‘Days Of Our Lives’ EP Says Drake Hogestyn Knew How His Character Was Going To Die

deadline.com:

Days of Our Lives Star Drake Hogestyn was able to approve and film the way his beloved character died on the Peacock soap before he passed away on Sept.

28. In a new interview, Executive Producer Ken Corday said he needed to explain to viewers why Hogestyn’s character, John Black, was gone from the drama for nine months.

Off-camera, Hogestyn was battling pancreatic cancer. “We were rolling the dice, because it’s difficult to tell a story of someone’s death or a character’s death while the actor is still alive; albeit [Drake] was fighting, like a tiger, a very difficult disease,” Corday told Soap Opera Digest. “And I made the choice to, ‘Okay, let’s tell the story.’” “He and I were in contact,” continued Corday. “I wanted to make sure Drake signed off on this, and he was totally in favor of it.

He trusted me. Had Drake, God willing, beaten this, he would’ve come back, and it would’ve been something different. But [the story] had to be told.