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Macdonald Carey has performed on radio, acted on Broadway and starred in movies, but for 25 years he has been identified largely by his work in a soap opera that is seen every week-day afternoon by 10 million dedicated viewers.
At one time or other we all have heard his rich baritone voice offer these pithy words in the afternoon, just before the latest breatheless adventure in Salem, U.S.A., is about to begin:
"Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives."
A half-hour later, when the drama has concluded for yet another episode, the announcement is played again, along with a closing line, "This is Macdonald Carey, and these are the days of our lives. . . "
The 78-year-old actor acknowledged over the phone that he took the "Days of Our Lives" gig in 1965 because the "idea of a steady income was a pretty appealing proposition."
Cast as Dr. Tom Horton, Carey accepted the deal after receiving the additional offer of being able to say the now-famous lines. "You can call that an extra crumb," he said. "In other words, an additional fee came along with it."
In addition to the steady income, an especially good feature was that the story lines were always developing, and they could adjust their fictional changes to what was going on in real life.
Here's an example: On Jan. 8 of this year, Carey says he observed a ninth birthday.
"My name is Mac and I'm an alcoholic," is the very first line he writes in his uncommonly good memoir, "The Days of My Life," a book recently published by St. Martin's Press.
On Jan. 8, 1982, he "was as disengaged with life as a man can be and still be alive." Nine years ago, his hands shook, his color was terrible....