What is “Days of Our Lives”?
“Days of Our Lives” (referred to as “Days”) is one of America’s best-known soap operas, that premiered on NBC in 1965 and switched to the network’s streaming service, Peacock, in September 2022. Having aired almost every weekday since November 1965, it boasts the title of being one of the world’s longest-running scripted TV programs.
The series was created by Ted and Betty Corday, and co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Corday Productions. Many of its early storylines were written by William J. Bell until 1975, when he left to focus on “The Young and the Restless”. In 2007, “Days” became the only soap opera left on NBC after the cancellation of “Passions”. Since the show has switched to Peacock, NBC has become the only Big Three network without a daytime serial.
“Days”, which is set in the fictional city of Salem, follows the same formula as other soap operas by focusing on two main families, the Horton and the Brady clans; secondary families include the Kiriakis and the DiMeras. Alice Horton, played by Frances Reid, was considered the protagonist of the show as the matriarch of the Horton family; Maggie Horton, played by Suzanne Rogers, has been a regular in “Days” since August 1973, and is the longest-serving current cast member of an ongoing American soap opera, as well as the show’s longest-serving cast member.
The show’s popularity led to episodes doubling in length from 30 to 60 minutes in April 1975. “Days” was deemed the most daring drama of the 1970s, as it covered topics that other soaps considered taboo. It’s currently broadcast in many countries around the world, and famous self-confessed fans of the soap include the Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall, and the A-list actress Julia Roberts.
Maggie Horton – Part One
Maggie Horton, also known as Maggie Simmons, was one of the first characters invented by William Bell and Betty Corday. Despite being introduced to the show as a potential love interest for Mickey Horton, an already established character, in later years she would become an integral part of “Days”. Suzanne auditioned for the role in July 1973, and caught the attention of Susan Flannery, who portrayed Dr. Laura Horton. Maggie became a guest character in August 1973; William Bell considered her the ideal actress for the role, and she was soon described as one of the most energetic women on daytime TV.
Maggie, who was crippled after a childhood car accident that left her an orphan, lived on a farm in the countryside. Mickey Horton came to her farmhouse one day and collapsed after asking for food and water; at the time, he believed his name was Marty Hanson, and was suffering from memory problems. Starved for company, Maggie took Mickey in, and cared for him.
In 1974, Maggie and Mickey – still believing he was Marty – married, after having been living together on the farm for several months at that point. Mickey began reading about treatments for injuries similar to Maggie’s that was being carried out at Salem University Hospital, and booked her an appointment for a check-up.
Upon visiting the hospital, Maggie saw a photo of Mickey on one of the desks and overheard stories about a patient, Mickey Horton, who disappeared when “Marty” came into her life. After leaving the hospital, Maggie decided not to tell her husband what she’d overheard, but the Horton family eventually visited the farmhouse after seeing a photo of Mickey in the newspaper. Maggie was determined to stay with Mickey, and underwent a grueling operation to regain the use of her legs.
She was operated by Bill, Mickey’s brother, but was still unable to walk. At that point, Laura Horton – Bill’s current wife and Mickey’s ex-wife – explained that her paralysis was no longer physical, but mental: Maggie feared losing Mickey so much that her mind was causing the paralysis. Mickey and Laura officially divorced, and he would marry Maggie in January 1975.
Mickey and Maggie were polar opposites; he was a whip-smart lawyer, while she was viewed as a vulnerable farm girl. However, they were one of the most stable couples on the show, and overcame many obstacles together. With time, Maggie’s character also became much more fleshed out, and more than just Mickey’s wife.
In the first years of their marriage, Maggie felt threatened by Linda Patterson, Mickey’s former lover who was trying to win him back while pretending to be Maggie’s friend. Linda sensationally claimed that Mickey was the father of her daughter, Melissa, but her estranged husband revealed that she’d lied.
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Although Linda would embark on other relationships – with Tommy, Mickey’s brother, and the superrich Bob Anderson, whom she would eventually marry – she remained a thorn in Maggie’s side. Following the death of Bob Anderson, Melissa ran away from her neglectful mother, and was adopted by Mickey and Maggie in 1982 when Linda skipped out on the court hearing.
