with the returns of old friends like Roark Critchlow’s Mike, Maree Cheatham’s Marie, Melissa Reeves’ Jennifer, Matt Ashford’s Jack, Bryan Dattilo’s Lucas, Ali Sweeney’s Sami, Chandler Massey’s Will, Greg Vaughan’s Eric, Christopher Sean’s Paul, Lamon Archey’s Eli, Sal Stowers’s Lani, Stephen Schnetzer’s Steven and Colton Little’s Andrew.
Here, we take you out on the red carpet, where the stars tease what to expect from Days of Our Lives’ 60th Anniversary week and reflect on their show’s epic run.
‘Days’ 60th has Stephen Nichols feeling old–but he’s not complaining!
When we ask Stephen Nichols how he feels about Days of Our Lives celebrating its 60th year of drama on November 8, the handsome actor known for playing Steve “Patch” Johnson has one word for us: “Old!”
“I’ve been here 40 years this past June,” he adds. “I’m telling you, the very first year or so was some of the most creative time in my life—and yes, it’s still fun!”
“It’s still good because so many of the same people are there, including the crew,” he continues. “It’s like a family. I know you’ve heard this many times before, but for folks who’ve been there a long time, like myself, it really is. Because when you leave, you go away for a couple of years and come back, it’s like you’ve never left. Everybody is always loving and sweet, so I’m just so happy to be here.”
Josh Taylor says ‘Days’ 60th anniversary returns were ‘like a high school reunion’
While this week’s shows celebrate Days of Our Lives’ 60th anniversary with nostalgic nods to the past, that party has actually been going all year.
“To see Carrie, Shane and all those returns for John Black’s funeral was such a poignant moment,” Daytime Emmy-winner Eric Martsolf says, and it’s not over.
“When Hurricane Sami comes in, that’s always a blast,” he teases. “There are some crazy blasts from the past returning to town, and not just for the sake of having them come back. They’re actually integrated into the story and make impacts on people and characters, and that’s fun.”
For Days old-timers, on screen and off, those returns are a whole different kind of fun.
“It’s been really great to see people I haven’t seen for a long time, and everyone was glad to be back for the funeral,” confides Josh Taylor—who played Chris Kositchek from ‘76 to ’87 and stepped in as Roman Brady in ‘97. “Some of these people were on the show when I started. It was kind of like a high school reunion. ‘Oh my God, how are you doing?’”
Missy Reeves calls the 60th anniversary gala ‘classic’ ‘Days of Our Lives’
One returning player who’s been feeling the reunion spirit is Melissa Reeves. On the heels of her own 40th anniversary episode honoring her run as Jennifer Horton, her character is now threatening to take the grandkids back to Boston and naturally, she’s in the mix for this week’s gala honoring her grandfather.
“Years ago, we used to do these parties all the time, and that was what people loved to see,” Reeves told us back when she was on set. “We have the best hair, best makeup, beautiful wardrobe—and you’ll get all of that at the gala, plus some good storylines woven into the celebration. It’s classic Days of Our Lives!
“It really was amazing to celebrate what Ted and Betty Corday created in 1965,” she adds. “I didn’t realize when I was young what I was stepping into. They give you a contract, and you think maybe it will be six months.
“Now, this is my history,” she marvels. ”So to go back and be with everybody, to celebrate Days of Our Lives, felt like I was in somebody else’s dream. It’s humbling, and so incredible to just love on everyone and get to celebrate Ken and his parents.”
We have the best hair, best makeup, beautiful wardrobe—and you’ll get all of that at the gala, plus some good storylines woven into the celebration. It’s classic Days of Our Lives!
Linsey Godfrey on ‘Days’ veterans—‘These women are amazing, and so are the men!’
With so many legends still regular cast members, Linsey Godfrey—who’s played Sarah Horton since 2012 and got her start on The Bold and the Beautiful—admits she can get a bit greedy.
I’m just endlessly grateful to be a part of this show. You feel this overwhelming sense of legacy. It’s just incredible
“If we’re going to have chunks of time that I can sit and chat, I immediately saddle up to the nearest veteran,” she explains. “And to have Suzanne Rogers, who’s been on for over 50 years, play my mom? She’s so wicked funny. Anytime there’s a break on set, I’ll ask her a million questions, and she’s so generous with her answers.
