December 26 marked the final appearance of DAYS’s John Aniston (Victor), who died on November 11 at the age of 89. His co-stars paid tribute to him on Instagram.
Bryan R. Dattilo (Lucas): “John Aniston…. Mr. Victor Kiriakis. My grandmother’s favorite character [while] I was growing up watching DAYS in the ’80s. When I got the job in ’93, I was fortunate enough to first work with Victor Kiriakis, Mr. John Aniston. He was an amazing actor, an amazing man, master of the cue cards, master of crossword puzzles and [sudoku]. He was great at that. Master of the cue cards even though you could never tell he was using them. Just a great all-around guy. I do have to say that I am sorry that Kate burned down the Kiriakis mansion and put Lucas in a coma. But some of those scenes at the Kiriakis mansion when I first started out were so fun to do, because of you. You will sorely be missed, my man. Long live the the Greek warrior, Mr. Victor Kiriakis, John Aniston — a wonderful, wonderful man.”
Judi Evans (Bonnie): “John Aniston. An amazing man. An amazing actor, but truly an amazing man. Kind and generous and of course very funny, of course great with the one-liners. But literally had a new joke every single day. I would run up to him every morning and even before hello, ‘joke please’ and never once a repeat. The kindness, the generosity, old-world charm that connected to every age. Such a giving man. He will be missed. His smile, his laughter and such an intelligent and brilliant man. Watching him with his sudoku every day…. just being around such a quick-witted, loving and again, generous man. It is just not going to be the same without him. We all just love, love, love you and will miss you so much.”
Deidre Hall (Marlena): “Everybody over here at DAYS OF OUR LIVES has been sharing stories and memories of our friend, John Aniston. We all remember him sitting in the makeup room with a fresh new joke every single day. I can still hear him say, ‘Hey Dee, did you hear the one about….’ It’s going to be a lot more quiet now. But what I know for sure now is heaven just got a lot more fun.”
Tina Huang (Melinda): “I am so grateful that I got to share a couple of scenes with Mr. Aniston. I was still new to the show and really nervous. I had all of these long, legally jargon-y passages, monologues. He had to just had to interject with just yesses and uh-huhs and things like that. I was just so nervous to just get through it and plus getting to work with this legend in front of me. When they were done and they called, ‘Cut,’ I was still nervous — ‘I hope I got through it’. He said, ‘I think this girl needs more lines.’ He smiled this cheeky smile and so much warmth exuded from him. I felt so lucky to be on the receiving end of that and all of my nerves just melted away. He made me feel like I belonged and I will be forever grateful for that.”
Wally Kurth (Justin; Ned, GH): “John was my acting partner for the first four years of my television career. If I wasn’t working with Judi I was working with John and both of them were instrumental in sort of shaping who I am as a professional and how I approach the work. But John in particular, maybe because he was a father figure and a man, I really watched how he carried himself on the set and how he would analyze a script. So to this day I still work in a way that if I really examined my methodology, it would be John Aniston. One thing I loved about John was his ability to underplay but still remain incredibly truthful and honest and never overdid it to the point of, you know, melodrama. Although, John used to proudly say, or wisely say, that soaps at their heart is camp, which I think he meant melodrama. John was not melodramatic but he could be campy [laughs]. Anyway, I loved John and he was so instrumental in my development as an actor and as a human being. I am just so grateful that he was part of my TV life and certainly the beginning of my TV career and I will miss him terribly.”
Eric Martsolf (Brady): “He was a king. Johnny A. was a king of his era of daytime. I was always reminded of that when I would walk into the Kiriakis mansion and there he was sitting in that chair. You knew that he owned that chair, he owned that set and he usually owned the scene that you had with him. John, thanks for making DAYS OF OUR LIVES just a little bit better for all of us around here. We miss you. Rest in peace.”
Stephen Nichols (Steve): “John Aniston was a great actor. I had the good fortune of working with John almost exclusively when I started out in daytime television. I learned a lot from him. He was so much fun to work with because he was so relaxed and he gave so much. He was so handsome [laughs]. He was handsome and had [a] beautiful melodious voice. He could do it all. He could play it all. He could play the heavy or the heartsick lover. Anyone in the business who knew his work had great respect for him. Those of us who knew John, the man, had great love for him. Thanks, John, for everything you brought to the world, to us, to our lives. I am sure going to miss you.”
Peter Reckell (Bo): “Whenever John and I worked together I would show up in his dressing room and was always greeted by at least two or three jokes and some wisdom. Whether it was important stuff like stock market or silly stuff like, ‘Whenever you are stuck in rush hour traffic, changing lanes, it doesn’t make any sense, because you always end up at the place at the same time.’ John and I always had some pretty amazing work to do with each other. We went through the whole gamut as father and son. I think one of the best compliments an actor can have is never get caught acting. That is one thing he taught me, you know, to never get caught acting. Thinking about him and all the stuff that we did, whenever I looked at him when we were working together, he was just my dad. I am going to miss him a lot.”
Paul Telfer (Xander): “My favorite memory about John Aniston is from when first I started working here. It was the first time he asked me into his room to run lines with him. I guess he knew I might be sticking around. I asked him, because he was in his 70s then and I asked him what kept him motivated to keep coming here. He said, ‘It beats working for a living.’ I always try to remember that when things get tough: ‘It beats working for a living.’ Thanks, John. Miss you.”
Zach Tinker (Sonny): “I am beyond grateful that I got the chance to work with John. I only got to work with him about a little under a year. He was still sharp as a tack. He was a titan, pun very intended, of the industry and of the business. May he rest in peace.”
Robert Scott Wilson (Alex, DAYS): “The man, the myth, the absolute legend, Mr. John Aniston. What can’t be said enough about you, man. I am grateful to have known you. I am honored to have been able to work with you. For many years when they asked me who I wanted to work with, my answer was always Victor Kiriakis. From begging for my life from you to stop you from strangling me, to calling you Uncle Vic, has been a highlight of my life and I am forever grateful. Thank you for laying down this foundation for any man or any actor to strive for and how to be. They just don’t make them like you anymore, John. We miss you and we love you.”
Arianne Zucker (Nicole): “Hi, everybody. I just want to share one of my fondest memories that I used to do for John Aniston. Every single time he walked through the studio doors, since I met him, I used to sing him a little tune. A little something like this: ‘Mr. Aniston, doot de doob, Mr. Aniston, doot de doob, Mr. Aniston is in the building, Mr. Aniston is here.’ Love you, John Aniston.”
