Donald "Drake" Hogestyn

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Donald Drake Hogestyn

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN, United States
Death: September 28, 2024 (70) (Pancreatic cancer)
Managed by: René Robert G S
Last Updated:

About Donald "Drake" Hogestyn

Donald Drake Hogestyn was an American actor best known for his role as the amnesiac mercenary John Black in the hit NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Hogestyn was born on September 29, 1953, at Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Bill and Shug Hogestyn. Growing up, Hogestyn graduated from North Side High School and got to attend the University of South Florida on a baseball scholarship, where he would later graduate with a double major in microbiology and applied sciences. After college, Hogestyn decided to pursue a future in baseball, getting drafted by both the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees and eventually signing with the latter. However, a knee injury brought an end to his career, leading Hogestyn to pursue a career in acting.

Hogestyn got his first on-screen role in 1982, when he was cast as Brian McFadden for all 22 episodes of the musical television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Hogestyn got his first major role in 1986, when he was first cast as a man called "The Pawn". The Pawn was originally revealed to be the thought-dead Roman Brady, but outside events lead to Hogestyn's character getting retconned into becoming an amnesiac mercenary named John Black. He has been acting as John Black for over 1,000 episodes of the hit NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives. He has also appeared in the TV shows and TV movies Days of Our Lives' 35th Anniversary, Night Sins, One Stormy Night, Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues, Generation, Otherworld, and Criminal Minds.

On September 28, 2024, in Los Angeles, California, at 70 years of age, Hogestyn passed away following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

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Donald "Drake" Hogestyn's Timeline

1953
September 29, 1953
Fort Wayne, Allen County, IN, United States
2024
September 28, 2024
Age 70