Drake Hogestyn, a Days of Our Lives veteran who spent nearly four decades playing the mysterious and often heroic John Black, has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 70.
Born in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Sept. 29, 1953, Hogestyn attended the University of South Florida Tampa on a baseball scholarship and was eventually drafted into the New York Yankees. He spent a year playing third base before sustaining an injury in 1977. From there, Hogestyn began his acting career.
Hogestyn’s pivot to show business began with a Columbia Pictures talent search that included 75,000 applicants. He was selected, along with 29 others, and would land his first starring role in the 1982 musical CBS series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which also starred River Phoenix.
Hogestyn made his Days of Our Livesdebut on Jan. 24, 1986, as a mystery man initially referred to as “The Pawn.” He would later assume the identity of John Black, a heroic spy, mercenary, police officer, private investigator, and secret agent. He quickly became a fan favorite among soap watchers and appeared in more than 4,200 episodes over the course of his 38 years on the NBC series. He was one half of many popular daytime TV pairings, but his most famous of them was his romance with Days‘ Deidre Hall, who starred as Marlena Evans.
Hogestyn’s additional acting credits include the TV movies Generation, Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues, One Stormy Night, Christmas Tree Lane, and Night Sins. He also did guest stints on Criminal Minds and the sci-fi series Otherworld.
SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly
