After news of Days of our Lives star Drake Hogestyn's death spread on the evening of September 28, fans and co-stars began honoring and paying tribute to the beloved star. However, the soap found more than one way to honor Hogestyn before he died...in a roundabout way.
Days of our Lives's two Drakes
Hogestyn became an instant DAYS hit when he debuted in 1986, and his character was soon revealed to be a back-from-the-dead Roman Brady. By 1991, fans learned that Hogestyn's character wasn't Roman at all when Wayne Northrop returned to the role he originated in 1981. "Roman" became John Black, and Hogestyn brought the character to legendary status through the years.
In 1995, a fictional version of Days of our Lives found prominence on the hit NBC sitcom Friends when Matt Le Blanc's character, Joey Tribiani, landed the role of Dr. Drake Ramoray, who existed only on the Friends version of DAYS. Sadly, Drake fell down an elevator shaft by 1996 and ended up in a coma, thus putting Joey's soap career on pause. Eventually, Drake Ramoray emerged from his coma, only for a nurse to stab him to death.
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Although it was never confirmed, it's been rumored for years that the Friends producers named Drake Ramoray after Hogestyn, according to People. Now, DAYS is paying tribute to Dr. Ramoray in its own clever way.
Body and Soul's own Dr. Ramoray
On the October 1 episode of DAYS, Kate and Abe finally began shooting Body and Soul, the soap opera they purchased to save it from cancelation. The first scenes were set to be shot at Salem University Hospital, but a hospital administrator named Seth feared it would be a liability.
To get him to agree to the shoot, Kayla had to promise him a role on Body and Soul, so Dr. Blake Ramoray was born. Sure, Blake only has five lines, but longtime DAYS fans and Friends fans immediately recognized the name as being a throwback to Joey's long-ago character.
While these scenes were taped months ago, before Hogestyn's death, fans found the timing of Blake Ramoray's debut to be meaningful.
"'Oh, I'm not Seth. I'm the new Pineview Hospital chief of staff. Meet Dr. Blake Lamoray,'" X (formerly Twitter) user @abetterlizard wrote. "Obviously, the show had no way of knowing when Drake would pass, but wow, the timing on this one when Drake Ramoray was named after him."
Hogestyn left his mark on DAYS in ways both big and small, and there are sure to be reminders of his 38-year legacy for years to come.
Catch all-new episodes of Days of our Lives weekdays on Peacock.
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