In 1987, Mickey and Maggie’s adopted daughter Janice was taken away by her biological mother, Joanna Barnes. Although Janice was eventually found and returned to the couple, Joanna began working in Salem to be close to her daughter. Their relationship took its toll on Maggie and she began drowning her sorrows in alcohol; her drinking spiraled out of control and led to her and Janice being left unconscious and taken to hospital after an unpleasant car accident.
Maggie was arrested after the incident, and joined Alcoholics Anonymous, but began drinking again as the date of Janice’s custody hearing neared. Driven crazy by the thought of Janice returning to her biological mother, Maggie kidnapped the child and they fled Salem. She was eventually found by her father-in-law, Tom Horton, and returned to Salem.
Janice had an accident while playing on the pier and fell into the water, slipping into a coma as a result. Joanna and Maggie fought bitterly over Janice at the hospital, and eventually, Joanna won custody of her daughter. Maggie struggled to cope with her emotions, and things only worsened when she unknowingly sold products containing cocaine to customers of Mickey’s niece, Julie. When an irate drug dealer came looking for the customers, Maggie was forced to shoot him with his own gun, and was left somewhat traumatized after the encounter.
A year or so later, Maggie agreed to be a surrogate mother for an anonymous donor. The procedure was performed and Maggie soon became pregnant; a few months later, the anonymous donor, Dr. Evan Whyland, came to Salem and began visiting Maggie. Mickey discovered that Maggie was carrying Evan’s baby and told Maggie; even so, she wanted to keep the child, and Mickey agreed.
On the left is myself, Renee Dumonde. On the right is Sarah Horton. Why are people constantly confusing us?! We look nothing alike! #Days #Xarah #Sarenee pic.twitter.com/DhoFRYme6P
— Sarah Horton (@drsarahhorton) March 7, 2022
Sarah Horton was born in late 1981, and Mickey and Maggie were embroiled in yet another custody battle, this time with Evan. They eventually won custody, but Evan continued to visit Maggie and his daughter. Stefano DiMera, a powerful crime lord, tried to have Maggie killed, suspecting that she knew that Evan had evidence against him. Evan soon died under mysterious circumstances, and Mickey and his partner Don began investigating Stefano.
During the investigation, Stefano kidnapped Mickey and made it look like he’d died in a car crash. After spending a lot of time with a grieving Maggie, Don fell in love with her and confessed his feelings; just when they professed their love for each other, Mickey escaped Stefano’s clutches and returned to Salem, but suffered a heart attack when he witnessed the scene.
Although Maggie and Mickey divorced shortly afterwards, she stopped seeing Don and realized that her divorce was a mistake. She spent a year in New York trying to process her feelings, and when she returned to Salem, Mickey was accidentally shot during a gang fight. He recovered at Maggie’s house as she nursed him back to health, and they rekindled their relationship, remarrying a few months later.
Tragedy struck in 1984, when in real life Suzanne was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a rare muscle disorder. Her facial muscles were affected by the disease, and the medications she had to take came with unpleasant side effects such as hair loss and severe sickness. As the effects of the disease worsened, Suzanne reluctantly quit the show, as her entire appearance had changed.
However, Suzanne wished to educate viewers about the rare disease, and approached Betty Corday to discuss the possibility of Maggie being diagnosed with the disorder. Betty agreed, and so Maggie had her own major storyline in which she learned she had myasthenia gravis. Thankfully, Suzanne herself went into remission in 1995, and has remained in remission ever since, although her character Maggie began to notice symptoms of the disease returning in 2010.
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A few years after remarrying, Maggie and Mickey were on the rocks again. Mickey was constantly missing out on important dinner dates and other functions as he was consumed by work, and she began an illicit affair with Dr. Neil Curtis. Sarah took photos of Maggie and Neil after catching them in bed together; she was about to expose them when Maggie and Neil revealed, in a shocking plot twist, that Neil was Sarah’s biological father.
