Drake Hogestyn: Roman Brady, or John Black, or both?

Drake Hogestyn, at left, with his "Days Of Our Lives" co-star Deidre Hall in 1986.

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1986-emmys-drake-and-deidre--37295503144905078/

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It used to be that landing a role on a daytime soap opera was a stepping stone to primetime network TV or even the movies.

However, since the 1980s, actors have remained in roles on soap operas for decades. Sometimes they outlast the show, as the majority of soap operas that populated the airwaves in the ‘80s are now gone.

One soap opera that keeps chugging along is “Days Of Our Lives”. One of the characters that has been around since the 1980s is John Black, played by Drake Hogestyn.

Sadly, Drake Hogestyn passed away a few days ago, one day short of turning 71.

Origin story
Hogestyn was born in Indiana, went to the University of South Florida on a baseball scholarship, and was drafted by both the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees. He signed with the Yankees and played in their farm system until inury ended his baseball career in 1977.

He got his start in acting by entering a talent search contest put on by Columbia Pictures. It included 75,000 people, but Hogestyn was one of 30 selected.

His first role was in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in the 1982-1983 season for 22 episodes. It was loosely based on the movie of the same name, that my Mom talked about seeing in the theatre. I read about this series in the “TV Guide” fall preview issue, but never saw it, because it never appeared on peasant vision.

Hogestyn then appeared in an episode of “Otherworld” and the television movie “Generation”, both in 1985.

In 1985, Hogestyn was also in “Beverly Hills Cowgirl Blues” as a policeman. It starred Lisa Hartman as a Wyoming cop who teams up with a Beverly Hills policeman, played by James Brolin, to find her best friend’s killer. I recall seeing this movie and recognizing Hogestyn, from the role he would soon make famous.

Black to Brady and back
I started watching “Days Of Our Lives” in early 1986 after I got a VCR for Christmas in 1985. I would record all five episodes each week, then usually watch them on the weekend with my Mom.

In 1986, this mysterious man appeared in Salem. His face was completely bandaged, and he found himself in a shelter. He was able to remove his bandages, but he still had amnesia. When asked what his name was, he looked at a plaque and saw the name “John Black”.

So he said his name was John Black.

As the months wore on, he met Dr. Marlena Evans and, over time, remembered he was actually her long lost husband Roman Brady.

Initially, they did not get back together. He ended up getting together with Diana Colville, played by “General Hospital” soap opera legend Genie Francis. I recall their first kiss distinctly. They were being held captive, tied up back to back. They were not muzzled, so they were talking and leaned over toward each other and had one of the most awkward-looking first kisses in soap opera history.

Drake Hogestyn played John Black/Roman Brady.

However, in 1991, Wayne Northrop, who had been playing Roman Brady before he left the show, agreed to return. The writers retconned, or re-wrote, John Black’s past so he could co-exist.

I remember coming home in 1991 and my Mom was watching “Days Of Our Lives”, and I heard the Drake Hogestyn character referred to as John Black. Then I saw Wayne Northrop, and he was referred o as Roman Brady. Mom explained, what had happened in the show, and I never really got over the fact the writers had changed the past. That was years before I even heard the term retcon.

What made it worse was that Northrop left the show again. An actor named Josh Taylor had played a character named Chris Kositchek for years on “Days Of Our lives”. Taylor also played the dad in the night-time sitcom “Valerie” which evolved into the “The Hogan Family”. He eventually left “Days Of Our Lives”. Then, in another weird moment, I came home one day years later and my Mom was watching “Days Of Our Lives”. Josh Taylor was there, but he wasn’t Chris Kositchek – he was Roman Brady. He plays that role to this day.

It is just a little too weird.

Anyway, Drake Hogestyn continued to play John Black and, with Deidre Hall as Dr. Marlena Evans, has formed one of the most enduring and popular couples in soap opera history.

The years after
Hogestyn did very little beyond playing John Black, whether in “Days Of Our Lives” or spin-off projects. However, he did have two other roles. One was a guest spot in “Criminal Minds” in 2018, and the other was in the television movie “Christmas Tree Lane” in 2020.

For his efforts, he won Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1994 and 1995 for Hottest Male Star; and for Favourite Couple in 2005, with Deidre Hall. He was also nominated for Hottest Male Star in 1997 and 1998; Hottest Romace, shared with Hall, in 1998; and Favopurite Couple, with Hall, in 1999.

He made his final appearance on “Days Of Our Lives” on September 9, 2024.

Drake Hogesytn died on September 28, 2024.

He was 70 years old.

Parting thoughts
What I will always remember about Drake Hogestyn in all his episodes of “Days Of Our Lives” was how intense he was. Whether Roman Brady or John Black, he always seemed to be coming on strong, whether it was interrogating a suspect, confronting a killer or opening a Christmas present.

He had a real William Shatner quality to his acting, although he could not be anywhere as near funny or tongue in cheek as Shatner.

Yet, whether it was overacting or not, Drake Hogestyn made his mark on pop culture playing one of the most enduring and recognizable characters in soap opera history.

And, when you are confronting everything from killers and cons to spies and the supernatural, I guess you have to be intense.