(1977)
The Players
Samantha Evans
Marlena Evans
Don Craig
Laura Horton
Dr. Powell
The Story
Marlena's twin sister Samantha came to
Salem. She was a medical school drop-out and an aspiring
actress who had a serious drug and alcohol problem. She was
also jealous of Marlena's success and comfortable lifestyle.
She blamed Marlena for all her problems and failures in
life. Soon Samantha stole blank prescriptions from Marlena's
pads, and as her addiction became worse, she stole pills
right out of Marlena's office cabinets. By the time Marlena
realized what was happening, Samantha had also stolen her
checkbook and jewelry.
In early September, Samantha managed to knock Marlena out, drugged her, and called an ambulance to haul her off to Bayview Sanitarium. Impersonating Marlena, Samantha managed to get Marlena commited. Being an actress, Samantha began her role as "Dr. Evans", taking over her office and her life in Salem. After reading volumes of psychiatry texts, Samantha took over Marlena's office and life in Salem. Marlena, who was drugged, but experiencing lucid moments and plenty of frustration, managed to escape. She called Don Craig to pick her up, but was caught and returned to the sanitarium before he could reach her. Samantha, who convincingly impersonated Marlena, convinced Don the call had been a ploy. She also realized that Marlena had gotten too hard to handle and signed the forms that authorized shock treatments to keep Marlena docile.
Finally, in early October, Don started to get suspicious about Marlena and Samantha so he compared Marlena's current signature to one she had written in prior months. Meanwhile, Samantha got a call for a movie and prepared to leave town. Don and Laura searched for Samantha when they realized she had made a switch. Luckily, they managed to find her, convinced Dr. Powell what had happened, and got Marlena released and Samantha arrested. After Marlena got back on an even keel, she had the heartbreaking task of calling her parents in Denver and explaining what had happened. Once released on bail, Samantha went to stay with the Evanses until the hearing. During the hearing, Samantha cracked and was placed in a Colorado mental hospital. Meanwhile, Marlena and Don had split apart due to the stress of recent events, and many arguments over Samantha being able to fool Don, but they reconciled several months later.
Thanks to Mandy for writing this story and to CJ Paradis for providing a few additional details. Some information from Days Of Our Lives: The Complete Family Album