Days of our Lives’ Deidre Hall Details What Makes the Show Family
Craig Melvin actually had one of the best days of his life.
Indeed, the Today host fulfilled a lifelong dream on the June 19 episode of the morning show as he received a slap in the face from longtime Days of Our Lives star Deidre Hall.
"Of all of the storylines that you've been a part of over the years—the coma, the demonic possession—what I've always enjoyed is your ability to slap," Melvin told Hall. "You're a great slapper."
Hall—who has been on the soap opera for 50 years—thanked Melvin with a laugh, noting that she “couldn't begin to imagine” how many slaps she had delivered on screen over the last five decades.
And Melvin had a very special request for the soap star.
"It would be one of the greatest professional honors of my life if you would slap me," Melvin said, to which Hall enthusiastically responded, “I’d be privileged to slap you.”
Melvin’s Today crew was particularly excited about the development, with the 47-year-old quipping, “She’s gonna do what so many of them have wanted to do for years.”
He then requested that Hall, 78, “be gentle now, don’t hurt the money maker," as she explained to him how they would orchestrate the slap.
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"I'm gonna draw my hand back and I'm going to come very close to your face," Hall explained. "And when you feel that happen, you're gonna snap your head."
Hall then swung her hand at Melvin as he dramatically jerked his head and pretended to sob before the two burst into laughter.
Melvin raved to Hall, “You're the best.”
And after 50 years of slaps, Hall has no plans to say goodbye to her Days of Our Lives character Dr. Marlena Evans.
“As long as my key card opens the gate, I’m there,” she declared to Melvin. “It’s my family. I love that place. I couldn’t resist.”
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And Hall has long been grateful for her time on the series.
"In a world of endless auditions and occasional acceptance,” she told E! News in 2023 while celebrating her 5,000th episode, “I have been blessed with continuous work and the embrace of a deeply creative family.”
She added, "For over 45 years, I have lived an actor's dream."
For a deep dive into all the stars you might have forgotten were on Days of Our Lives, keep reading.
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Mila Kunis
A coterie of actresses has played drama-plagued Salem Police Detective Hope Williams Brady at different moments in time since the character's 1974 debut, but it was 11-year-old Mila Kunis—making her acting debut—who popped up as tween Hope in a June 1994 flashback.
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Christina Applegate
In1972, 3-month-old Christina Applegate got the call when her mom Nancy Priddy booked a mother-baby role on Days of Our Lives, playing Mrs. Grizzell and her baby Burt Grizzell on an episode in which Denise Alexander's Susan Hunter opts not to have an abortion after she looks after Burt at a medical clinic while his mom is inexplicably away for awhile.
Applegate was so charming she was asked back, but ended up moving on to other opportunities.
"It was like she had this light around her," Priddy said on a later talk show appearance, "and things would just happen.”
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Jensen Ackles
Before he hunted ghosts on Supernatural, Jensen Ackles played Eric Brady, straightlaced son of Roman Brady (Josh Taylor) and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall), from 1997 until 2000.
When Ackles—who was nominated for three Daytime Emmys— left the show, that was the last of Eric. Until 2012, when he resurfaced as a priest played by Greg Vaughan, who, incidentally, called Ackles to see if he'd be cool with him assuming the role before accepting.
Ackles remembered telling him, "Greg, knock it out, bro."
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Andrea Barber
Carrie Brady, the daughter with long-lost Anna Fredericks (Leann Hunley) that Roman didn't even know he had, was first played by 6-year-old Andrea Barber starting in 1982, the future Full House neighbor's acting debut.
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Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson's career got a bounce before Baywatch when she scored screentime as Cindy opposite Jack and Jennifer Devereaux (Matthew Ashford and Melissa Reeves) on two episodes of Days in 1992.
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Ashley Benson
Speaking of a lot of pretty little liars, Ashley Benson was one of six actresses who played Jack and Jennifer's only daughter, Abigail Devereaux. The character battled dissociative identity (i.e. multiple personality) disorder until her 2022 murder at the hands of Clyde Weston (James Read) who's now in a coma.
Benson's time on the show lasted from 2004 until 2007, while Marci Miller played the final incarnation of Abby.
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Ross Mathews
Why yes, that was talk show favorite Ross Mathews playing Chris—Salem Health Club patron and sometimes-workout buddy of Alison Sweeney's Sami Brady, Eric's more mischievous twin sister—between 2008 and 2011.
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Pat Sajak
In 1983, only a couple of years into his four-decade run as host of Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sajak played Kevin Hathaway.
He's considered a minor character in the canon, but made enough of an impact that it was a really big deal when his daughter Maggie Sajak popped into renowned fake tavern Brady's Pub to introduce the Salem Sweepstakes in November 2025, teasing a VIP experience for a lucky Days of Our Lives fan in honor of the soap's 60th anniversary.
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Kathie Lee Gifford
Before she went live(!) with Regis Philbin on weekday mornings, Kathie Lee Gifford showed up as Nurse Callihan on a 1975 episode, credited as Kathie Lee Epstein (her maiden name).
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Betty White
Speaking of nurses, Betty White played one on Days in 1988, the Golden Girls star adding to her tally of NBC soap opera appearances, which also included spots on Another World and Santa Barbara.
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Vivica A. Fox
Vivica A. Fox spent four days of her life playing Carmen Silva in 1988, her first acting credit.
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Jamie Chung
Jamie Chung originated the role of sorority sister Cordy Han, a victim of campus serial rapist Ford Decker (Matthew Florida), on 11 episodes in 2007 before Christina Stacey took over the part.
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Tara Reid
Tara Reid had a 13-episode run as Ashley in 1995, four years before breaking out in American Pie.
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LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes popped up for one day as Madison in 1995.
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Kyle Richards
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards returned to her acting roots playing Casey McGraw for three episodes in 2013.
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Lisa Rinna
Lisa Rinna was the first of several actresses to play Billie Reed, troubled singer turned cosmetics mogul of uncertain parentage, embodying the part from 1992 to 1995. (During which, she told People, she had "like, a thing" with costar Patrick Muldoon, who played Billie's brother Austin Reed.) Krista Allen took over until 1999, Rinna returned for a season in 2002, Julie Pinson kept Billie going until 2008 and Rinna has made a number of appearances since.
About the prospect of reprising the role of Billie yet again, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum told Distractify in 2024, "Listen, I never say no, really, to anything. I’m always open to revisiting these characters that I love.”
“You know I love drama,” she added. “So if it were right, if it felt right, if it made sense. I think I’m always open to it.”
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