Drake Hogestyn Helped Carve Out The Story of John Black’s Death on Days of our Lives

On September 28th, the soap world woke up to the devastating news that Days of our Lives star Drake Hogestyn passed away. Within the week, fans learned they’d already aired his final episodes and we wouldn’t see more of the beloved star. Now, the show is getting ready to say goodbye to his legendary character, John Black.

Honoring Drake Hogestyn and John Black

The storyline is already laid out and the scenes are already taped that lead up to the death of John Black. Executive Producer, Ken Corday opened up to Soap Opera Digest about the discussion he shared with Hogestyn as they plotted how to say goodbye to the character.

DID YOU KNOW DAILY DRAMA HAS A STREET TEAM? CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR MOD COMMUNITY!

“I wanted to make sure Drake signed off on this, and he was totally in favor of it. He trusted me,” Corday told the publication. “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.”

An Emotional Goodbye

Going through the motions of shooting the scenes took a toll on Stephen Nichols (Steve). He told SOD that this was “the hardest thing i’ve ever done.” He went on to share that he didn’t agree with the story at first because Drake was still living. That changed when his friend gave his blessing. “So if it was okay with him, then I felt I had to do my part.”

Deidre Hall (Marlena) had a similar take. “Drake was still with us. I know Ken had promised him a place to come back. He was looking forward to coming back, and he was fighting the good fight,” she told the publication. “So we had not said good-bye to him yet. And we weren’t thinking good-bye to him at that point.”

Expect the tears to flow on the day of John’s funeral. “It’s just beautifully done. You’re going to see a whole career of flashbacks that will take you back to [John and Marlena’s] first handshake at Shenanigans, when he first rescued her, the pier scene. It will go through all the years. There’s a lot of history and a lot of heart.”

Catch up with Daily Drama on Social Media!

Subscribe to the Daily Drama Podcast on YouTube!
Follow our main Daily Drama Facebook page.
Check out our Daily Drama Instagram page. 
Find us on our Daily Drama Threads
Spend time with Daily Drama on TikTok
Tweet with us on our Daily Drama X account

Exclusively for Days of our Lives Fans!

Like us on Facebook at Days of our Lives Daily.
Connect with other fans in our DAYS Facebook community group.