Thaao Penghlis Celebrates GRAND Days of Our Lives Anniversary Learn more here--->>
Photo: NBC
Thaao Penghlis is a daytime legend who has portrayed multiple legacy characters in daytime including characters on Days of Our Lives, Santa Barbara, and General Hospital. Today we are celebrating Penghlis’ 40 years on Days of Our Lives and his portrayals of Anthony “Tony” DiMera, André DiMera, André masquerading as Tony, and a host of other soapy scenarios. This daytime dynamo has done it all and then some in Salem these past 40 years! As lifetime soap watchers, we sit in amazement, admiration and appreciation at Penghlis’ skillful construction, development, and evolution of Tony and André DiMera. These two equally fascinating and contrasting characters couldn’t be more different; Tony for the most part a “good guy” and André the evil, vindictive, ruthless mastermind. Each character possesses their own distinctive personalities, traits, nuisances, personas and telltale signs. The character’s marked distinctions highlight Penghlis' high level of talent, ability and expertise to portray each and to portray each so well, at the same time on screen, at different times and during different and separate eras. Penghlis has been simply brilliant.
André DiMera is most definitely a chip off the Stefano DiMera block. He was initially introduced as Stefano’s nephew who had plastic surgery to look like Tony at Stefano’s bequest to help Stefano frame Roman Brady as the Salem Slasher. In addition to murder, he is also an attempted murderer, a kidnapper who has carried out countless other lethal schemes cooked up by the evil mastermind himself and Stefano. André has come back from the dead as people often do in Salem. His latest resurrection was in 2015 when he returned to Salem with news that he wasn’t Stefano’s nephew, he was Stefano’s biological son. André returned on a mission to avenge his father’s death at the hands of Hope Brady (who thought she had killed Stefano.) For the next three years, André was still André scheming and lying before being killed at the hands of “Abby/Gabby.” This is Salem so who knows we could see André again. This is Salem so who knows the on-screen Tony could be revealed at André at some point!
Tony DiMera came to believe he was Stefano DiMera’s son when he was a grown man. He came to Salem to reconcile with his wife Liz and to check on his financial assets. For the most part Tony is a “good guy.” But this is soap land and very few people are 100% good. Tony has a few skeletons (kidnapping, rape,) in his closet. But as DiMera’s go he is known as one of the good ones. Tony is known for his on again off again love affair with Anna Fredericks DiMera. “Tanna '' has stood the test of soap time and no matter what has happened to Tony or how he has become entangled in the DiMera family drama and their misdeeds it has always been Anna’s love that has seen him through. Tony has also had multiple resurrections in Salem. His latest was in 2019 when Kristen brought him back to Salem and blackmailed him into marrying her when she was disguised as Nicole Walker. Tony is currently still on screen with Anna (yea!) We love having this seasoned old school soap couple on our screens. We love that Tony is the new patriarch of the DiMera family. It will be so interesting to see how it all unfolds as he will head the family with a much different hand than Stefano, who after all was determined not to be Tony’s biological father! You gotta love soaps!
Tony and André, like all the DiMera offspring, spent most of their adult lives jockeying for a position of power within the DiMera dynasty and jockeying for the ultimate prize, Stefano’s approval. What a blast it has been to watch Tony and André living, loving, scheming, dying, resurrecting, all about the DiMera chessboard. We hope Penghlis has enjoyed himself as much as we have enjoyed watching him!
Tony and André have each carved out their own special place in daytime history and today we celebrate them and Penghlis for gifting us with them.
What a ride it has been! And there is more to come, and we can’t wait to see everything that happens next! Happy Anniversary Mr. Penghlis!
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