JASON47'S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SIMONE GAD, ACTRESS WHO SPOKE THE FIRST WORDS ON "DAYS" IN 1965



Simone Gad, then known as Simone Pascal, spoke the first words in the "Days" pilot episode.


First, a little back story. I noticed your IMDB resume lists you being born in Belgium. How did you end up coming to America?
                                                              
We were sponsored by my mother's sister and another friend on the quota system. My parents were Holocaust survivors and my mom decided to bring us to Los Angeles from Belgium when I was 4, in 1951.


The 10/28/65 rehearsal schedule and 10/29/65 taping scheudule for the pilot episode of "Days."


You were around for the first-ever day of taping at "Days." Do you remember how you got the role? Did you audition in front of the show's creator, Ted Corday?
 
My mother got me my agent who brought me over to NBC. I was instantly hired for the role of Carol and did not have to audition. I believe my new agent had arranged the booking for me. We arrived at the studio and she had told me I already had the part. I was put to work instantly. I had to learn it very quickly-was given the script-my lines, and wham-no hesitation. It was miraculous.
 

 

The script pages for the first scene of "Days." Simone spoke the first words on the show as Carol, Julie's friend.



Do you have any other memories of your brief time with "Days?"  Was there a mood of excitement around the set, since "Days" had just been picked up as a series?
 
Since it was the pilot, we did not know how it would go, but it went very well.  No one really talked about it very much. We had to focus on the work and that was where our attention was primarily-but it was very exciting.
 


Simone with Charla Doherty (Julie) and Geraldine Lawrence (Diane) in the first "Days" scene.


Any memories of the actresses in your scenes, Charla Doherty (Julie) and Geraldine Lawrence (Diane)?

They were both very nice girls and easy to work with. It was very exciting to be a part of it from the very beginning. 


The first scene of "Days of Our Lives."

 
Do you remember if you watched the pilot episode back when it originally aired in 1965?
 
I never got to see it. All those years went by. I tried to get a copy of it to no avail. Then early this year, I accidentally came upon it on [a Facebook post]. I couldn't believe it! I had given up trying to find it, and suddenly, there it was.

Have you ever watched a "Days" or perhaps be flipping through the channels and hearing Macdonald Carey's voice still opening the show?
 
I watched it regularly for many years, having forgotten that I did the pilot. Somehow I blocked it out since I had given up hope of ever finding it.  When I realized what I found on Facebook, and saw my character and the pilot-it was instant recognition. I remembered that I actually looked like that as a young teenage actress. It was me! It was so incredible to finally watch it all these years later, that I'm part of that history at NBC with "Days Of Our Lives."
 
What's it like knowing now that you have been a part of NBC history, not just appearing on NBC's longest-running series, but also speaking the first-ever words heard on "Days"?
 
Amazing! I didn't know that I was/am part of that history for all these years. It's thrilling-really!
 
Other than "The Skydivers", "Days" is your only credit listed on IMDB from 1963-1986. What did you end up doing after your one-day stop at "Days" in 1965? How did you get back into acting in 1987?
 
I returned to acting as a character actress in the mid 1980s after taking a long break to get into the artworld. I have a dual career-I also am a visual artist exhibiting in museums and galleries for over 46 years now. Started showing my work in 1969/1970. I also did a lot of performance art and found that I missed acting very much, and decided to return to it as a mature adult. I got my SAG card in 1988 and started doing commercials then. I got my union card from working in the film "Off Limits", which starred Gregory Hines and Willem DaFoe. I've been working steadily as a principal roles-character actress ever since. There are slow times, and therefore I also have a full time art career, painting every day for exhibitions that come up.  "The Skydivers" was my first professional acting job, "Days" being my 2nd. I studied acting professionally for many years, in-between also.


Simone (in glasses) as one of the bus passengers in the 1994 film "Speed."

 
Any parting words you'd like to share with the "Days" fans as the show gets ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary next year? Since you spoke the first words on the show, perhaps you should get invited back to appear on the show's 50th anniversary next year.
 
Of course I would love to be included for the 50th anniversary next year. That would be really wonderful! It's a terrific soap opera and I was honored to be a part of it at the very beginning in 1965.