Photo: Susan Flannery (with MacDonald Carey) and Jamie Lyn Bauer as Dr. Laura Spencer Horton.  The role was originated by actress Floy Dean in 1966. Susan Flannery stepped into the role from November 22, 1966 to 1975. Susan Oliver briefly appeared  from 1975–1976,  followed by Rosemary Forsyth from 1976-1980. Jamie Lyn Bauer, best known for the role, started in 1993, and remained until 1999. Laura  returned to Salem for her daughter Jennifer’s wedding to Jack Deveraux.

Her storylines focus on family troubles. Laura came to Salem in 1966 as a psychiatrist.  Her marriage to Mickey Horton  was a big part of the character’s history. She was also married to Bill Horton, whom she visited in jail. Laura went through a period where she appeared to be going insane, but she was being brainwashed by Vivian Alamain.  Bauer’s last episode aired in 1999, and she returned in 2003 and again in 2010.

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Photo:‘Ghoul girl’ Chloe Lane was introduced as a teenager in 1999. Nadia Bjorlin played Chloe nearly continuously from 1999 through 2005, and from 2007 until 2011, when she decided not to renew her contract with he soap. She made her onscreen return on January 7, 2013. Her story was somewhat similar to that of the ‘Swamp Girl’  in that plain Jane Chloe, who was bullied in high school, transformed into ‘a beautiful swan’ at the school dance. She was romantically involved with Philip Kiriakis, married to Brady Black, engaged to Lucas Roberts, put in a coma by Kate, who poisoned her, and she now has a child with Daniel Jonas.

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Billie Reed first came to Salem in 1992 as a professional singer, but her drug addiction ruined that opportunity. Her only relative in Salem was her brother Austin Reed. Carrie Brady befriended her and gave Billie a place to stay. It took a long while before Billie turned her life around. Billie didn’t even know her mother was Kate Roberts until after being accused of murdering her father Curtis Reed. Billie’s relationship with Bo Brady was famous to the character, and was a key reason she became so popular on the show. The two characters share a daughter, Chelsea Brady. Eventually, Billie started her own cosmetics company, Countess Wilhelmina. Later that year, Billie befriended Tony DiMera. He bought up 49% of Titan Industries and then brought Billie in to run the Countess Wilhelmina division.

Bo and Billie tried to marry on New Year’s Day, but the “Desecrator” struck and a falling chandelier almost killed them. They tried again, but learned that they could not marry if a lady by the name of Gina was Hope Brady. In order to help them, Gina signed a paper declaring that Hope was dead. and so Bo and Billie finally married. When Gina was eventually proven to be Hope, Billie realized that Bo had not given his marriage to Hope a fair shot, so she left Salem in 1995.

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Photo: Actor Dan Wells appeared on Days of our Lives in 2005 in a story line where Sami disguised herself as a man named Stan. The story line was to accommodate Alison Sweeny’s s pregnancy and maternity leave in 2005. Wells has made numerous appearances on TV series including Watch Over Me and 90210. Wells appears in 2012’s Divorce Invitation that also stars Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe).

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Photo: Beauregard “Bo” Aurelius Brady is the youngest of the series’ Brady family. Created under head-writer Margaret DePreist, the role was originated by actor Peter Reckell  on May 2, 1983. Robert Kelker Kelly briefly stepped into the role from June 1992 to May 1995.  Reckell returned to portray Bo on August 1, 1995.

Bo Brady, the only son of Caroline Brady, and Victor Kiriakis, originally believes that Shawn Brady is his biological father, until Caroline reveals he is not. Bo first came to Salem in 1983. He eventually welcomes his first child, Shawn Douglas Brady into the family. Bo becomes a detective for the Salem Police Department.  Much later Bo has another child, Zack Brady.

During the Salem Stalker Storyline, Bo loses both his mother (Caroline), and his brother (Roman). He decides to rejoin the police force, and is the one who arrests Marlena Evans Black. When all are discovered to be alive on an island, Bo is part of the rescue team, and is shocked to find his past love, Billie Reed, there as well. On New Years Day 2006, Zack is hit by a car driven by his daughter Chelsea Brady. Bo learns that Chelsea was the one driving the car that hit Zack, but agrees to keep it secret from everyone because at the time, he believed that the truth would be too hard.