Even so, Sarah exposed the pair. Despite being heartbroken, Mickey shouldered some of the blame for Maggie’s infidelity. Neil left town when the turbulent couple began working on their marriage. A couple of years later, Maggie became a keen entrepreneur by investing in a cosmetics company and purchasing a local restaurant.
Maggie Horton – Part Two
In 2003, a close friend of Mickey and Maggie named Marlena Evans attacked them in their home. Although Mickey survived, Maggie died of stab wounds after being hit by a bottle of alcohol, and thus became the third victim of the Salem serial killer. Another victim was Alice, Maggie’s mother-in-law.
James E. Reilly, the head writer at the time, boldly decided to bring back all the “dead” characters to get ratings back up; in a daring move, Maggie and the rest appeared in the fictional island of Melaswen. Andre DiMera, Stefano’s nephew, had been keeping them on the island; he also framed and drugged Marlena so that she would believe that she was the serial killer.
While believing that Maggie was dead, Mickey began seeing Bonnie Lockhart, Maggie’s former housekeeper and archenemy. The relationship lasted over a year, and when Maggie returned to Salem, she desperately tried to win Mickey back upon learning that he’d married her nemesis. With help from friends, Maggie tried to make Mickey see that Bonnie was trying to extort him. Mickey eventually realized the truth, and reunited with Maggie, after which they settled into a comfortable routine following years of turmoil, and she began running Chez Rouge, an upscale restaurant.
In 2010, Maggie booked a cruise for Mickey and herself, but she found him dead of a heart attack days before they were meant to enjoy their vacation. A heartbroken Maggie found it hard to imagine a life without her husband of decades and almost began drinking again at Mickey’s memorial service, after finding a bottle of alcohol in his office; instead, she poured it down the sink.
Mere months later, Maggie’s mother-in-law Alice died while in her care. Maggie, who was reeling from the loss of two loved ones, became the matriarch of the Horton family. She also struck up a friendship with Victor Kiriakis, who was married to Vivian Alamain. Jealous of their closeness, Vivian plotted to entomb Maggie in a crypt in the family mausoleum, but ended up trapped there herself.
After escaping, Vivian entrapped Maggie, who was eventually found by Victor after going missing for several days. While in the hospital, Maggie learned that Victor knew that his wife had been entrapped in the mausoleum, and did nothing about it. Victor began courting Maggie and wished to divorce Vivian; she found it hard to overlook his criminal past, but the pair began seeing each other, and Victor proposed in September 2011.
During the engagement, Hope Brady found a letter written by Alice to Maggie the day before her death. In the letter, Alice reminded Maggie about the experimental program she and Mickey participated in three decades earlier to have a biological child of their own. Maggie and Mickey eventually abandoned the project, but the eggs that Maggie had attempted to harvest were preserved, and some went missing. In a shocking turn of events, Daniel Jones was revealed to be Maggie’s biological son.
Victor and Maggie married in November 2011, but went through a rough patch when Victor revealed that he knew that Maggie’s eggs had gone missing decades ago. Despite eventually forgiving him, Maggie stil didn’t go easy on Victor, and they clashed many times. Despite having a new family and home, she was still considered the Horton matriarch, and maintained a close bond with the other Hortons.
In February 2016, Maggie’s son Daniel was injured in a car accident and eventually died. Maggie had to take the heartbreaking decision to turn off Daniel’s life support, and donate his heart to Brady, her step-grandson. Things became even more complicated with the arrival of Summer, a woman who came to Salem with the bombshell news that she was Maggie’s biological daughter; Maggie had given birth to a child at the young age of 17, but had believed the baby was stillborn.
In the midst of all the chaos, Victor’s estranged brother Deimos began poisoning Maggie with pills that made her disorientated. Maggie fell down the stairs after a bad dizzy spell and was taken to the hospital; Victor was informed that his wife had broken her back and that her legs were once again paralyzed. Deimos revealed that he had poisoned Maggie but had the antidote; the condition for receiving the antidote was that Victor hand over all his assets.
Desperate to save his wife, Victor agreed. A slow recovery ensued, but Maggie was supported by her husband and the Hortons. The couple had a happy ending, as Victor decided to retire and devote all his time to his beloved wife.
