Let's talk about Dr Marlena Evans, played by the stunning Deirdre Hall of Days Of Our Lives

What are your favourite memories of the best Psychiatrist on the West coast (who is almost never at work).

A legend of the show since 1976, what do we feel her best, and worst, moments were?

Dee should be a producer. She gets it. Her sighs/coos as Dr. Marlena can be irritating but when they let Marlena be Marlena - concerned shrink she's great. Can't stand her with Drake though.

When does she usually sign, coo? I like her best when she's tough and sticking up for her family or a dear friend. She's solid.

Who can forget her wacky Satanic Possession storyline?

I stopped watching Days of Our Lives in the early 2000s when Marlena started to become less on the front line character, but always loved her glamor and polish on the show and would tune in sometimes when she got a storyline that let her cause some havoc, like recently when she was in jail playing Hattie/Big Bertha. She seemed to be having a ball in the part.

I love her playing that trashy Hattie Adams too! High class Marlena becomes rough-as-a-bear's-ass Hattie, great fun!

Also love it when she let's her evil side out, like when she was killing off her family and friends as The Salem Stalker. The way she killed that holier-than-thou annoying bitch Alice was hilarious!

Some of Mardevils finest moments.

I used to watch that show religiously back in the day, but the moment Marlena levitated because she was possessed I turned it off and never watched it again. That was just a "nope" moment. I loved Santa Barbara and Another World, too. I used to tape all three shows and watch at night before bed. Remember VCRs?

I loved her getting drunk with Kate and Vivian and laughing at her possessed self's actions. A Swarm of bees!

I liked the storyline from the 1970s involving her twin sister.

Mar's twin... her EVIL TWIN.

The twin story in the late 1970s was with Dee's real life twin, Andrea.

Twin/doppelganger stories stories became standard soap fare in the 1980s (Marley and Vickey on Another World, Stuart and Adam on All My Children, Rose and Lilly on As the World Turns, Susan and Kristen on Days, etc).

However, in the 1970s, twin stories were rare because they didn't have the budget to do split screen tapings with both twins/doppelganger (played by the same actor) in the same scene. So, Days took advantage of Dee having a real life twin and did the story of Samantha assuming Marlena's identity.

Her twin sister Andrea looks like an old woman nowadays but Dee still has the vibrant radiancy of youth!

What was the name of the actor that played Mel”s boyfriend during the twin episodes? They made a great couple.

I thought it was the guy who went on to be her husband, Don Craig

She’s never won an emmy!

Yes, Marlena was paired with Don Craig (Jed Allan) during the late 1970s, including during the twin storyline.

Marlena eventually married Don and had his baby, Don Jr. However, DJ died from crib death. Don and Marlena were grief stricken and soon divorced.

Marlena then took up with Kellam Chandler, father of Todd and Liz Chandler.

Didn't Kellam rape Marlena during her marriage to Don? Hell, that woman has been through so much grief and carnage - how can she still be a fully functional person let alone a respected Shrink?

And come to think of it, how can she even have any patients left when she regularly disappears from work (due to various kidnappings, bouts of amnesia, family murders, imprisonments, trips with John etc)?

Any why would anyone be treated by someone once imprisoned for being a serial killer? Or possessed by the devil? Isn't she notorious?!

I agree that the actor who plays John is an awful actor who hasn't improved much in 30 years.

I still remember the news report of people protesting outside NBC when Marlena was "strangled" in the early 80's. She came out and said don't believe everything you see.

Remember when poor Dee Dee was FIRED IN 2008?

That was HILARIOUS! Good times!

AWW I guess she's always had die-hard fans

Because she's played by Deidra Hall, duh.

These two together are epic.

Eat your heart out, Dee!!!

You could never pull this off!

Deirdre has skinny legs. Like Linda Evans. From the waist up, a Nordic Amazon. Below, flat little old white lady butt and chicken legs.

Dee wanted to know Eileen in the biblical sense. .

Decent actress for daytime, like the perfect mix of Jaclyn Smith and Helen Hunt. She really comes into her own during the campier moments, like when she was possessed and kept on making more awkward attempts at seducing John. Many lesser daytime actresses would have floundered in such a role!

I need hot daddy Drake in me deeply

Greatest TV character of all time!

