The “Days of Our Lives” logo of an hourglass, and the music behind it have been on the air since 1965. In 1972, MacDonald Carey, star of the show since its debut, took over announcing the title in his deep voice intonation. “This is MacDonald Carey…and these are the days of our lives!” When Carey diedin 1994, the show kept his voiceover and it’s remained that way ever since.
Viewers who tuned in today to Peacock, the NBC streaming service, for the “Days” 5 day special miniseries got a little shock, however. Gone was Carey’s voice. In its place was that of Deidre Hall. She’s played Dr. Marlena Evans since 1976 and is the star of the show. She’s top billed, as well, among the players in the big cast for “Beyond Salem.”
I guess this change to Hall — just for the Peacock series — is a way of differentiating the daily show– which is on the air on NBC — and this one.
I watched the first installment today, and was impressed. The production values were pretty high. NBC never spends any money on “Days,” but it looks like they ponied up for sets, costumes, and bumper shots that looked like they were from prime time. The mini series has a very “Lupin” like look to it as the various characters are trying to find famous stolen jewels all over Europe and in New Orleans and Miami.
Macdonald Carey, like most soap actors in the 50s and 60s, came from prime time and movies. Right before “Days” started in 1965, he starred in a very cool “Twilight Zone” episode called “The Special One.” He also starred in an “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” episode in 1962. Before that he had his own series in the mid 1950s called “Dr. Christian.” If we’d been around then, we’d have seen Macdonald Carey on our three TV channels every single week!
Well his voice lives on every day on NBC. But not on Peacock. I hope it didn’t ruffle his feathers.