“So is Susan Hayes, Deidre Hall, Lauren Koslow, Mary Beth Evans, Missy Reeves—all these women are amazing, and so are the men,” she adds. “James Reynolds is an angel baby. Stephen Nichols, Josh Taylor, and our late great Drake Hogestyn… I’m just endlessly grateful to be a part of this show. You feel this overwhelming sense of legacy. It’s just incredible.”
Eric Martsolf honors the ‘Days’ veterans who ‘built the train’ he gets to ride
Having signed on as Brady after Passions ended in 2008, Martsolf can’t argue.
“That generation built the train, and we just get to ride it,” he says. “And we’re still going strong!”
He adds that the “family” atmosphere Nichols mentioned is the nature of the Daytime TV beast.
“Other workplaces literally have walls that separate everyone,” he explains. “People are in offices and cubicles. You’re supposed to mind your own business.
“But we are the antithesis,” he continues. “We are here to break down our own walls, be vulnerable, share everything, and cry and laugh with the people we work with. Our business is mutual. And if you do a movie or something, you might go through something together in real life, but we literally share deaths, life and kids from diapers all the way to college. It’s just nuts.”
Josh Taylor says ‘Days’ thrives on romance, family, adventure and ‘out there stuff’
As for the question of how this show has lasted the test of time—not the mention the move from NBC to streaming on Peacock—Taylor has a few ideas.
“It’s not easy to put your finger on it, because we’ve gone a lot of different places,” he points out. “But we have our solid, strong families—the Bradys, the Hortons, the DiMeras—that you can obviously play off and intertwine.
“I also think Days has been good at mixing romance with danger, and some really out there stuff like going to the island,” he adds, referring to the storyline that saw just about all the show’s legacy players killed off by the Salem Stalker… only to then find them alive and well on Melaswen. “I was part of that. But fortunately, I knew I was coming back!”
Deidre Hall says ‘having a thriving love story is the secret’ to soap opera success
Deidre Hall, who will celebrate 50 years as Marlena Evans this April, has famously played devil possession, twins, and, of course, the above-mentioned Salem Stalker! For all the mad fun she’s had, however, she points to love as the thread.
“As executive producer Ken Corday often says, there’s always a young love story out there somewhere,” she grins. “One of the tells that you’re even going to last in daytime is that you have a proper love story. I had the love story with Jed Allen, and thought, ‘Oh, here we go!’ Then Wayne Northrop came in and then, obviously, Drake Hogestyn.
“John and Marlena, iconic,” she adds wistfully. “Having a thriving love story is the secret to all of it.”
James Reynolds celebrates the ‘flame’ of new soap opera, ‘Beyond the Gates’
Not only has Days of Our Lives thrived, but it has outlived many soap operas—not to mention the oft-repeated cry that the genre, as a whole, is dying.
“When I started, there were maybe 16 daytime dramas?” says James Reynolds, whose played Abe Carver since 1981. “I’m not sure of the number, but all those great shows have disappeared.
“Now we’re down to four long-running shows… and one brand new one,” he says, referring to Beyond the Gates. “It’s like the embers are coming alive. This fire has been flickering for a while, but now, all of a sudden, we see flame over there. It’s exciting.” There are some things I cannot share that are pretty shocking
‘Days’ 60th Anniversary gala promises to be ‘an unexpected ride’
With the soap opera genre performing well and even growing in the age of streaming, Days of Our Lives celebrates turning 60 with a gala honoring the opening of the Tom Horton Free Clinic—and while the stars on the red carpet were tight-lipped about this week’s drama in Salem, we did get some tease.
“All I can tell you is that it’s going to be an unexpected ride and definitely an unexpected turn of events,” says Emily O’Brien, who plays Gwen and Theresa. “I’m barely physically part of it, but Gwen is definitely in the middle of it. She’s a crucial part of it… There are some things I cannot share that are pretty shocking, so sit tight and keep your eyes glued to the screen!”
