JOSEPH MASCOLO: IN HIS OWN WORDS:
Here's a look back at some of Joseph Mascolo's best quotes:
ON HIS FATHER...
"My father was a gentleman and he taught me to appreciate all avenues of life. He'd take me to the boxing matches one night and to the ballet the next." (Soap Opera Digest, 12/7/82)
ON WEST POINT...
"Instead of going into the regular army, I was recommended to West Point. So I said 'Ok, let's give it a shot.' Oh, god! It was terrible. At that time, I was totally rebellious, and I wanted to blow the place up. I was only 17, I was too young. If I went there now, I'd probably be a general. That's how we change. [General William\ Westmoreland was superintendent there at the time, and one night I peed all over his porch. It was one of the first time I ever got drunk...Years later I met him and I said 'We've met before, but I don't dare tell you the circumstances.' I played clarinet in the band at West Point for three years, because I never made it as a cadet." (Soap Opera Weekly, 12/28/99)
ON LOVE...
"I've learned that if something is done with love, it's much more forceful and lasting, even if you don't know it at the time." (Soap Opera Digest, 4/26/94)
ON HIS PERSONAL LIFE...
"When I leave the stage, I don't go to actors' bars. I don't go to a shrink. I go home. I enjoy my family. I work in my garden. It keeps me sane and it keeps me happy." (Soap Opera Digest, 12/7/82)
ON HIS LOVE OF MUSIC...
"I think all actors should have some music training. If you listen or read about great actors or directors, you'll see that every once in awhile, they'll talk in musical terms." (Soap Opera Digest, 9/23/03)
"The beauty for me has been because of my background, having been a concert musician before I was an actor, [Days] allowed me to use music and introduce a lot of art besides just seeing the tough part of [Stefano.]" (Soap Opera Digest, 1/26/15)
ON SINGING WITH LUCIANO PAVAROTTI...
"It was incredible. I was nervous. I almost peed in my pants! He is such a great singer and a wonderful man." (Soap Opera Weekly, 6/4/96)
ON JOINING "DAYS OF OUR LIVES"...
"I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a soap opera...but the character of Stefano was so intriguing, as was the potential for the character...I wanted to make Stefano as good and as exciting as possible...Al Rabin and Pat Falken Smith agreed with me...When I heard that Thaao Penghlis was on the show, and that, if I took this role, he'd be playing my son, I thought - wait a minute - this is going to be fun, because I know Thaao from my theater days in New York and I know how serious he is about the work." (Soap Opera Digest, 12/7/82)
"My agent said, 'There is a daytime series that you to test for a role.' I said, 'What is that? What you do mean daytime? Forget it. What is this, a soap opera? No way...Unbeknownst to me, Pat Falken Smith saw me in a miniseries called The Gangster Chronicles and created Stefano....So I got curious." (Soap Opera Digest, 2/26/08)
"I'll do it if they give me a dollar more than anyone else gets. I figured by now [the producers] would say 'Up yours' but they didn't. They still wanted a meeting. Then I got very curious, so I went in and Pat Falken Smith said 'Well, my goodness. You're a little younger than I thought, but you're perfect.' I had the audacity to say to her, 'Well, listen. I know you're a writer, but do you read books? Because I know a lot of writers who don't read books. Let's get together and talk about what power really is.' That's how it started" (Soap Opera Weekly, 12/28/99)
ON STEFANO'S ACCENT...
"The accent? I hope that didn't throw you, but from the minute I walk in the door, I am Stefano DiMera. It makes for a more natural performance and it helps me to actually think in terms of the language. When I first started on the show, some of the actors and most of the crew had wagers on whether the accent was real or not." (Soap Opera Digest, 12/7/82)
"I went home and suddenly it dawned on me to rent Summertime, the David Lean film with Katharine Hepburn and Rosaano Brazzi. And then I got South Pacific, and I said 'That's what Stefano should have-- an educated European accent." (Soap Opera Digest, 4/9/96)
ON STEFANO'S RING...
"It's something that everybody now identifies with me, but it happens to be my ring that my mon and dad sent me from Florence, Italy. They had it made there. It's an old onyx with a gladiator on it. Everybody takes it as the Phoenix. So it's become kind of a signature thing now." (Soap Opera Weekly, 6/4/96)
ON STEFANO'S MANNERISMS...
"I found some of the mannerisms from a man I met in Italy. Everything about him was perfect and set. There were certain ways that he walked and held himself." (Soap Opera Weekly, 6/4/96)
ON STEFANO'S CONTINUED RISE FROM THE ASHES...
