John Aniston

John Anthony Aniston (born Yiannis Antonios Anastasakis /ˌænəstəˈsækɪs/, Greek: Γιάννης Αντώνιος Αναστασάκης, 24 July 1933)[1] is a Greek-born American actor. He is best known for his role as Victor Kiriakis on the NBC daytime drama series Days of Our Lives, which he originated in July 1985 and has played continually since then. He is the father of Jennifer Aniston.

John Aniston
Aniston in February 2012
Born
Yiannis Antonios Anastasakis

(1933-07-24) 24 July 1933
Alma materPennsylvania State University
OccupationActor
Years active1962–present
Spouse(s)
    (m. 1965; div. 1980)
      Sherry Rooney
      (m. after 1984)
      Children2, including Jennifer Aniston

      Early life

      Aniston was born Yiannis Anastasakis (Greek: Γιάννης Αναστασάκης) on July 24, 1933 on the island of Crete, Greece, to Stella Joanne (October 1, 1899 – November 7, 1992) and Antonios Anastasakis (January 17, 1889 – May 1965). The family left Crete for the United States when Aniston was two years old; his father anglicized the family’s names on arriving in America. The family settled in Chester, Pennsylvania, where they operated a restaurant.[2]

      He graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor's degree in Theater Arts. While at Penn State, he became a member of Alpha Chi Rho fraternity.[3] After college, he served in the United States Navy as an intelligence officer on active duty in Panama and later in the reserve, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander.[1]

      Personal life

      Aniston has a daughter, Jennifer Aniston (born February 11, 1969), with his first wife, Nancy Dow, and also has a son, Alexander, with his second wife, Sherry Rooney Aniston (whom he met while co-starring on Love of Life).[4] His daughter Jennifer's godfather was Telly Savalas, one of his best friends.[5]

      John also has a stepson, John T. Melick, from Nancy's prior marriage, that he has raised since he was a toddler.

      Career

      Aniston has appeared in soap operas regularly since 1969, when he first joined Days of Our Lives as a character named Eric Richards, which he played until 1970. In 1975, he joined the cast of Love of Life as Eddie Aleata. In November 1978, he left Love of Life and began playing Mary Stuart's new love interest, Martin Tourneur, on Search for Tomorrow in February 1979. He played that role until April 1984. He returned to the cast of Days of Our Lives a second time, this time as Victor Kiriakis, in July 1985, and continues to play the role.[1] He has been nominated for the 2017 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance.[6]

      He also played a small role on the television series Gilmore Girls. Aniston made guest appearances on Airwolf in season two, Combat!, My Big Fat Greek Life, Star Trek: Voyager, Mission: Impossible, American Dreams (with Days co-star Frances Reid), Journeyman, and Mad Men.[7]

      Filmography

      Year Title Role Notes
      1962 87th Precinct Officer #1 Episode: "New Man in the Precinct"
      1963 Love with the Proper Stranger Birdman of Macy's
      1964 Combat! Greek #2 Episode: "Vendetta"
      1967 I Spy Economides Episode: "The Beautiful Children"
      1968 The Shakiest Gun in the West Indian
      The Virginian Frank West Episode: "Ride to Misadventure"
      Now You See It, Now You Don't Achmed TV film
      1969 Mission: Impossible First IMF Captain Episode: "Time Bomb"
      1970 That Girl Phil Harvey Episode: "Stop the Presses I Want to Get Off"
      1974 Kojak Webster / Dancik 2 episodes
      1975–1978 Love of Life Eddie Aleata Unknown episodes
      1979–1984 Search for Tomorrow Martin Tourneur Episode: "#1.8556"
      1985 Airwolf Colonel Arturo Alzar Episode: "Short Walk to Freedom"
      1985–present Days of Our Lives Victor Kiriakis 3782 episodes
      1993 Night Sins Victor Kiriakis TV film
      1997 Diagnosis Murder Carlton Everest Episode: "Must Kill TV"
      Fired Up Gordon Episode: "Honey, I Shrunk the Turkey"
      1999 L.A. Heat Alex Zota Episode: "Faces of Fear"
      2001 Star Trek: Voyager Quarren Ambassador 2 episodes
      2002 The West Wing Alexander Thompson 2 episodes
      Gilmore Girls Douglas Swope Episode: "A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving"
      2003 My Big Fat Greek Life Constantine Christakos Episode: "Greek Easter"
      2004 American Dreams John Victor Episode: "Old Enough to Fight"
      2007 Order Up Wise Man Short film
      Sands of Oblivion Nigel Barrington TV film
      Journeyman Merrit Ambaucher Episode: "Home by Another Way"
      2008 The Awakening of Spring Mr. Gable
      Worst Week Jim Episode: "The Wedding"
      Fixing Rhonda Detective Macomas
      2009 The Gold & the Beautiful Gerard Benedict
      Cold Case Herbert "Wolf" James Episode: "WASP"
      2010 Mad Men Wallace Harriman Episode: "Waldorf Stories"
      2011 The Paul Reiser Show Harold Melon Episode: "The Old Guy"
      2014 Return to Zero Ned

      Awards and nominations

      List of acting awards and nominations
      Year Award Category Title Result Ref.
      1986
      Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role on a Daytime Serial Days of Our Lives Won
      [8]
      1986
      Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Villain on a Daytime Serial Days of our Lives Won
      [8]
      2017
      Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Days of our Lives Nominated
      [9]

      References

      1. "John Aniston biography". BuddyTV. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
      2. "John Aniston bio". Soap Opera Digest. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
      3. http://www.nicindy.org/entertainers.html
      4. "Profile of John Aniston". About.com. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
      5. "Jennifer Aniston Biography". People. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
      6. "2017 Daytime Emmy Nominations: CBS Leads Networks With 70 Noms, 'Young & Restless' Tops With 25". Deadline Hollywood. March 22, 2017.
      7. "John Aniston on Mad Men". YouTube. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
      8. "The Soap Opera Digest Awards: 1986". Soap Opera Digest. soapoperadigest.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
      9. "The 44th Annual Daytime Emmy Award Nominations" (PDF). New York City: emmyonline.org and National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. March 22, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
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