ernest graves played the role from show's first episode in 1968 through march 1974. shepperd strudwick took over the role in december 1974, playing victor continually through the character's onscreen death june 16, 1976. tom o'rourke briefly stepped into the role as a mirage in 1985, and les tremayne played the role of victor in heaven in 1987. bill moor and terry caza both appeared in the role in flashbacks from 1994 to 1995. the character was briefly brought back to life 26 years after his original death in january 2003, portrayed by william stone mahoney; the resurrection set the soap opera record for the longest span between a character's onscreen death and resurrection. mahoney went on to play resurrected victor through his second onscreen death in march 2003, reappearing as a vision for an episode in 2004.