Who's her surgeon? What's she had done?

Haven't watched in years, so I remember her from when she actually was youthful. Do they show her in closeups now? I wonder how her face looks in hi-def. Is it obvious she's had tons of surgery? From the few pics I've seen of her, she still looks good.

Her face no longer moves - so her acting range is limited.

What was her excuse before the surgery?

R40 hi Jane Elliott, how's retirement, you big ole carpent munching lezzie!

Is it true Dee had to pick up a drunk Tyler Christopher and throw him out of the studio?

Look at those pointy tits!

I have a special edition Marlena Barbie doll (still in box) that my friends gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. She's wearing the wedding dress from her wedding to John in circa 1997 when, during their honeymoon, John was kidnapped by Stefano and "Gina" and fucked "Gina" (who was really Hope Brady) on a submarine that was decorated in 1980s fashion.

And almost got the tart pregnant. Hope was a cock-hound

Dee is a real professional, doesn’t suffer fools, and is one of a select handful of daytime stars who are known outside of daytime.

Loved her on "Our House" with Wilford "Dia - BEETUS" Brimley, Shannon Doherty, and Chad Allen.

[quote]Deirdre has skinny legs. Like Linda Evans

Legend has it that Aaron Spelling originally wanted Deidre for the Krystle Carrington role.

Those 80s wedding dresses were a hot mess.

The most hideous dress ever was Dorothy's in The Golden Girls, 1992

I was obsessed with Deirdre Hall as a teenager in the late 1970s. I saw all those episodes with her evil sister which were great.

I don't know how well know this is but Deirdre Hall was offered the 'Bond girl' role in Moonraker but couldn't get time off from DOOL to take the role, which ended up going to Lois Chiles.

Alway wish Deirdre had made the cross over to feature films.

R42, is that why Tyler is taking a "temporary leave of absence" and being recast with Brandon whatever from GH? He has to dry out? He was gorgeous when he first started on GH back in the day.

Tyler was taken out of the studio on a stretcher last week -- he was too drunk to stand. Presumably, he's off rehabbing somewhere.

There are so many drunks on Days. Freddie, Matt, Casey, Susie..........and many more.

Brandon Barash will probably bring more energy to that bland character than TC did.

Why hasn't Ronnie brought back his OLTL fave Seponski?

What anout Trischitta with the hairy legs?

Loved when she slaughtered that Old Drunk Sue with a liquor bottle during The Salem Stalker storyline.

Within the show, they act like Marlena is some kind of great mother, but she was terrible. No wonder they are so fucked up.

r60

she was only around for Belle, Sami and Eric were shipped off to Colorado

Deirdre Hall is my all-time favorite daytime actress.

twas the only soap I avoided

she came across as fake/mean/bossy

It’s a bit of a gimmick but I love when they get her to also play her doppleganger Hattie Adams. Polar opposite of Doc and it looks like Dee is having a blast playing something totally different.

When Deidre was wooed back to DOOL in 1991 in exchange for a six month commitment (in an unheralded move) she was promised a lucrative multi-project TV deal. Deidre would develop a Days spin-off based upon Marlena and called "Manhattan Nights". Several tele movies were also part of the deal, and a new talk show titled "The Deidre Hall Show" which was backed by the producers of Oprah and a pilot episode filmed in 1993 but never seen.

She sort of saved soaps after OJ. The Marlena Possession storyline made Days the only soap to expand its audience around 94/95. She and Jim Reilly had a great understanding and she went all out as Demonic Doc. After her we had Amish Reva, Clone Reva and Retro abortion Erica - all crazy storylines. The daytime industry does not like Dee. All those Soap Opera Digest awards are hard to swallow.

[quote] Deidre would develop a Days spin-off based upon Marlena and called "Manhattan Nights"

Dee's spin-off was to be called "Manhattan Days." If they had gone ahead with it, it would likely have replaced Santa Barbara on the NBC schedule.

In the mid 1980s, there was also talk of doing a spin-off called "Pacific Days" set in Hawaii featuring Tom and Alice's oldest son Tommy and his daughter Sandy. And in the late 1980s, there was talk of doing a spin-off comic soap called "Calliope" featuring Calliope Jones and Eugene Bradford.

