| Stefano DiMera | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Joseph Mascolo as Stefano DiMera | |||||||||||||||||||
| Days of our Lives | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Joseph Mascolo (1982–1985, 1988, 1993–2001, 2007–2008, 2008–present) Frank Fata (1991) Davide Shiavone (2007 flashbacks as Young Stefano) |
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| Duration | 1982–1985, 1988, 1991, 1993–2001, 2007–2008, 2008–present | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | January 18, 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Pat Falken Smith | ||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||
| Aliases | "The Phoenix" Rudolpho Meradi Serge Anatol (as conductor) Mrs Lafferty (disguised) Joseph M. Wagner (as disguised doctor) |
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| Gender | Male | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Crime Lord CEO of DiMera Enterprises Owns 49% of Titan Industries |
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| Title | He considers himself as The King or Phoenix | ||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | DiMera Mansion (430 Lakeview Drive) Salem, U.S.A. 06649 |
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Stefano DiMera (alias the Phoenix) is a fictional character, a villain on the American soap opera Days of our Lives. Created by head writer Pat Falken Smith, he is portrayed by Joseph Mascolo.[1] Stefano is the father of Renée DuMonde, Megan Hathaway, Benjy Hawk, Lexie Carver (née Brooks), EJ DiMera and Chad DiMera and the stepfather of Antony DiMera; He also raised Peter and Kristen Blake. He had a nephew, André DiMera, who through plastic surgery became identical in appearance to Antony. Stefano is the current husband of Kate Roberts. He is also the ex-husband of Vivian Alamain. Stefano and longtime rival John Black were revealed to be half-brothers after it was discovered that Stefano's father Santo DiMera also fathered John. Stefano first entered the show as an organized crime kingpin. Soap Opera Digest named him the all time best villain.[2]
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Stefano arrives in Salem, bringing his estranged nephew Andre DiMera, to retrieve the Baka. Stefano has Andre's face surgically altered to look like that of his son, Tony's. Andre chains up Tony, and begins the Salem Stalker, stabbing and poisoning his victims, while wearing a mask to look like Stefano's nemesis, Roman Brady. Andre steals the Baka, and Stefano uses it to create a bomb, designed to kill Marlena Evans, thus tearing down the DiMeras' most hated family, The Bradys. Stefano's plans are foiled, and he makes a daring mistake. During his escape, his limo plunges into the Salem river. The driver's body is found, but Stefano's is not. He is presumed legally dead.[3]
Meanwhile, Stefano retreats to his yacht, after suffering a massive inoperable brain tumor. His health lies in the three prisms.[4] He sends his nephew, Andre after one being held by the Bradys. Andre plans a plane crash on a deserted island, including several of Brady family members, such including Roman Brady. Stefano and Roman struggle on top of a cliff, where Roman falls to his death. The Phoenix steals his body, and the prism. Back in Salem, learning about his daughter, Megan Hathaway's death he seeks even more revenge on the Brady family. He kidnaps Marlena Evans twins, Sami and Eric Brady. Stefano and Marlena get into a struggle on top of an ice rink, during a big show. He drops on of the prisms, thus setting the rink on fire. He falls off the rafter after Marlena shoots him, his body is believe to have perished on the burning ice rink.[3]
Stefano returned to Salem in 1988, attempting to renew his relationship with his son, Benji Hawk. He sends clues to John, that Marlena is still alive. Unable to get his son, Benji, he kidnaps Roman's daughter, Carrie Brady, thereby leading the Brady family and ISA Agent Shane Donovan to his island. Angry at John for Benji's deafness, Stefano activated the chip in John's head, which was programmed to kill Roman's family. John comes out of the trance just in time, and Benji learns that his father is truly evil. Stefano managed to evade capture by escaping from the island with his helicopter.[3]
