Stefano DiMera, The 'Days Of Our Lives' Villain Who Couldn't Cheat Death 11 Times

By | November 6, 2018

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DAYS OF OUR LIVES -- Season 28 -- Pictured: Joseph Mascolo as Stefano DiMera (Photo by Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

How many times can one man die? The survival of Stefano DiMera, played on Days Of Our Lives by Joseph Mascolo, strained credibility even in the bizarro realm of soap-opera-land. DiMera returned from apparent death again and again over his 30-plus years on the show. Stefano is the all-time death-cheating champ, and we only think that his record of 11 apparent-deaths is finalized because actor Joseph Mascolo is, in real life, dead. Or is he?

No, he really is. Joseph Mascolo died in 2016. 

Who Was Joseph Mascolo?

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Joseph Mascolo

Joseph Mascolo was born in 1929 to immigrant parents who'd come to the U.S. from Naples, Italy. As a way of supporting himself, Joseph took up acting in New York City and was originally trained in classical music and opera. A lot of his own personal background goes into his character well as Stefano DiMera. In many scenes, particularly in his mansion on the set, Stefano would be listening to classical music or playing chess as he celebrated a notorious victory over his enemies.

Before his Days days, in the 1960s and early 1970s, Joseph acted on stage in productions like “Night Life” as an understudy for Neville Brand; “Dinner at Eight” as Ricci; “The Time of Your Life” as Blick; and “That Championship Season” as Phil Romano. In addition to theater roles, he also appeared in some films like Hot Spur (1968), The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973), Jaws 2 (1978), Sharky’s Machine (1981), Yes, Giorgio (1982), and Heat (1986).