Days of our Lives star Drake Hogestyn approved of John Black's death

While John Black's heartbreaking and dreaded Days of our Lives death is not here yet, the soap had to think about whether to kill off the character while Drake Hogestyn was still alive. According to Soap Opera Digest, the late actor gave his blessing for DAYS to do just that.

John Black's death will hit Days of our Lives hard

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Hogestyn taped his final scenes last fall when he was battling pancreatic cancer. The actor finally had to stop working due to his health. The scenes aired in early September, while Hogestyn succumbed to the disease on September 28.

"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," Executive Producer Ken Corday told Digest. "And I made the choice to, 'Okay, let’s tell the story.' He hadn’t been on [the show] in nine months. We needed a reason [for John’s absence]."

Corday noted that he contacted Hogestyn before John's death was filmed to ensure that he was aware of and okay with the decision.

"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," Corday said. "But [the story] had to be told. It was extremely difficult and painful for us to tell it — for the cast, for everybody. Drake was a big part of the show. The consummate actor. Always a team player and pretty good-looking, too."

Deidre Hall weighs in on John's death

When John's death scenes were taped, the actor was still alive, something that Deidre Hall was keenly aware of at the time. She was determined not to allow her co-star's illness to influence her performance.

"I wouldn’t touch that with a 10-foot pole," Hall said. "Drake was still with us. I know Ken had promised him a place to come back. He was looking forward to coming back, and he was fighting the good fight. So we had not said goodbye to him yet. And we weren’t thinking goodbye to him at that point."

Marlena is set to learn that John is missing. Will that storyline lead to the beloved character's sad farewell?

Catch all-new episodes of Days of our Lives weekdays on Peacock.

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