In 2008, Bo suffered from cancer, however Bo received a bone marrow transplant from Shawn and Chelsea. When Bo recovers, Shawn and Belle leave Salem to sail the world. After Bo suffers minor concussion in a fall around Christmas, 2008, he begins to experience psychic visions.These visions ultimately cause a rift in the space time continuum. Bo is later knocked out again and he no longer has any visions.

In June 2012, after much speculation, it was confirmed that Reckell would once again exit the soap. On October 30 2012, Bo left town with his mother Caroline, in order for her to undergo treatment for Alzheimer’s. Reckell filmed his final scenes for Days of our Lives on July 24, 2012.

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Photo: Kristian Alfonso with Peter Reckell, 1983

Character Hope Williams Brady was born on-screen on January 10, 1974 to Doug Williams and Addie Horton. On December 24, 1974, while crossing the street, an oncoming car threatened both Hope and Addie, but Addie pushed Hope’s carriage out of the way, just in time to save her youngest daughter, but not herself. Addie died, and Hope was taken in by her maternal grandparents, Tom and Alice Horton, until Doug was strong enough to take care of her. Addie, who was wealthy from her first marriage to Ben Olson, left Doug and Hope with financial security. Soon after Addie’s death, Doug married Hope’s half-sister Julie Olson. Hope was sent off to boarding school and not seen again unti she returned in the spring of 1983 as Roman Brady  rescued her after she ran away from boarding school and later fell from a car driven by a drunk friend. She later developed a crush on Roman, but his brother, Bo Brady fell in love with her. They eventually married, and she became a Salem Police detective.

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Photo: Actress Melissa Reeves as Jennifer Horton

Despite coming onto the show as a rebellious teenager, Jennifer  has transformed into one of the show’s most historic heroines. Jennifer is known throughout the soap world for her pairing with Jack Deveraux, most popularly portrayed by Matthew Ashford. The pairing of Jack and Jennifer, known as “J&J” to soap fans, has become one of the soaps’ most infamous supercouples. The jade plant symbolizes their enduring love for one another, and one was sent to Jennifer after Jack’s supposed death in a recent elevator accident. Does this mean that Jack Deveraux hasn’t ‘bit the dust’ just yet?!

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Photo: Sami and Lucas, 1993. The role of Lucas Roberts was originated by actor Bryan Dattilo, who joined the cast on April 15, 1993. His storylines often revolve around his relationship with Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney). Dattilo remained with the series until February 2001 when the actor was abruptly fired from the series. Executive producer Ken Corday spoke out on the firing, which also included Peggy McCay (Caroline) and Frank Parker (Shawn), stating that it was simply to give the character of Lucas a “rest”. Later, in November 2001, it was reported that Dattilo was to return to the series in time for February Sweeps. After a summer hiatus, Dattilo returned to the soap again around September 2001.  Dattilo remained with the soap for eight years until it was announced in December 2009 that the actor would leave the soap once again in February 2010. Dattilo later confirmed that he quit the series of his own accord and was certainly not fired. Executives at NBC decided to bring back old characters in the spring of 2012, with plans to keep Dattilo’s character, ‘Mr. Lucas’ for several more years.

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Photo: Actress Peggy McCay has played a long list of characters in television over the years (above right, with MacDonald Carey in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 1962). But she is best known for her role as Caroline Brady, the matriarch of the Brady family, on Days. Caroline’s storylines focus on family troubles. She is portrayed as a stoic, opinionated battle-axe – a family oriented woman. Introduced in 1983, Caroline’s marriage to Shawn Brady was central to the character for her first years on the program, when they operated the Brady Fish market in Salem.