A wheel-chair bound Stefano returned to Salem in 1992, bringing with him his adopted children, Peter & Kristen Blake. Learning that Belle Brady's true father is John Black, and not Roman Brady he forced Marlena to confess the truth of her affair with John at the altar of Belle's christening, thus ending her relationship with Roman. John fights with Stefano on Kristen's wedding day. John shoots the rear of Stefano's car, which explodes. Stefano retreats to Maison Blanche, his estate in Louisiana, imprisons John, kidnaps Marlena, and secrets-away with Hope believing she is a woman named Gina. Celeste, Stefano's former mistress turned lackey torches the mansion, and Stefano tries to escape with Hope during a hurricane. After going missing, he is yet again believed to be dead.[3] However, unbeknown to Salemites, Stefano manages to retreat back to Salem, buying the penthouse apartment directly next to Marlena Evans. He constructs a secret door from his bedroom, that leads to Marlena's apartment through an armoire. A horrified Stefano realizes that his evil influence contributed to Marlena's possession by the Devil after Marlena almost killed him. After Marlena is exorcised of the demon, succubus, she nurses the contrite amnesiac that Stefano has since become and helps him recover his full health. His new-found friendship with Marlena deepens into obsession for the unobtainable psychiatrist. Stefano is then struck by lightening which shocks Stefano into regaining his memory and assuming his true nature as a villain. Thus, he plots to win Marlena's love by bribing the judge presiding over John Black's murder trial, insuring that John is convicted of murdering Tony DiMera, thereby sending John to the gas chamber. Stefano's plot is foiled when Tony's diary is found which reveals Tony's plan for framing John. Stefano eventually finds himself trapped in a tunnel in the underbelly of Paris. Everyone assumes that Stefano is killed in the blast that also kills Kristen and Peter Blake's mother, the "Woman in White." Stefano manages however, to eventually re-surface and is hospitalized after suffering a heart attack at Kristen's funeral. Hope learns she is Hope, and not Gina. The real princess Gina locks Stefano up in her castle, and Hope learns she is pregnant.[3]
A satellite causes Hope to forget all about her life as Gina. Stefano curious as to who is the father of her baby, and engineers a swap between her baby, and Doctor Rolf's pregnant alcoholic niece Marlo, and Lexie and Abe Carver. This causes Bo & Hope to get back together, and John and Roman join forces to take out Stefano, he escapes.[3]
In 2006 John, and Marlena track Stefano down to an oxygen tent in an Italian hospital to learn that Stefano is EJ's father. In a few months, EJ brings his sick father back to Salem. Stefano needing stem cells for a recovery, orders his son to kidnap Sami Brady, and steal her baby's stem cells. When EJ refuses, Stefano takes matters into his own hands.[3] The Brady Family begins to investigate the longtime feud between the Bradys, and The DiMeras. Stefano, and his son take great chances making sure the Bradys don't learn the truth. The Bradys find out that Tony, is actually Andre posing as Tony. When Stefano's health begins to deteriorate, Andre murders Benjy and takes his liver to help his ailing uncle. Sami learns she is carrying twins, and confirms that EJ is the father of one twin. Stefano makes a deal with the Bradys to end the Brady-DiMera feud. Sami will have to marry EJ to put the feud between the two families to an end. After the twins are born, Stefano wants the wedding to happen soon. Sami and EJ are quickly married. EJ is shot at his wedding to Sami, and the shooter is revealed to be Lucas Horton. John Black is murdered by a hit and run, and Marlena seeks revenge. She believes Stefano is the reason that John was killed. She threatens him if he will not let Sami leave EJ. Stefano lets Sami leave EJ, but only if Marlena marries him. Marlena refuses, and vows she will kill Stefano for all the pain he has done to her family. It is revealed that Stefano, and his insane Doctor Rolf are hiding John in their basement. EJ finding John in the basement reveals the information to Marlena, and Sami. Stefano is arrested by the Salem P.D. While in prison, Marlena drugs him putting him in a trance and reveals the information of the Brady-DiMera feud. Marlena learns that John is actually Stefano's half brother.[3] Stefano is released into a hospital, but quickly recovers. He marries his wife, Kate DiMera in 2009,[5] after helping her escape from being charged with poisoning.
