‘Days of Our Lives’ star Drake Hogestyn dead at 70 — one day before his birthday
nypost.comaccording to Soap Opera Digest. He planned on becoming an oral surgeon but instead was drafted by the Cardinals and then the Yankees, who selected Hogestyn in the final round of the 1976 MLB Draft.
He played in the organization’s minor league system until injuries derailed his career. “Those who can keep injury-free and their head together and their weight down, those are the ones who are going to move up,” he told MiLB in 2020. “But when you’re a last-round pick and you mix in an injury … there’s no investment there.
And I knew that.”He moved to Los Angeles after being selected for an acting training program with Columbia Pictures.The actor was cast as the character of John Black – a mysterious police officer, private investigator and secret agent on the show.
Hogestyn starred in the hit soap opera for 38 years and filmed over 4,200 episodes. Other credits include “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” a guest role in “Criminal Minds” and acting in the Hallmark holiday movie “Christmas Tree Lane.”Hogestyn’s castmates remembered the actor as an “incredible man.”Alison Sweeney, who played Sami Brady on the show wrote on X “Drake was an incredible man.
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