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Photo: The role of Kristen Blake was originated by soap actress Eileen Davidson, who was best known for her portrayal of Ashley Abbott on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless  and as the final actress to portray the character of Kelly Capwell  on the soap opera Santa Barbara on May 17, 1993. During Davidson’s run on Days (1993-98), she also portrayed four other characters: Susan Banks (1996–98), Sister Mary Moira Banks (1997–98), Thomas Banks (1997) and Penelope Kent (1998). Davidson departed the role of Kristen on April 24, 1998. After Davidson’s 2006 release from The Young and the Restless, rumors began to circulate that she would return to Days of our Lives. This speculation was later debunked when it was announced that her Y&R alter-ego would crossover to its sister series The Bold and The Beautiful.

In May 2012, Davidson informed followers on her Twitter page that she had been let go from The Young and the Restless. It was then announced by Nelson Branco that SONY Entertainment wanted Davidson on both The Young and the Restless and on Days, but that Y&R would not share the actress, leading to Sony terminating her contract with the show (!), believing that Days needed the actress more than Y&R. It was announced that Davidson would reprise her dual roles of Kristen Blake and Susan Banks. The Hollywood Reporter later confirmed that Davidson had signed on to return to Days of our Lives in the role of Kristen, and possibly some of her other Salem alter-egos as time goes on….

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 Photo: Jean Bruce Scott reprised the role of Nick’s mom Jessica Blake Fallon several few weeks ago. Best known for her portrayal of helicopter pilot Caitlin O’Shannessy  in the 1984-1986 CBS television series Airwolf, her character on Days is the daughter or Marie Horton, granddaughter of Tom and Alice Horton and  she is also Hope’s cousin. Scott’s original stint on Days lasted from 1980 to 1982. She played a nurse who married Joshua Fallon (he had a ‘fling’ with Marlena Evans!) and they left town together.

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Photo: Not so nice Nicole

Nicole Walker, the daughter of Paul Mendez and Fay Walker, first arrived in Salem in February 1998. She was an overworked waitress at the Java Cafe. After a cancer scare and a brief rekindling of her relationship with Eric Brady, Nicole divorced Lucas (!) and schemed her way into the arms of Victor Kiriakis (much to the dismay of Kate Roberts, the mother of Victor’s son, Philip Kirakis). In July 2001, Nicole’s father died. She and Victor marry, but the honeymoon period is brief. It isn’t long before Nicole plots Victor’s death, and her subsequent inheritance of the Kiriakis fortune. She pays Larry Welch to assassinate Victor, but it ends up not happening. She then teams up with Jan Spears, and Victor’s death is linked with the Salem Stalker killings.

Nicole then turned her pursuit to Victor’s grandson, Brady Black.Thinking she has finally found her true love, she is ready to settle down. Nicole is unable to stop her manipulative and deceptive behavior and when she finds out that Brady’s long-time love Chloe Lane was still alive, the web of deceit starts once again. When Brady eventually finds out what Nicole has been hiding from him, he ends their relationship. Nicole leaves town in 2006, only to return again in 2008. She continues to repeat her on again, off again, good and bad behavior. Over the years, Nicole has worked as a Campaign Publicist, Reporter for Titan TV , Vice president of Austin Reed and Company, President of Titan Publishing, Editor-in-chief of Bella Magazine, and as a Fashion Model  (Whew!)

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Photo: Rachel Melvin (Chelsea) and Blake Berris (Nick), 2007.