Rumor has it Ron will finally let Marlena eat some snatch.

There was also talk that Jim Reilly was developing a Saturday-morning show centered on the antics of the "Last Blast" teens -- Sean, Belle, Ghoul Girl, etc.

Jack and Jennifer were also slated for a spin-off -- but it may have been that they were joining Marlena on Manhattan Days, I can't remember.

Since 1976? How old is Dierdre?

I stopped watching Days when they took Another World off the air. I was super bitter.

Her scenes with Drake Hogestyn were so campy, mostly because he would make the most ridiculous faces at the end of them.

The thing I remember hearing about Deidre is that people complained that she is always ON, no matter if the camera is rolling or not.

So pretentious.

Have they revisited the possession story line?

R72 They had Dee take the piss out of it when she was drunk this year, with Kate and Vivian in a locked room. Camporama

How can Andrea and Dee be twins? Andrea was born in 1944 and Dee in 1970.

What's Salem's best Psychiatrist up to?

Love her. I've wished she had broken out into movies.

Definitely the time she was possessed and the Susan/Little Elvis nonsense story lines were funny

Did anyone else know Salem is in Illinois?! All these years I thought they were in Oregon!

They cut from where Salem is, r82, to Nicole's justice saying "Illinois" since they were getting married in Chicago.

Didn’t Stephano used to kidnap her, like, every two years?

I always thought it was Salem, Massachusetts. You know, where the witch trials were and all that. The demonic possession thing made sense in Salem, Massachusetts, in a way. Then again, I guess the demonic possession thing makes sense in Illinois, too, as Illinois is Hell on earth...

It is still Salem, USA. It it someone where close to Chicago, close to a major lake and a river and mountains. There are at least 3 multinational corporations headquartered there, a major research hospital, and a satellite office a world spy organization. There is a lot of crime on the riverfront and in Abe's old neighborhood.

[quote]R11 I liked the storyline from the 1970s involving her twin sister.

WHET the twin? Is she ever mentioned nowadays?

R85 haha!

R87 the twin was killed about 30 years ago. The Salem Strangler mistook Samantha for Marlena and killed her. Surprisingly for DOOL she's actually stayed dead!

In real life Dee's sister is a housewife and retired teacher

Back in the day, Dierdre Hall and Jaclyn Smith would conduct acting workshops together wherein they would do scenes together from the great plays, eg. Hedda Gabler, Medea, and then give each other acting notes. Both of them clam it helped their acting immensely.

r61

to be fair, they were shipped to Colorado when she was thought to be dead. I've never understood why Sami and Eric love Roman so much when it was John who actually raised them. I know Sami has the affair to cloud her judgment. Carrie is the only one who has actually acknowledges John was the one who raised her

Does anyone remember how long after Marlena returned from her coma did they bring her twins back?

If I recall correctly. The twins were being raised by John (Roman) and whoever else he was dating at the time from the time Marlena went down in the plane until she returned. They were shipped off the Grandma Caroline's house when John was on an adventure, but they were still in Salem. When Marlena returned she sort of stalked around Salem for weeks and I can remember her looking through windows and seeing John and the kids and having various flashbacks set to some popular late 80s/90s R&B song that they couldn't afford today.

The twins were around until real Roman showed up. I remember the scene when the twins learned that John was not their father. Then after that story played out, the twins were kind of in the background but not really seen that much. It wasn't until Marlena and Roman started having problems in 1992 was it mentioned that the twins were in Colorado.

I believe that SORASed Sami showed up in January of 93. She broke into the house and was almost shot. Eric remained in Colorado. Sami would call him from time to time, but he didn't show up until 97. Eric had some big secret, but we never found out what it was. Or if we did, I can't remember. LeAnn Rimes may have somehow been involved.

It always bothered me that Eric and Sami weren't closer to John the way Carrie was, but after rewatching some of 1993 it was clear that Sami loved John very much. The affair just kind of blew that all up. It is also amazing how much foreshadowing there is about future Sami in those 1993 episodes.

