Like sands through the hourglass.
“Days of Our Lives” officially killed off Drake Hogestyn’s character, John Black, on Monday.
The emotional episode came eight months after Hogestyn passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 70 on September 28, 2024, and it saw Black flatline in a hospital with his wife, Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall), close by his side.
“You have put up the bravest fight I have ever seen,” Evans told her dying husband in the character’s final scene. “I know you’re weary. I know you’re suffering. If you need to go, it’s okay.”
Black was injured in a lab explosion days before his death as he tried to help Steve (Stephen Nichols) discover a drug to save Bo (Peter Reckell).
His body was completely covered in gauze to sidestep the fact that the character was no longer being played by Hogestyn.
“We will always have you in our memories,” Hall’s character, who married Hogestyn’s character six times, said. “We will always hold you in our hearts. You can rest now.”
A montage of the two “Days of Our Lives” characters’ decades-long love story also played just before Black flatlined and was officially killed off.
“I know. I know,” Hall, 77, wrote on Instagram after the episode aired this week. “Hardest day ever.”
Reckell, who returned to “Days of Our Lives” as Bo for the first time since 2023 for the touching episode, said there was “no acting required” when it came time to say goodbye to Hogestyn’s character in the wake of the actor’s actual passing.
“It’s still difficult to talk about because Drake touched everybody in his sphere so closely, and he was my brother and one of my best friends,” Reckell, 70, told TV Insider. “Having his memorial, there was no acting required in those scenes, because you’re saying things as the character that parallel your feelings in your personal relationship.”
“When I went to John’s memorial and all these emotions came up, I just wanted to run away and be by myself and feel those feelings,” he added. “To have to do it as a character was really difficult.”
The popular soap opera’s executive producer, Ken Corday, previously revealed that John Black’s death scene was a direct result of Hogestyn’s real-life battle with pancreatic cancer.
Corday, 74, told Soap Opera Digest in November that Hogestyn “signed off” on his character’s death scene shortly before he succumbed to his diagnosis.
Hogestyn’s final “Days of Our Lives” episode before his death aired on September 9, 2024. It saw his character share several emotional moments with his on-screen grandson, Tate (Leo Howard).
The show’s official Instagram page announced Hogestyn’s heartbreaking passing on September 28, just one day before his 71st birthday.
“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Drake Hogestyn,” the statement read. “He was thrown the curveball 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,” it continued. “He was the most amazing husband, father, papa and actor. He loved performing for the Days audience and sharing the stage with the greatest cast, crew, and production team in the business.”
“We love him and we will miss him all the Days of our Lives,” the statement concluded.
Hogestyn joined “Days of Our Lives” in 1986. He appeared on the hit soap opera for 38 years and filmed over 4,200 episodes.