Actor Blake Berris played the part of  Nick Fallon (November 7 2006 – January 2009). It has been widely speculated that his return will somehow coincide with the tunnel explosion ‘DAYSaster’. Son of Jessica Blake and Joshua Fallon and a member of the Horton clan, Nick was brought to town to help Kayla while she was suffering from a mysterious illness. His skills helped save her life, but he was a lot less brilliant in the romance department. Painfully shy, he created an alternative online identity and slowly seduced Chelsea Benson. However, that didn’t stop him from having a one night stand with her drunken mother, Billie. While he tried keeping all of these things a secret, he was blackmailed by Willow, who eventually wound up dead when she tripped over a rock! Even after learning of his misdeeds, Chelsea found the traumatized Nick and they jumped into bed. After that, she knew her feelings for him weren’t quite real. Alone again, Nick stuck around town. He was blackmailed by Kate into doing her dirty work and continued chasing after Chelsea. She treated him coldly so he drunkenly married a woman while on a gambling run!The ‘bride’ went to jail shortly, thereafter, and he was stuck looking after her kids, who it turned out were the children of obscure foreign nobility (only on a soap opera)! Once the children went home to their father, Chelsea was impressed by Nick’s caring side. He continued to pine after her but their relationship fizzled. Eventually, he noticed his friend Max had suddenly become a mathematical genius. Nick helped him get some of his work noticed and this led to Trent, Max’s long lost father, coming into their lives. It also meant that Max’s madcap sister, Melanie, made her first appearance. Nick became obsessed with Mel, which only intensified after he became addicted to pills. The addiction came about due to treatment he received after being shot while rescuing Mel from a rapist. His behavior became more erratic, which eventually lead to Nick killing Mel’s abusive father Trent, sending Nick to jail.

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Photo – from Days past: The Horton family poses for a group photo in the Horton Living Room in 1973. Edward Mallory (Bill Horton), John Clarke (Mickey Horton), Marie Cheatham (Sister Marie Horton),  John Lupton (Tommy Horton), Frances Reid (Alice Horton), Macdonald Carey  (Tom Horton) and Patricia Barry (Addie Horton).

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Photo: From Days past – Mike and Margo Horton, 1978

The story of Mike Horton has been improvised and re-written a number of times, with most new storylines having a different and younger actor playing the part. In late 1977, Mike Horton had had enough of his family’s middle-class problems and yearned for a simpler life. To distance himself from them, he had taken an apartment with a friend and started working as an auto mechanic. He soon met Margo Anderman. She was low class and rather uneducated, but Mike didn’t care about that. Margo was a kind, loving young woman, and he had fallen in love with her.

By July of 1978, they were wed. However, their happiness was short lived. Margo had leukemia. Although it went into remission towards the end of the year, the young couple started 1979 in a financial crisis caused by the medical debts acquired while she was sick.

Margo and Mike were deeply in love, and he only wanted to make her happy. To do so, Mike began to borrow money from his family and friends to pay off the debts, but ended up acquiring new ones. He bought a new car and even a fur coat for Margo. His parents helped him buy a house. Soon he was in financial ruin and sought the help of loan shark, Earl Roscoe. Mike also began working for Earl as a way to pay off his own debt.

Later that year, Margo’s friend Trish Clayton asked her to hide some diamonds she had obtained. Trusting her friend a bit naively, Margo agreed, unaware they were stolen. However, when Mike fell behind on his payments to Earl and was threatened, Margo used some of the diamonds as collateral to appease Earl. After some time, Margo saved the money to pay off some of Mike’s debt and Earl gave her one of the diamonds back, but she didn’t realize he had given her a fake.

Unfortunately, Mike fell even further behind and Earl began terrorizing him and Margo. He threatened to burn down their home and also fired a shot into the house while Margo was inside. Earl went as far as pushing Margo down a flight of stairs. Luckily, her injuries were not life threatening, but both Margo and Mike were terrified by the situation. Margo tried everything to get away from Earl Roscoe. She even had plastic surgery to change her appearance , and when the bandages came off her head, she was played by a new actress!

By 1980, Mike was unsure of how to handle Earl and went to Mickey Horton for help. He set Margo and Mike up on a farm in Brookville, where he had lived with his wife Maggie years before. Meanwhile, Trish had discovered the fake diamond and realized Earl must have conned Margo out of her money and the real diamond. Trish confronted Earl and, after she left his office, he realized he had made too many enemies in Salem so he set it on fire and fled town. With Earl gone, Mike and Margo were able to return home.

Sadly, Margo and Mike’s homecoming was marred by tragedy. Margo’s leukemia had returned. She began chemotherapy sessions once again, but by midsummer she was dead. Mike took the loss of his wife hard, and because of Margo’s death, he would eventually leave Salem to pursue a career in medicine.