How 'Days of Our Lives' bid 'emotional' final goodbye to John Aniston's Victor Kiriakis
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It was a bittersweet moment for all the ‘Days of Our Lives’ fans as the show bid farewell to one of the most iconic characters on the show, Mr. Victor Kiriakis. The holiday episode of the blockbuster show saw the beloved character sailing into sunset as we saw the late John Aniston making his final appearance as the crime boss in the Christmas episode on Monday, December 26.
It was an emotional moment for everyone as Kiriakis appeared for the last time in an episode which also served as a tribute episode to the veteran actor who passed away on November 11 at the age of 89. However, his exit was as amazing as fans would have wanted it to be. A holiday episode means there are going to be a lot of beautiful moments and also, some really ugly holiday insults. So, let’s take a look at how the show said a final goodbye to one of the icons of soap operas.
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It’s Christmas time in Salem and everyone is gearing up to spend the occasion with their loved ones. Victor’s nephew Sonny (Zach Tinker) decided to invite his ex-husband Leo Stark to Chez Kiriakis for celebrating the festivals and Victor was not pleased with that. He welcomed the new houseguest with a blank stare and said, “What the hell are you doing in my house?” That’s when he gets to know that his nephew has called his ex-husband for Christmas. Victor was not pleased to discover that his own nephew invited Leo to their house and threatened to fire Sonny from Titan if he didn’t throw his friend out of the house. However, we see Sonny standing up to his uncle for the first time ever and saying a firm “no” to his demands.
It seems that the conversation with Sonny made Victor think about his actions and then, a Christmas miracle happened. After the conversation, Victor decides to let Leo stay for the holiday before saying that he has only said “yes” because he has a “heart of gold.” His final words saw him warning Sonny that Will won’t be happy to see Leo in the house and sadly, that’s what exactly happened.
As the latest episode marked Aniston’s last appearance on the show, it was befitting that episode ended with a montage of some of Aniston’s biggest moments on the show. The montage featured short clips of his fights with several enemies and also saw other lighter moments as well.
Aniston has been a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry and has worked in a lot of soap operas since making his debut in the 1960s. In 1985, Aniston joined ‘Days of Our Lives’ as Victor Kiriakis, a crime boss who has done a lot for Salem and has Mafia connections in Greece, Italy, and throughout the US. The actor received a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the Daytime Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Victor Kiriakis. Recently, he received the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award at Daytime Emmy Awards earlier this year.
As per reports, Aniston appeared in more than 3,700 episodes of ‘Days of Our Lives’.