“Sweet papa … John Anthony Aniston. You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew,” Jennifer Aniston wrote on Instagram captioning a series of photos with her father John Aniston on Monday, who died at 89.
The Friends star shared a series of photos with her “most favourite person” spanning from when she was a baby to recent days, announcing that he had passed on Friday, Veteran’s Day.
“I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace – and without pain. And on 11/11 no less! You always had perfect timing.
“That number will forever hold an even greater meaning for me now. I’ll love you till the end of time. Don’t forget to visit,” she ended her post.
The 53-year-old received much support from her 40 million plus followers and hundreds of comments from close friends and celebrities including actors Lily Collins, Ryan Reynolds, Taika Waititi, Sarah Hyland, Lisa Kudrow, Gal Gadot, Reese Witherspoon, as well as from ex-husband Justin Theroux.
John Aniston, whose real name is Yiannis Anastasakis was born in Crete, Greece, and emigrated with his family to Pennsylvania when he was a child.
Anastasakis graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts, and went on to serve in the US Navy as an intelligence officer.
He became an actor in the 1960s, appearing in Combat!, I Spy and The Virginian followed by roles in Search for Tomorrow, The West Wing and Gilmore Girls.
His career skyrocketed when he joined Days of Our Lives as Victor Kiriakis in 1985, the former drug lord who goes on to found the powerful Titan Industries. Aniston played that role for 37 years and won an Emmy for his performance.