September 28 was a sad day for soap fans. Days of Our Lives‘ Drake Hogestyn passed away just one day shy of his 71st birthday.

I’m reeling from the news. Hogestyn has been John Black to Deidre Hall’s Marlena Evans for as long as I can remember.

He joined Days of Our Lives in 1986, the year I began my lifelong love affair with the soap, and stayed with it for the rest of his life, not counting a few times he was written out temporarily, which makes his death an even more heartbreaking loss.

Days of Our Lives’ Drake Hogestyn Died of Pancreatic Cancer

He Kept His Illness Private And Worked For As Long As Possible

During his last few appearances, Hogestyn looked thin and somewhat frail, but I had no idea he was ill.

John Black had just been rescued from a bizarre abduction where he had been tied up in an apartment in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, after being knocked out in Greece. (That’s the kind of story that only happens in Salem!)

I figured his character was supposed to be weak after his ordeal, and that’s why he looked like that.

That made the news that he had died of pancreatic cancer doubly shocking.

Although he didn’t look great, Hogestyn’s performance was as strong as ever, making it difficult to guess that he was battling a terminal illness.

Of course, actors have the right to medical privacy just like anyone else, so Days of Our Live’s Drake Hogestyn had no reason to share his diagnosis with his audience.

Still, while it seemed like Hogestyn was ill, it didn’t occur to me that we might be losing him permanently soon.

It’s as impressive as it is shocking that he chose to keep working for as long as possible despite his diagnosis. He was a fighter to the end, just like the character he played.

John Black Was Central To Many Current Stories

He Was A Loving Father And Grandfather Who Will Be Sorely Missed

In recent weeks, John has been worrying about Brady and trying to convince him not to plead guilty to a hit-and-run accident he doesn’t remember causing. (Plot twist: Brady didn’t cause it.)

He also had some touching scenes encouraging his grandson, Tate, after Tate felt he screwed everything up with Holly, and in recent years has been the only one who has been able to get through to Brady’s bratty daughter.

Days of Our Lives’ Drake Hogestyn also recently gave a stellar performance as John grappled with his guilt over having killed Konstantin’s daughter while brainwashed into being The Pawn, and the John who is on-screen now hasn’t fully gotten over it.

It’s fitting that one of his final storylines was a throwback to his introduction to Salem, even though the new Pawn story was silly.

Hindsight is 20/20, but mine right now realizes I would have appreciated that story more if I’d known he wouldn’t be with us much longer.

But I’m glad that before that, TV legend Dick Van Dyke guest-starred on Days of Our Lives as John’s long-lost father — the final one, that is because John kept learning that he wasn’t who he thought he was and having to search for his birth father all over again.

Van Dyke and Hogestyn were lifelong friends, and Van Dyke pitched the idea of working together while they were both working out at the gym.

That charming story saddens me, knowing that Hogestyn was healthy then and now has passed away from a particularly debilitating disease.

From The Beginning, Most of John Black’s Stories Revolved Around Marlena

For 38 Years, Days Of Our Lives’ Drake Hogestyn And Marlena Evans Have Been A Super-Couple

Hogestyn’s John Black will be remembered for his epic romance with Marlena. As long as Hogestyn’s been on the show, Marlena has been the love of his life.

There have been rumors for years that the two didn’t hit it off in real life when they first met but grew to be close both on and off set. If that’s true, the current Chanel/Alex storyline is even more of a meta performance than I thought!

Anyway, I’ll never be able to think about John without Marlena. He saved her life for the first time back when he was the Pawn, and he kept doing it over and over.

Sometimes, that tired TV trope got annoying. Marlena has been the damsel in distress more times than I can count. But John’s love for her was never in doubt.

Together, the couple not only survived countless kidnapping and murder attempts but many other soap plots full of people determined to tear them apart, such as:

• For many years, John believed he was Roman Brady, but the real Roman turned up and wanted Marlena back.
• Sami had mental health issues after walking in on John and Marlena having sex on a conference table.
• Super-villain Orpheus turned his wrath against John even after learning John was not his archenemy, Roman, and tried to steal Marlena for himself
• Countless attempts by Stefano Dimera to get rid of John and get Marlena to fall in love with him
• Brady came home from boarding school with a bad attitude and refused to accept Marlena as his stepmother
• Theresa Donovan hit John with a poker in a fit of rage, putting him in a coma.

John had a few other partners when Marlena was presumed dead after a plane crash, but Marlena was always the love of his life, and that is what will be most remembered about him.

Days of Our Lives’ Drake Hogestyn Will Likely Be On-Screen A While Longer

The Soap Currently Tapes Eight Months Ahead of Broadcast

Days of Our Lives taping so far in advance of broadcast means that there’s probably more John to come before Hogestyn’s death is addressed on-screen.

In November, the series will finally write out Doug, 10 months after Bill Hayes’ death in January 2024, but put a memorial plaque up before the credits on one of Hayes’ final episodes months ago.

Hogestyn’s death will probably be handled similarly.

His final scenes will be heartbreaking, knowing that they’re limited in number, even if there’s no indication that the character will soon suffer the latest TV death.

When the day comes when John has to die on air too, he will leave a large hole in the canvas that can never quite be filled.

Over to you, Days of Our Lives fanatics.

Hit the comments to share your grief and your memories of Days of Our Lives’ Drake Hogestyn.

Days of Our Lives streams exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.