Donald Drake Hogestyn (; September 29, 1953 – September 28, 2024) was an American actor best known for his long-running role as John Black on the American soap opera ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

''.

Early life

Hogestyn was born on September 29, 1953, in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, where he graduated from North Side High School. He attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

on a baseball scholarship, majoring in pre-dentistry. He graduated with a double major in microbiology and applied sciences. He was then drafted by two professional baseball organizations: the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. Hogestyn signed with the Yankees and played third base for one of their farm teams until he was injured in 1977.

Career

Hogestyn began his acting career by entering a

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

talent search that included 75,000 people. Hogestyn was among the 30 selected, and his first starring role was on the prime time series ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dor ...

''. After a few minor roles (one as Kort, leader of the Micro Workers in the episode 'Princess Metra' on the 80s television series ''

Otherworld In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his desc ...

''), Hogestyn joined the cast of ''Days of our Lives'' in 1986. He initially played a mystery man referred to simply as "The Pawn." However, it was soon revealed The Pawn was the presumed dead

Roman Brady Roman Brady is a fictional character from the NBC/Peacock (streaming service), Peacock soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. The role was originated in 1981 by Wayne Northrop, who played the role until 1984 and from 1991 to 1994, and is currently bein ...

. Hogestyn quickly became a fan favorite and enjoyed many pairings, the most popular of which was with longtime co-star Deidre Hall. In 1998, while starring on ''Days'',

Shelley Long Shelley Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. For her role as Diane Chambers on the sitcom ''Cheers'', Long received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. S ...

enlisted Hogestyn to join her for the upcoming series ''Kelly, Kelly''. He was set to star in both until the filming of the pilot episode of ''Kelly, Kelly'' conflicted with his schedule on ''Days'', and the role went to

Robert Hays Robert Blakely Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom ''Angie (TV series), Angie'', and ...

. In 1991,

Wayne Northrop Wayne Alan Northrop (April 12, 1947 – November 29, 2024) was an American actor known for his parts in soap operas such as ''Dynasty'' and ''Days of Our Lives''. Wayne Northrop died on November 29th, 2024 in Los Angeles, California of complicatio ...

agreed to return to ''Days'' to reprise his role of Roman. In order to keep both actors on the show, Drake's story was

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

ned, and his past was rewritten. Despite this change, Hogestyn remained one of the show's most popular actors. The pairing of

John Black and Marlena Evans John Black and Marlena Evans are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American daytime drama ''Days of Our Lives''.Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn: SOAP OPERA DIGEST talks with Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn about their on-screen relati ...

(

Deidre Hall Deidre Hall (born October 31, 1947) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her portrayal of Marlena Evans on the NBC/Peacock (streaming service), Peacock daytime drama ''Days of Our Lives'', whom she has played for over 45 year ...

) is one of the show's enduring

supercouples A supercouple or super couple (also known as a power couple) is a popular and/or wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or obsessive fashion. The term originated in the United States, and it was coined in the earl ...

. In November 2008, it was announced Hogestyn, along with Hall, had been fired from ''Days of Our Lives'', with budget cuts cited as reason for their exits. In July 2011, it was announced Hogestyn and Hall would reprise their roles as John and Marlena, respectively, in an attempt to "refresh" the soap. Hogestyn made his final appearance in the role during the episode released on September 9, 2024, due to the soap's advanced taping schedule and his death on September 28 of the same year.

Personal life and death

Hogestyn and his wife Victoria had four children. Hogestyn died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

at his home in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

, on September 28, 2024, a day before his 71st birthday.

Filmography

Awards, honors and nominations

Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It featured onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional ...

awards and nominations: **Winner, Hottest Male Star (1994) **Winner, Hottest Male Star (1995) **Nominated, Hottest Male Star (1997) **Nominated, Hottest Male Star (1998) **Nominated, Hottest Romance (1998) shared with Deidre Hall **Nominated, Favorite Couple (1999) shared with Deidre Hall **Winner, Favorite Couple (2005) shared with Deidre HallSOD Winners 2005
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hogestyn, Drake 1953 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American Jeet Kune Do practitioners American male soap opera actors American male television actors Broward College alumni Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Male actors from Fort Wayne, Indiana Oneonta Yankees players South Florida Bulls baseball players