Remembering Drake Hogestyn's last Days of our Lives scene, one year later

It's been one whole year since Drake Hogestyn last appeared on our Days of our Lives screens as his beloved character, John Black. They were simple scenes with Eric Martsolf's Brady and Leo Howard's Tate, and when they aired, nobody knew it was the final time John Black would be with his son and grandson on camera.

Looking back at John Black

Hogestyn's last Days of our Lives scenes aired not even three weeks before his real-life death on September 28, 2024. During those scenes, John had a poignant talk with his grandson, Tate, giving him advice on life and love. Tate felt awful after accidentally spilling the beans to Holly (Ashley Puzemis) that Eric (Greg Vaughn) was the one driving the car that led to her father's death before she was even born.

Later, John also shared some warm moments with Brady, shortly after Brady was released from jail. At the time, Brady believed he was the drunk driver responsible for Sarah's (Linsey Godfrey) accident. The real culprit turned out to be Xander's (Paul Telfer) mother.

After those scenes aired, we soon learned that John left town for a super-secret ISA mission that took him from Salem for months, but it wasn't what ultimately killed him.

Remembering Days of our Lives' John Black

Marlena (Deidre Hall) lived without John for months, believing he would eventually return home. She even traveled to Estonia with Steve (Stephen Nichols) to look for him, but they found Orpheus (George Del Hoyo) instead. When John did finally make it back to Salem, he did it in heroic fashion. Before even going home, he had to make sure to save Bo Brady's (Peter Reckell) life, but his final act was his last.

John was badly burned in a lab explosion, but managed to get the miracle drug that ultimately saved Bo. The forever hero succumbed to his burns with his beloved Marlena by his side, with DAYS paying tribute to him and the actor who played him this past May.

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Hogestyn began his soap career on DAYS in 1985 and ended it nearly 40 years later. Throughout the decades, John Black remained one of the most popular characters in soap opera history.

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

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