Days of our Lives stars reveal what it was like filming John's funeral as Drake Hogestyn was dying 

If you're getting choked up watching Days of our Lives this week, it's for good reason. As Salem laid John Black to rest on screen, the actors were barely acting as they filmed the scenes saying goodbye to a beloved character — and actor.

A real-life Days of our Lives tragedy

When Drake Hogestyn passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer on September 28, 2024, just one day shy of his 71st birthday, his co-stars had just finished taping his long-time character's funeral.

Hogestyn knew that Days of our Lives planned to lay John Black to rest and had signed off on Ken Corday's final story before he passed.

"Drake, as the consummate storyteller that he is, said, ‘Absolutely. You gotta tell the story, Eric Martsolf, who plays John's son, Brady, told Variety. "Drake knew what he was facing. He understood that this is a story fans would want to be told. So Drake graciously said, 'Yes, let’s do it.'But knowing that this man was on the planet, and we were literally taping his funeral and his death, that was hard. It was really hard."

However, his fellow cast members had no idea how close he was to the end when this week's scenes were filmed last year. Shooting the three-part funeral took three full days. Hogestyn died the following weekend.

"There was literally zero acting going on during those three days,” Martsolf said. "Everyone was holding hands to the point where our hands were getting white."

Martha Madison opens up

Martha Madison, who has played John's daughter, Belle, off and on since 2004, was glad they were able to say goodbye with poignant scenes since she and her co-stars couldn't say goodbye to Hogestyn in person.

"None of us were able to really see him or be with him towards the end," Madison explained. "This was our opportunity to do it as a family, and do it together. And I thought it was so beautifully written — all of the flashbacks and really honoring his whole 40-year career on that show. It was all just very special."

Madison's love for her on-screen dad shone through in the scenes, and she echoed Belle's sentiments off-screen.

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"I just looked up to him so much, and I admired everything about him — his deep commitment to his work and to his family, his joy and playfulness and his ability to bring people together," Madison said. "I just admired him so much, and I don’t think that he was even aware of the impact that he was having on all of us."

Catch all-new episodes of Days of our Lives weekdays on Peacock.

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