Days of our Lives News: Drake Hogestyn Approved the Dramatic Storyline for John Black’s Demise

Days of our Lives (DOOL) spoilers reveal that Drake Hogestyn, who passed away on Saturday, Sept. 28 at age 70 from pancreatic cancer, played John Black from 1986 to 2024. The character was a fan favorite and appeared in over 4,000 episodes.

We now know how the show will handle his character’s demise, a dramatic storyline that the late actor approved before his death.

Drake Hogestyn Played John Black

The show’s executive producer Ken Corday spoke to Soap Opera Digest about the upcoming scenes. He said “We were rolling the dice, because it’s difficult to tell a story of someone’s death or a character’s death while the actor is still alive — albeit [Drake] was fighting, like a tiger, a very difficult disease.”

He added “I made the choice to [say], ‘Okay, let’s tell the story.’ He hadn’t been on [the show] in nine months. We needed a reason [for John’s absence].”

DOOL spoilers: John Black’s Death

Corday spoke with Hogestyn about the show’s plans for his character saying that he “wanted to make sure Drake signed off on this, and he was totally in favor of it.”

“Had Drake, God willing, beaten this, he would’ve come back, and it would’ve been something different. But [the story] had to be told. It was extremely difficult and painful for us to tell it — for the cast, for everybody. Drake was a big part of the show. The consummate actor. Always a team player and pretty good-looking, too.”

John Black Was Portrayed by Drake Hogestyn

Stephen Nichols plays Steve Johnson, John’s best friend, on the show, and he told SOD that filming Black’s death scene was the “hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

He explained that because Drake “gave his blessing to the storyline beforehand … then I felt that I had to do my part.”

Deidre Hall plays John’s wife Marlena Evans on the Peacock show and she told the outlet that the story of John Black’s end was “beautifully done” with plenty of flashbacks to John and Marlena’s epic love story, including their first handshake at Shenanigans.

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Hogestyn’s family announced his death in a statement shared by Days of Our Lives on X: “It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Drake Hogestyn.

He was thrown the curve ball of his life when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he faced the challenge with incredible strength and determination. After putting up an unbelievable fight, he passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones.”

Prior to his daytime career, Hogestyn had a brief stint in MLB, hence the family’s loving reference to“the curve ball of his life.”

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