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Drake Hogestyn

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Drake Hogestyn
Birth name	Donald Drake Hogestyn
Born	September 29 1953 (1953-09-29) (age 54) Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
Other name(s)	Nickname Hoagie

Drake Hogestyn (born Donald Drake Hogestyn on September 29, 1953) is an American actor best known for his long running role as John Black on the American soap opera Days of our Lives.

1 Biography
2 Awards, honors and nominations
3 Roles
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Biography

Early life

Hogestyn was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He attended the University of South Florida 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 and the New York Yankees. Hogestyn signed with the Yankees and played third base for one of their farm teams until he was injured in 1978.^[1]

Career

Hogestyn began his acting career by entering a Columbia Pictures 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 . After a few minor roles, 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. Hogestyn quickly became a fan favorite and enjoyed many popular pairings. In 1998, while staring on Days, Shelly Long wanted Drake to join her for an 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.^[2]. In 1991, Wayne Northrop agreed to return to Days to reprise his role of Roman. In order to keep both actors on the show, Drake's story was reconned 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 is rumored the character is officially dead and will not be back, but Days has a reputation for "killing" many characters and eventually bringing them back. There is no official word from the show's co-executive producers, Ken Corday and Ed Scott regarding Drake's status with the series, only past statements made in Soap Opera Digest that "John Black will be an important part of the fall storylines."^[3]. There is also no official word from the studio where Days is filmed, NBC, or the owner Sony Pictures Television, both of whom frequently publicly address issues of actor contracts, on the current status of Drake's contract or his position with the show. He was previously under contract until December 2007.^[4] As reported in the January 15 2008 issue of Soap Opera Digest^[5], Drake has returned to Days of our Lives and will be returning to the screen at the beginning of January.

Personal life

Hogestyn married his childhood sweetheart Victoria Post on December 31, 1986. The couple have four children, Rachael, Whitney, Alexandra, and actor Ben Hogestyn.