Go Behind the Scenes at the Days of Our Lives 50th Anniversary Party

You just had to be at the Hollywood Palladium on Saturday night to see the lengths NBC and Sony Television went to honor the 50th anniversary of Days of Our Lives. From Alice Horton’s famous powdered sugar donuts to Caroline and Shawn Brady’s New England clam chowder, no stone was left unturned as guests boarded the USS Salem for a cruise-ship-themed gala that by night’s end had everyone on the dance floor singing Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” with gold confetti pouring from the ceiling.

Yes, things are alive and well in Salem, USA, and the turnout of over 150 actors past and present—not to mention all of the NBC and Sony executives—seemed to shout, “Days is back and better than ever!” Speaking of coming back, fan favorites Matthew Ashford (Jack), Frank Parker (Shawn), Christie Clark (Carrie), Patrick Muldoon (Austin), Austin Peck (Austin), and others returned, and many of them indicated that they’d love to be back in the fold in the not-so-distant future. When we sat down with Days co-EP Greg Meng a few weeks ago, he mentioned that “it’s all a possibility, and as long as we’re on the air, we’re all thinking that way.”

But first, there’s a celebration to be had, which is why we were front and center at the Days 50th Anniversary party and got everyone from Galen Gering and Eric Martsolf to show us their seduction moves, to Stephen Nichols and Lauren Koslow giving us their best Stefano DiMera impersonation. Take a look!

Oh, that Stefano! When we asked Joe Mascolo which Salemite he’s had the most fun terrorizing over the years, he replied the only way Stefano could: “I had a good time knocking them all down and making them all crazy!”

Susan Seaforth Hayes and Bill Hayes were the first to arrive at the party and remarked how excited they were to see everyone, especially Maree Cheatham (Marie Horton). “She is original family,” Bill stated.

The Days of Our Lives cake—of course in the shape of a life-size hourglass—was designed by Duff Goldman and his talented staff at Charm City Cakes. Meanwhile, event planning team YourBash! accessorized every table with an hourglass, as well as plush silk-like pillows to mark the occasion.

A photo posted by Jessica Radloff (@jessicaradloff14) on Nov 8, 2015 at 5:43am PST

*The outside of the Hollywood Palladium was transformed into the *USS Salem, which everyone from Matthew Ashford to John Aniston remarked reminded them of the Cruise of Deception with Ernesto Toscano back in 1990. (Thank goodness the outcome was a lot less dramatic this time around!)

Melissa Reeves brought along her husband, Scott (who currently stars on Nashville), to the party. The two had a blast reciting the opening of Days for our Glamour video crew. The always-adorable duo spoke about how they met on Days and were even supposed to finally share a scene on Scott’s last day of work, but he got sick with the flu and couldn’t film! It wasn’t until Reeves was off the show that he and Melissa finally went out on their first date. By the way, do you recognize Melissa’s dress? It’s the same one Jennifer wore to the bicentennial celebration on the show this last week.

Chandler Massey won multiple Emmys playing Will Horton, but Massey’s acting career has temporarily been put on the back burner as he pursues a degree in Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Clearly the studying is getting to him, which is why he decided to let off some steam with us.

Mary Beth Evans revealed that she only recently discovered why Stephen Nichols‘ Patch calls Kayla “Sweetness.” According to Nichols, it was a term of endearment he called his daughter, Vanessa, and he thought it would be a great nickname for Kayla as well. (“I wanted something original and meaningful.”) Of course, the doting dad got permission from his daughter before bestowing it on his TV love, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Lauren Koslow joked in our video that there’s nothing worse than making out with someone you’re not fond of, but she was quick to point out that that’s never existed for her with any of her leading men on Days. “It’s happened on other shows,” she recalled. Meanwhile, Koslow couldn’t wait to reunite with all of her on-screen children, including both Austin’s (Patrick Muldoon and Austin Peck). “I’m looking forward to any [of Kate’s] children that might be here tonight!”

Alison Sweeney was thrilled to be back with her Days family and said that reuniting with everyone was why it was so hard for her to leave the beloved soap in the first place. “I grew up here. These people really are family,” she told us backstage. Speaking of family, we relayed to Sweeney the story Bryan Dattilo told us last week that when he joined the show, he thought he could manipulate Sweeney since he was five years older than her, but soon learned it was the other way around. The former Biggest Loser host laughed hysterically before adding, “Yeah, I think I terrorized Bryan! I owe him a cocktail [tonight].”

After our interview with Sweeney, she reunited with co-star Wally Kurth for some catch-up time, while her husband, Dave Sanov, smiled adoringly seeing his wife’s happiness at seeing old favorites.

Several Days actors (who we won’t name!) were seen taking several of the cruise-themed live savers home for their collection. We have to admit, they are pretty cute!

Some of the beautiful centerpieces that adorned the walkway into the Hollywood Palladium. Life-sized photographs of Days legends Frances Reid and Suzanne Rogers also adorned the walls.

Another look at the life-sized hourglass red-velvet cake designed by Charm City Cakes. If only Calliope was there to jump out of it!

Drake Hogestyn brought his beautiful wife, Victoria, along for the festivities and had a front row seat for all the amazing performances throughout the night.

Casey Moss and Eric Martsolf killed it with their duet of “Every Breath She Takes.” Take a look:__

Lisa Trusel and husband David Wallace (who played Todd Chandler) met on the show and have now been married for 29 years. They have four kids, and—wait for it—three grandchildren, ages four, 16 months, and 14 months. “It’s the greatest thing ever!” beamed the eternally youthful-looking couple.

While we were begging Christie Clark to think about returning to Days, Roark Critchlow (who played ex-flame Dr. Mike Horton) came over to give his former co-star and good friend a loving squeeze.

Wally Kurth rocked out to Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and had everyone on their feet. Take a look:

Yours truly was ecstatic to run into Patrick Muldoon, who created the role of Austin Reed (he was also one of our first interviews on the Days set back in 2012). Muldoon next appears opposite former girlfriend Denise Richards in A Christmas Reunion on the ION network.

Fan favorite Billy Flynn (Chad DiMera) might have been acting as if he was ready to call it a night, but he was also the life of the party, hanging out in the photo booth and on the dance floor.

To close out the star-studded evening, everyone from A. Martinez to Bill Hayes got on stage to sing “We Are Family” as gold confetti literally burst from the ceiling. Happy 50th Days of Our Lives!

__For more with your Days of Our Lives favorites as we celebrate the 50th anniversary, click here!