DAYS Star John Aniston Celebrates Amazing Milestone

John Aniston has been on Days of Our Lives (DOOL) since 1986, and now he is celebrating a very special day!

Aniston was born on July 24, 1933, in Crete, Greece as Yannis Anastassakis, and that means that today he turns 85 years young!

The handsome actor passed down his talent to his daughter, Jennifer, who quickly became a huge star in her own right. His best friend was Telly Savalas of Kojak fame, and he was also Jennifer’s godfather.

The debonaire actor is fluent in both Spanish and Greek. He graduated from Penn State University, having majored in Theater Arts.

Aniston served in the U.S. Navy where he was an intelligence officer on active duty in Panama and later in the reserves. When he left the service, he had earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

There are two roles he almost landed — include the role of Doug Williams on DAYS that went to Bill Hayes. And according to the DVD commentary on the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Aniston was the original choice for Ted Baxter until they found Ted Knight.

He has performed in over 40 theatrical shows including the Broadway musical Little Mary Sunshine, which was his debut. He also appeared in the Hollywood production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

But it is for his soap roles that fans love him most. First, he played Eddie Aleata on Love of Life, but it was his role as Martin Tourneur on Search For Tomorrow that really set him on the daytime map. Of course, today’s fans know him best as Victor Kiriakis.

In addition to those roles, Aniston has appeared in countless guest-starring roles on television shows, including I Spy, Mission: Impossible, That Girl, Star Trek: Voyager, Gilmore Girls, My Big Fat Greek Life, Mad Men and so many more.

Soap Hub wishes John Aniston the happiest of birthdays.

Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.