Drake Hogestyn, the beloved Days of Our Lives star who performed John Black for 38 years, has died. He was 70.
The actor was simply at some point shy of his 71st birthday when he died on Sept. 28, 2024. The favored cleaning soap opera shared an announcement from the actor’s household on social media.
“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Drake Hogestyn,” it reads. “He was thrown the curve ball of his life when he was identified with pancreatic most cancers, however he confronted the problem with unimaginable power and willpower. After placing up an unbelievable struggle, he handed peacefully surrounded by family members.”
The assertion continues: “He was essentially the most superb husband, father, papa and actor. He liked performing for the ‘Days’ viewers and sharing the stage with the best solid, crew, and manufacturing group within the enterprise. We love him and we’ll miss him all of the Days of our Lives.”
The message was signed, “The Hogestyn household.”
Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Hogestyn initially sought a profession as an expert baseball participant, even signing with the New York Yankees and enjoying for certainly one of their farm groups till he was injured in 1977.
Hogestyn’s first huge function got here within the early Nineteen Eighties within the CBS sequence Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He initially joined Days of Our Lives in 1986 as a mysterious character generally known as “The Pawn” earlier than changing into a fan favourite as John Black.
John grew to become one-half of a number of beloved pairings through the years, however few have been extra common than his reference to Marlena Evans, performed by Deidre Corridor. Collectively, they received a Cleaning soap Opera Digest Award for Favourite Couple in 2005.
Courtesy: Getty Photos/Alberto E. Rodriguez
Hogestyn wasn’t simply recognized for his long-running function although. He and his childhood sweetheart, Victoria Submit, wed in 1986 and remained married for 37 years. They welcomed 4 youngsters: daughters Whitney, Alexandra and Rachael, and son, Ben.
The actor’s costars had been fast to take to social media to share their reminiscences.
“Drake was an unimaginable man,” Alison Sweeney wrote on Instagram. “He was humorous, beneficiant and considerate. He cared about each single scene, each particular person. He liked Days, the followers, and shared that zeal with everybody on set. My coronary heart breaks for his household, they meant every little thing to him. He was such an enormous a part of my life at Days. I’ll miss him terribly and treasure each story, each joke & each hug.”
