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The saying, “Life imitates art,” unfortunately, rings true for the Days of Our Lives cast this week.
On June 9, the daytime soap began mourning the loss of Drake Hogestyn’s longtime character, John Black, in a collection of episodes that were filmed concurrent with the actor’s final days last fall. Before Hogestyn died on Sept. 29 following a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 70, he and his family gave their blessings for his storyline to come to an end.
“Drake, as the consummate storyteller that he is, said, ‘Absolutely. You gotta tell the story,’” Eric Martsolf, who played his son Brady, told Variety in a recent interview. “Drake knew what he was facing. He understood that this is a story fans would want to be told. So Drake graciously said, ‘Yes, let’s do it.’ But knowing that this man was on the planet, and we were literally taping his funeral and his death, that was hard. It was really hard.”
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Martsolf recalled experiencing true feelings of grief on set.
Because the cast knew that Hogestyn was in his final days off-camera, Martsolf said emotions while filming were high.
“There was literally zero acting going on during those three days,” he shared. “Everyone was holding hands to the point where our hands were getting white.”
The cast wanted to acknowledge Hogestyn’s nearly 40-year run on the show.
Hogestyn starred on the beloved series for 38 years until stepping back in 2024 due to his illness. His onscreen daughter, played by Martha Madison, noted that it was important that his character’s sendoff was a meaningful one.
“For us, it felt like our responsibility and an honor to do it the very best that we knew how,” she explained. “The fact that we were losing Drake at the same time, it was very hard on us emotionally, as we’re losing someone we really love. We didn’t really have to perform. It wasn’t like we were having to dig for anything. It was just all right there.”
“None of us were able to really see him or be with him towards the end,” she added. “This was our opportunity to do it as a family, and do it together. And I thought it was so beautifully written — all of the flashbacks and really honoring his whole 40-year career on that show. It was all just very special.”
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Hogestyn’s TV children also felt like part of his family off-screen.
Madison worked alongside Hogestyn off and on for 19 years, and said that she “looked up to him so much.”
“I admired everything about him — his deep commitment to his work and to his family, his joy and playfulness and his ability to bring people together,” she gushed, tearfully. “I just admired him so much, and I don’t think that he was even aware of the impact that he was having on all of us.”
Similarly, Martsolf developed a deep respect and bond with Hogestyn throughout his 16 years on the show. When giving his eulogy for John as Brady, the Passions alum confessed it felt like he “lost a father figure” in real life as well.
“Drake and I were buddies. He usually started the day with a story. He just had so many life experiences,” he reminisced, citing Hogestyn’s first career as a professional baseball player. “I mean, he was a Yankee at one point, for God’s sake!”
“Fans should tune in because we’re going to say goodbye to one of the most iconic men ever to hit daytime television,” Martsolf continued. “He was the epitome of a soap opera star on and off the stage, and the man deserves eyeballs, and he deserves that tribute.”
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Days of Our Lives airs new episodes weekdays on Peacock.
