Before actor Drake Hogestyn died following a pancreatic cancer battle, he reportedly approved of his Days of Our Lives character also dying ... We needed a reason [for John’s absence].” Corday, 74, reached out to Hogestyn before writing the script.

Days of our Lives star Drake Hogestyn knew his alter ego, John Black, would die, and he was “in favor” of it. When Drake died in September, it came as a shock to fans, but his cast and crew members knew of his pancreatic cancer battle the whole time.

The late actor approved of his character's death scene, which will air in an upcoming episode of the soap opera John Black will have a fitting send-off on Days of Our Lives.The character’s upcoming death scene received the stamp of approval from Drake Hogestyn,

The late Days of Lives soap star, who passed away on September 28, after a battle with pancreatic cancer, knew how his character John Black would be written out of the script.

Days of Our Lives Star Drake Hogestyn was able to approve and film the way his beloved character died on the Peacock soap before he passed away on Sept. 28. In a new interview, Executive Producer Ken Corday said he needed to explain to viewers why Hogestyn’s character,

Days of Our Lives has had to say a painful goodbye to too many beloved actors lately - and their legendary characters. But due, in part, to the show's advanced shooting schedule, the onscreen and offscreen farewells tend to be very far apart.

As a result, the site noted, the soap filmed John's passing before Hogestyn himself died on Sept. 28 after battling pancreatic cancer. Corday explained: We were rolling the dice, because it’s difficult to tell a story of someone’s death or a character’s death while the actor is still alive;