'Days of Our Lives' Producer Recalls Talking to Drake Hogestyn About His Character's Arc Before He Passed Away

The executive producer of Days of Our Lives opened up about having conversations with Drake Hogestyn about his character’s story arc before the actor passed away.

The longtime soap opera star passed in September after battling pancreatic cancer. The late actor played the character John Black on the show.

Fans of the show know that Drake‘s character also passed away onscreen. Executive producer Ken Corday said that he spoke with Drake about the decision before approving it.

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“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,” he said in an interview with Soap Opera Digest. “And I made the choice to, ‘Okay, let’s tell the story.’”

He continued, saying, “He and I were in contact.”

“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. 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.”

One of Drake‘s close costars issued a statement about losing him to cancer.