Actress Deidre Hall playfully slapped Today co-anchor Craig Melvin during a recent appearance. The slap was a part of her celebration of five decades on the hit soap opera, Days of Our Lives. The veteran actress has played Dr. Marlena Evans since 1976.
Craig Melvin gets playfully slapped by Deidre Hall
Today co-anchor Craig Melvin got slapped live on air in the recent episode of the show, after he asked veteran actress Deidre Hall to showcase her stage combat technique. Melvin claimed that he was a big fan of Hall’s slapping on Days of Our Lives.
“Of all of the storylines that you’ve been a part of over the years, what I’ve always enjoyed is your ability to slap,” Melvin said to the 78-year-old actress, “You’re a great slapper.” She thanked him for the remark, but the former added that it would be “one of the greatest professional honors of my life” if she slapped him on air.
Hall, who has played Dr. Marlena Evans since 1976 on Days of Our Lives, agreed to this and explained the technique soap opera actors use to create the illusion of impact without actual contact. “I’m going to draw my hand back, and I’m going to come very close to your face,” she told Melvin. She further asked him to “snap [his] head” as soon as he felt movement.
After she staged the slap, Melvin jokingly recoiled and covered his face. Hall joked that she was “meant to miss.”
Hall’s appearance on Today was a celebration of her five decades on Days of Our Lives, an immense milestone, even in the soap opera world.
She has not only been a longtime actress on the show, but also one of the most pivotal ones in Salem. Her work on the series has earned her three Daytime Emmy nominations, and even after the many changes on the show, she remains a central character in DoOL.
