Donald Drake Hogestyn () (born September 29, 1953) is an American actor best known for his long running role as John Black on the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' Days of Our Lives''.

Early life

Hogestyn was born in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, where he graduated from North Side High School. He attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

in Tampa on a baseball scholarship, majoring in pre-dentistry. He graduated with a double major in microbiology and applied sciences. He was then drafted by two professional baseball organizations: the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. Hogestyn signed with the Yankees and played third base for one of their farm teams until he was injured in 1977.

Career

Hogestyn began his acting career by entering a

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

talent search that included 75,000 people. Hogestyn was among the 30 selected, and his first starring role was on the prime time series ''

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' is a 1954 American musical film, directed by Stanley Donen, with music by Gene de Paul, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and choreography by Michael Kidd. The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Do ...

''. After a few minor roles (one as Kort, leader of the Micro Workers in the episode 'Princess Metra' on the 80s television series ''

Otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...

''), Hogestyn joined the cast of ''Days of our Lives'' in 1986. He initially played a mystery man referred to simply as "The Pawn." However, it was soon revealed The Pawn was the presumed-dead

Roman Brady Roman Brady is a fictional character from the long-running NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. The role was originated in 1981 by Wayne Northrop, who played the role until 1984 and from 1991 to 1994, and is currently being portrayed by series ve ...

. Hogestyn quickly became a fan favorite and enjoyed many pairings, the most popular of which was with longtime co-star Deidre Hall. In 1998, while starring on ''Days'',

Shelley Long Shelley Lee Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. Long portrayed Diane Chambers on the hit sitcom '' Cheers'' and received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Se ...

enlisted Hogestyn to join her for the upcoming series ''Kelly, Kelly''. He was set to star in both until the filming of the pilot episode of ''Kelly, Kelly'' conflicted with his schedule on ''Days'', and the role went to

Robert Hays Robert Hays (born July 24, 1947) is an American actor, known for a variety of television and film roles since the 1970s. He came to prominence around 1980, co-starring in the two-season domestic sitcom '' Angie'', and playing the central role of ...

. In 1991,

Wayne Northrop Wayne Alan Northrop (born April 12, 1947) is an American actor known for his parts in soap operas such as ''Dynasty'' and ''Days of Our Lives''. Career Northrop portrayed chauffeur Michael Culhane on ''Dynasty'' from the pilot episode, " Oil" (1 ...

agreed to return to ''Days'' to reprise his role of Roman. In order to keep both actors on the show, Drake's story was

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...

ned, and his past rewritten. Despite this change, Hogestyn remained one of the show's most popular actors. The pairing of John Black and Marlena Evans ( Deidre Hall) is one of the show's enduring supercouples. Drake's John Black character was "killed off" the week of October 15, 2007. It was rumored the character was officially dead and would not be back, but—true to ''Days reputation for "killing" many characters off and eventually bringing them back—it turned out that John was not really dead at all, but had been abducted by long-time nemesis Stefano DiMera. As of January 8, 2008, Drake was back on ''Days of our Lives'' in the role he created. Confirmed on November 17, 2008, Drake, along with his long-time co-star, Deidre Hall, were let go from ''Days of our Lives'' due to budget cuts. Days of Our Lives brought back the characters of John and Marlena starting September 26, 2011.

Personal life

Hogestyn married his childhood sweetheart Victoria. The couple have four children: three daughters, Whitney, Alexandra and Rachael; and one son, Ben.

Awards, honors and nominations

Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional in ...

awards and nominations: **Winner, Hottest Male Star (1994) **Winner, Hottest Male Star (1995) **Nominated, Hottest Male Star (1997) **Nominated, Hottest Male Star (1998) **Nominated, Hottest Romance (1998) shared with Deidre Hall **Nominated, Favorite Couple (1999) shared with Deidre Hall **Winner, Favorite Couple (2005) shared with Deidre HallSOD Winners 2005
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Roles

*''

'' (Brian McFadden - 1982) *''

'' (Kort, Leader of the Micro Workers - 1985) *''Generation'' (Jack Breed - 1985) *''Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues'' (Rod - 1985) *'' Days of Our Lives'' (John Black - 1986–2007, 2008–09, 2011–13, 2014–present) *''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'' (Senator Alfred Mayhew - 2018) *''Hallmark Christmas Tree Lane'' (Benjamin Reilly - 2020)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hogestyn, Drake American Jeet Kune Do practitioners American male soap opera actors South Florida Bulls baseball players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players 1953 births Living people Male actors from Indiana Actors from Fort Wayne, Indiana Oneonta Yankees players Broward College alumni