IIRC they sent the twins away to protect them from Stefano after Marlena's death

When Marlena died, they all thought Stefano was dead. Stefano wasn't a threat.

from wikipedia so I know it's not the best source

Samantha Gene Brady is born on October 16, 1984 (changed to October 16, 1977 when the character was rapidly-aged) with her twin brother Eric Brady to Marlena Evans and Roman Brady. Sami is named after her deceased aunt, Samantha Evans and Marlena's best friend, Eugene Bradford. A feud between the Brady family and the powerful DiMera family puts the infants in danger. Roman sends them to live in Colorado after their mother's disappearance. In 1993, Sami reappears in Salem as a teenager. She develops a crush on her sister's boyfriend, Austin Reed (Patrick Muldoon). She is traumatized after seeing her mother having sex with John Black (Drake Hogestyn) which leads to an affair that results in the birth of Sami's sister, Belle. At the time, Marlena was "married" to Roman. Sami's mental health spirals downward, and she becomes a bulimic in an attempt to lose weight. Sami later tells Marlena that she witnessed her having sex with John. Knowing that she is John's child, Sami, who volunteers at the Salem Hospital, switches Belle's blood test. She then kidnaps Belle and places her on the black market. John rescues Belle on Christmas Eve. On Belle's christening, Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo) shows Roman Sami's diary which reveals the affair and Belle's paternity. Roman leaves Marlena, devastating Sami.

Someone is creating or bumping a LOT of soap threads.

and shouldn't be.

Bump for Marlena's 5 year coma

This needs some pictures. Lez Deidre was a whore back in the day.

R100 she was forced to pose for that by the evil Stephan DiMera!

Dee Dee Halls!

Is she still on that show? I'd love to see if we could find her a real job....playing my grandmother in a TV movie, perhaps?

[quote] What anout Trischitta with the hairy legs?

Excuse me, but I'm not Ron's pet.

It's Uncle Frank I see every week. It's nice to visit, though I'm a bit too big to sit on Uncle Frankie's lap now!

She'll always be Electrawoman to me

I loved the Salem strangler story line in the early ‘80s. The Salem strangler, who stalked Dr. Marlena Evans on DOOL, was played by Jack Coleman, the second Stephen Carrington on Dynasty. The Salem strangler meant to kill Marlena, but in a case of mistaken identity, eventually went onto kill Marlena’s twin sister.

Another DOOL/Dynasty connection: Actor Wayne Northrop played “Roman,” Dr. Marlena Evans’ love interest during the Salem strangler story line. Northrop went onto play Michael Culhane, the Dynasty/ Carrington chauffeur and steamy love interest of Fallon Carrington played by Pamela Sue Martin.

[quote]If I recall correctly. The twins were being raised by John (Roman) and whoever else he was dating at the time from the time Marlena went down in the plane until she returned. They were shipped off the Grandma Caroline's house when John was on an adventure, but they were still in Salem. When Marlena returned she sort of stalked around Salem for weeks and I can remember her looking through windows and seeing John and the kids and having various flashbacks set to some popular late 80s/90s R&B song that they couldn't afford today.

I remember those scenes and I recall some scene were the twins and Isabella were in a park with Marlena with sunglasses and a scarf watching them. Isabella left the twins alone and Marlena talked to them and they didn't recognize her and then she ran off when Isabella came back.

[quote]Another DOOL/Dynasty connection:

And another: Aaron Spelling seriously considered Deidre for the role of Krystle before awarding it to Linda Evans.

At least, that's the story Dee Dee used to tell.

Has she had any work done?

What age is Marlena meant to be? Her twins looks like they're in their 40s but she was an established Shrink long before this. Was she a child prodigy?

R110 In soap time, I'm guessing she is supposed to be in her 60s. When they SORASed Belle to teenager in 1999, there was an episode that featured Marlena's 50th birthday party.

How did she get pregnant at 56?

R112 soap opera magic. Several other soaps had storylines of 50 something women or older having babies like Rachel on Another World having twins or Reva having a baby boy towards the end of Guiding Light.

I was glad that DOOL didn't go down the route of having Marlena carry to term.

Marlena is a great grandmother, yet she's no more than 50.

Has Marlena ever actually shagged Stephano?

Does Marlena do the lez lez?

Dee is like early 60s in real life and plays late 40/early 50s on the show.

[quote]Dee is like early 60s in real life

She is 72.

R121 You mean How Dee Do?

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