Days Of Our Lives star Drake Hogestyn has died of pancreatic cancer the day before his 71st birthday.
The soap actor’s passing was announced by the show’s social media account Saturday night.
‘It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Drake Hogestyn.’ the statement said. ‘
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.’
Hogestyn was remembered as ‘the most amazing husband, father, papa and actor.’
Hogestyn first appeared on Days of Our Lives in 1986, and played the character John Black for 38 years, appearing in more than 4,200 episodes.
His co-star, Kassie DePaiva, who played Eve on the show, paid tribute to the star on X.
She wrote: ‘I’m so saddened by this news. What an amazing life he lived. He will be missed. He made the world a better place.’
Days co-star, Alison Sweeney, who played Samantha ‘Sami’ Brady wrote on X: ‘Drake was an incredible man. He was funny, generous and thoughtful. He cared about every single scene, every person.’
She continued: ‘He loved Days, the fans, and shared that passion with everyone on set. My heart breaks for his family, they meant everything to him. He was such a huge part of my life at Days. I will miss him terribly and treasure every story, every joke & every hug.’
The show’s producer, Ken Corday, released a statement on the passing of the star, he said: ‘This is a very difficult one for all of us. Hogey was the ultimate team player and there are not sufficient words to express how deeply he will be missed. His impact on our show, personally and professionally, was profound and will forever remain unmatched.’
Hogestyn was awarded four Soap Opera Digest Awards as ‘Hottest Male Star’ in 1994 and 1995, as well as ‘Favorite Couple’ shared with Hall in 1995 and 2005.
The star, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1953. He went on to earn a baseball scholarship to the University of South Florida, where he earned a microbiology and applied sciences degree.
Hogestyn married his childhood sweetheart, Victoria Post, in 1986 and had four children, Whitney, Rachael, Alexandra, and Ben, as well as seven grandchildren.
‘I fell in love with Victoria when I was 15, she was 12, on the baseball field. She’s on the handlebars of her girlfriend Lisa Miller’s bike, I’m playing center field, go figure, he recalled in a 2018 interview with Digest.
‘That moment she just shocked me and I just screamed, ‘No! I have too much to do with my life,’ and from then on that was it! I look at her, I see her, I can see her when she was 12, when she was 13, when she was 14, 15, 16 … all the moments,’ he added.
He majored in pre-dentistry intending to become an oral surgeon before he signed on to play professional baseball with the New York Yankees minor league team.
After his baseball career came to an end after sustaining an injury in 1977, his first starring role was in the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers series.
His big break came as a result of a Columbia Pictures talent search involving 75,000 people.
Hogestyn joined Days of Our Lives, initially playing a mystery man known as ‘The Pawn’ before playing his iconic role as John Black.
The star revealed in an interview with Digest in 2015 that he felt ‘overwhelmed’ as a newcomer on set. He said: ‘When I started on the first day, I sat there all day long. I stayed on the set in everybody’s scenes all week long, just to see how they did.’
He recalled watching members of the cast such as Mac Carey, who played Tom Horton, and Frances Reid, who played Alice Horton.
Diedre Hall, who plays Marlena Evans, ‘took me by the hand and said, “This is how you do this; this is how you do that”,’ he recalled.
‘Drake came in to audition/screen test. I had agreed to test with everybody… Later everybody was saying, “I don’t know what do you think?”, and I said, “I don’t think there’s any contest… I think it’s Drake. I mean he’s got everything you need. Of everybody that you brought in, I think he’s your best choice”, Hall recalled in a podcast interview with Digest in 2022.
‘He was dreamy. He loved to rehearse, wanted to get it right, very serious about the work…. I think it worked from the very first moment,’ she added.
One of his co-stars, Shelley Long, invited him to join the series Kelly, Kelly where he played the role of Robert Hays.
Hogestyn moved on to play other romantic pairings with stars such as Genie Francis in General Hospital, who recalled in a 2015 interview that the star was ‘adorable and funny’. His other co-star Staci Greason said in a 2022 interview, ‘Drake really took me under his wing.’
Hogestyn played his star role as Black through 2009, when he and Hall were both dropped due to budget cuts. The pair were rehired in 2011, Hogestyn said: ‘Did I hope it would happen? Absolutely… I was welcomed back with open arms. It brought a tear to my eyes.’
It was in May of 2016 the star began to experience brain injuries that kept him from the show for several months, he said upon his return in 2017 after losing friend Joe Mascolo: ‘I thought that he was going to live forever. I really did. I mean, his mom and dad lived up to their hundreds. So, as we go through weddings and funerals on the show, we do it in our own lives, too, and it’s kind of crazy,’
He continued: ‘I feel life is good…. Time’s going by. That’s just it. It’s amazing. It’s remarkable. We live a dual life here, you know what I mean? We not only have our real life, but we come here and have another life, and it’s really, really unusual. I wish everybody could experience this. It’s really rich and it’s really full and I’m very blessed.’
Hogestyn revealed that while texting a mentor of his, he said: ‘You have to know when you’re on top of the roller-coaster ride and be prepared for what’s coming next.’
‘Because that roller coaster goes up and goes down, and you have to have a very, very strong support group and sense of self and be very realistic,’ he added.
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