John Aniston

John Anthony Aniston (born Yannis Anastassakis, , July 24, 1933 – November 11, 2022) was a Greek-American actor who played Victor Kiriakis on the NBC daytime drama series Days of Our Lives, which he originated in July 1985 and played on and off for 37 years, until his death in 2022. His portrayal earned him a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2017 and he received a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. He is the father of actress Jennifer Aniston.

Early life Aniston was born in Pervolakia, Chania on the island of Crete, Greece, on July 24, 1933, to Stella Joanne (née Koume; 1899–1992) and Antonios Anastassakis (1889–1965).

Aniston attended Eddystone High School and later 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. 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.

Career Aniston appeared in the original cast of "Little Mary Sunshine" in 1959, off-Broadway. Aniston appeared in 1962 in 87th Precinct as "Officer #1" in the episode "New Man in the Precinct". He appeared in soap operas regularly starting in 1970, when he first joined Days of Our Lives as a character named Dr. Eric Richards. In 1975, he joined the cast of Love of Life as Eddie Aleata, appearing through 1978. He played Mary Stuart's new love interest, Martin Tourneur, on Search for Tomorrow from 1980 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 continued to play the role until his death.

In April 2022, it was announced that Aniston would receive a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 49th Annual Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Awards on June 18.

Aniston also played small roles on the television series Airwolf in the season two episode "Short Walk to Freedom", Gilmore Girls as Douglas Swope in the 2002 episode "A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving", The West Wing as Alexander Thompson in the episodes "Game On" and "Debate Camp" (both in 2002), as the First IMF Captain in the 1969 Mission Impossible episode "Time Bomb". Aniston has also made guest appearances on Combat! (1964), My Big Fat Greek Life (2002), Star Trek: Voyager (2001), American Dreams (with Days co-star Frances Reid), Journeyman, and Mad Men.

Personal life Aniston had a daughter, Jennifer Aniston (b. 1969), with his first wife, Nancy Dow, and a son, Alexander (b. 1989), with his second wife, Sherry Rooney (whom he met while co-starring on Love of Life). He was good friends with Telly Savalas, who was Jennifer’s godfather.

Death Aniston died on November 11, 2022, at the age of 89 and he was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.

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; 1985–2022 Days of Our Lives Eric Richards Victor Kiriakis 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" 1986 Inhumanoids Dr. Marcus Capello/Captain Action 27 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 "Workforce", Parts I and II 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 Soap Opera Digest Awards Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role on a Daytime Serial Days of Our Lives Outstanding Villain on a Daytime Serial Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award