| Name | Storyline | Missions | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilhelm Rolf | Various throughout the 90s and 00s | Perhaps Stefano's most faithful and longest-lasting henchman, Dr. Rolf usually served as Stefano's right-hand and personal physician and scientist | Last seen in 2008, serving as the DiMera family butler | |
| Gina Von Amberg | Hope's past/art/Gina and John affair | copied famous paintings and helped Stefano replace the originals with fakes | Died of lung cancer and gunshot wound in Salem. | |
| John Black | various | worked with Princess Gina on Stefano's schemes | Left Salem after marrying Marlena Evans. | |
| May Chin | Salem Slasher Storyline | |||
| Andre DiMera | Impersonated Tony Framed Roman Brady as the Salem Slasher |
Committed suicide in a hospital by turning off his life support (Andre had been hospitalized after falling from a roof when taking Hope Brady hostage). | ||
| Delia Abernathy | 1982–1984 | Stefano DiMera's maid and henchwoman helped Andre DiMera escape to London |
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| Silvan Hodak | 1983 | Attempted to kill Roman Brady at his wedding to Marlena in 1983 (he was a tailor at the tuxedo shop). | ||
| Petrov | Ridgecrest (1983) The Three Prisms (1984–1985) |
helped keep Marlena Evans and Liz Chandler hostage at Ridgecrest held Gene Bradford, Tony DiMera, and Anna DiMera hostage Shot Bo Brady Left Shane Donovan to die with a bomb nearby Brought the Pawn (John Black) to Salem |
Killed in December 1985 by Victor Kiriakis's people. | |
| Alex Marshall | 1982–1983 | Killed Tim Casey, a police officer, in an effort to scare Roman Plotted to kill Alice Horton |
Sent to prison after burning down the Salem Inn to collect the insurance money in 1987 | |
| Nurse Honeycutt | The Three Prisms (1984–1985) | Took care of Sami and Eric Brady when Stefano had them kidnapped Lied in court about Marlena, seeking revenge, when she was on trial for the death of Stefano in 1985 Kept Daphne DiMera under control |
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| Jimmy Porterfield | The Three Prisms (1984–1985) | Helped Stefano kidnap Marlena and the twins after befriending Marlena Lied in court about Marlena, seeking revenge, when she was on trial for the death of Stefano in 1985 Tried to kill Bo Brady |
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| Mackenzie | The Three Prisms (1984–1985) | Posed as Marlena's bodyguard, while actually infiltrating her house and allowing the twins to be kidnapped | ||
| Maxwell Hathaway | The Three Prisms (1984–1985) | Killed by Andre DiMera. | ||
| Sonia Romanov | The Three Prisms (1984–1985) | Helped Stefano find the third prism | Killed by the Dragon | |
| Anna DiMera | Left Salem for parts unknown in 1986, now she is back in Salem. | |||
| Drew Donovan (lago) | Stefano's Return/The Island (1988) | Laid false clues for Stefano about Marlena being alive to play with Roman and Diana's minds | Escaped Salem in early 1989. | |
| Milo | Stefano's Return/The Island (1988) | Captured Roman Brady and Diana Colville on Stefano's island | Last seen on Stefano's island. | |
| Jeremiah Brown | Stefano's Return/The Island (1988) | Assassin for Stefano who was trained along with Roman Brady (John Black) and Drew Donovan... planned to kill many of those on the island | Was killed by Drew. | |
| Orion Hawk | Stefano's Return/The Island (1988) | Trained Roman Brady/John Black in martial arts years earlier | Left Salem with Benjy to Europe in 1990. | |
| Domingo Salazar | The Tale of Two Romans (1991) | Guided John and Marlena through San Christabel Held Roman and John at gunpoint in Mexico |
Was taken to the ISA headquarter and later sent to prison. | |
| Curtis Reed (Brown) | Hired by Peter Blake to kill John Black, but failed and blackmailed Kristen Blake for money | Killed by Stefano. | ||
| Celeste Perrault | Maison Blanche (1994) | Held John prisoner at Maison Blanche helped keep Hope at Maison Blanche |
Still living in Salem. | |
| Peter Blake | Temporary "Insanity": Peter poisons Laura into insanity (1994) | Arranged to medicate Laura Horton to make her think she was going insane again | Peter is currently serving a sentence of unknown length in an out of state prison to which Stefano had him transferred. He is serving time for kidnapping (Jennifer), attempted murder (Hope, Jasper, Jennifer, Jack, everyone at St. Luke's during Jenn's funeral). Stefano said he would try his best to "reduce" Peter's sentence. It is not known if he is serving time for any of his previous crimes (gaslighting Laura, killing Jude St. Clair, etc.) | |
| Paul | Paris | |||
| Travis Malloy | Kidnapped Jennifer | Died from falling a cliff in fight with Jack Deveraux. | ||
| Daryl Kay | Kristen's Schemes to Keep John and Marlena apart (1996–1997) | Performed laser surgery on Laura Horton to erase her memory about Kristen and her fake pregnancy | ||
| Carmine | The Brady/DiMera feud | Tried to kill Lucas Roberts | In prison. |
This list includes times Stefano faked his death, was presumed dead, or was reported dead by others.