"[Stefano] fell to the floor, and I said to the producers, 'For your sake and not mine...I'm going to open my eyes and look at Renee. And you're going to wonder 'What the hell is that?' so you could keep the aura of Stefano DiMera around this town...A year later or so, Ken Corday called and said 'The audience doesn't give a damn what you do, they just want you back.' And that's how it started." (Soap Opera Digest, 2/26/08)
"When I was sitting around talking with Hogan [Sheffer], I said 'By the way, [Stefano saying 'It's good to be back'] is an iconic thing that we've done all these years. Hogan said one way or another he would get the line in and he did it." (Soap Opera Weekly, 6/19/07)
ON SOAP FAME...
"I'll tell you what soaps do for you. I did a movie with Luciano Pavarotti...Later, he was doing a concert in Chicago. A gal who's a Stefano DiMera fan got tickets to see him, and after the concert went backstage. There was a crowd of people in Pavarotti's dressing room...She said to her friend: '[Pavarotti's] the one who sang with Joe in Yes, Giorgio.' Pavarotti heard her and said 'No, no, no. Joe sang with me!'" (Soap Opera Digest, 4/9/96)
ON LIFE IN SALEM...
"There are a lot of stories in the city...With somebody like Stefano there's no end to what you can do, because there are no boundaries with this man. (Soap Opera Digest, 1/29/85)
ON STEFANO...
"What makes Stefano interesting is that he is beyond being a gangster, or anything like that. He's very insightful and intellectual, someone who is always one step ahead of everybody else. He is a guy who has worldwide power, you don't go around knocking people off. His thing isn't killing people. But if somebody drives him crazy, he doesn't mind making them suffer for it. He's someone who is really tough, but he can also be vulnerable...Family is very important to Stefano. He can be weak, in terms of giving in to them. But Stefano will also do anything to protect his family. His love for them is very powerful." (Soap Opera Digest, 9/10/12)
"It's a wonderful fantasy to have that kind of power. If he were to need something he would be the one to hire Tony Soprano. He is not Tony Soprano. He also has his own sense of honor about what he believes in and how he does things. It's no fun playing somebody who goes around killing everybody. Stefano does get a kick out of screwing your brains up a little bit, but if you turn on him, he will squash you because he has the power to do it." (Soap Opera Weekly, 6/19/07)
"I play a guy who has died or faked his own death nine times in eighteen years. I could get hit by a train and the audience would say 'When is he getting up?' Sometimes I question this man's sanity. I've kidnapped Marlena at least seven times, and each time, she said 'I don't want you.' What kind of idiot would go back the eighth time? Please, dear God, don't make me kidnap this woman again!" (Hollywood Reporter, 11/8/00)
ON HOW HE'S MOST LIKE STEFANO...
"I am most like him on a certain emotional level. One of the real luxuries that they've allowed me here is to pick out some of the music, art and other cultural aspects of Stefano. Also, I think his very strong family ties are important." (Soap Opera Weekly, 6/4/96)
ON FEEDBACK...
"When I do a film, I miss the immediate reaction of the audience....The greatest moments on Days were when I finished doing a scene with others, and the crew started spontaneously applauding. They can either kill you or help you, and they decided to help me." (Soap Opera Digest, 1/29/85)
ON FAN REACTION...
"I'm fortunate with the fans that Stefano has. I've never gotten any ['hate mail]. They never do that to me. Although they'll see me sometimes at the supermarket and they'll say 'Whoops, you go ahead. I don't want to bump into you." (Soap Opera Weekly, 6/4/96)
"Stefano's demographics go from 12 or 13 to 18 or 90, and they're all fascinated with him because [he represents] that fantasy of getting in someone's face and being able to say what you usually only dare to think." (Soap Opera Weekly, 12/28/99)
"This girl in Minnesota, who was into rock'n'roll and all that other stuff, wrote to me. She wanted to know what the music was that Stefano played, so I wrote to her and told her. She went out and bought three Puccini operas. I thought: 'Wow, how beautiful.' This character is a catalyst for this kid to listen to opera, which she was never aware of before." (Soap Opera Weekly, 12/28/99)
ON STEFANO'S LONGEVITY...
"When I started Days, I thought I would do it for a little while. Here we are, 30 years later. To keep a bad guy going for that long, it says something." (Soap Opera Digest, 9/10/12)
"I've never wanted to stop playing Stefano. If anything, I've always wanted to play him." (Soap Opera Digest, 1/26/15)
ON HOW HE'D LIKE TO SEE STEFANO'S FINAL DEATH PLAY OUT...
"I guess I'd like him to go fighting for his family, one way or another. It would have to be an accident, because the man is too well covered." (Soap Opera Weekly, 6/4/96)