This past September, Days of our Lives star Drake Hogestyn passed away after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. Now, reflecting on their father, Hogestyn’s daughters are sharing their favorite memories of the legendary soap star.
Hogestyn’s daughters Whitney Herndon and Alex Corwin spoke exclusively with Access Hollywood about their late father.
“He was the best dad we could ever ask for. He and my mom gave us the best childhood ever.” Herndon excitedly shared.
Looking back at family traditions, she continued, “Over the past few years Halloween was really my favorite tradition. We would dress up and we would do a big theme costume. My parents would be involved. My husband, my kids, and our dad would get into character where he would memorize the songs of whatever character he was dressed as.”
Corwin relayed a story about learning how to drive. Corwin shared, “He taught us how to drive in reverse, because he said, "If you can drive backwards, you can drive forwards."
“He was just the ‘drop everything you're doing, no questions asked’ type of dad.” Corwin continued, “He would pick us up unfortunately at all hours of the night for whatever reason. Our friends would call him when they weren't with us and he would go pick them up. He just wanted to make sure everyone was safe. He wanted to be that father figure for everyone.”
Drake left behind seven grandchildren, being a grandfather was something which he cherished. Herndon explained, “He and my mom loved being grandparents and our kids really miss him. That's been really hard. They see it. He was goofy with the grandkids and he was teaching my oldest son, Thomas Drake, about baseball.”
Reflecting on the naming of her son Thomas Drake, she added, “So my father-in-law's name is Thomas. My husband's name is Thomas. And then, of course, Drake as the middle name, which he loves, and my dad loved it.”
Drake found out that he was sick shortly after his seventieth birthday in September of 2023. Looking back on this celebration, Corwin shared, “It was the best birthday we could have had for him right before we found out he was sick. It felt like it was meant to happen that way. We were all together We had the most amazing celebration And he's going to be missed so much. But we talk to our kids about him every day. So he will never be forgotten He's in our hearts forever.”
Meanwhile, Drake’s other family on-screen in Salem on Days of our Lives is set to feel his loss in the coming days. Incoming head writers Paula Cwikly and Jeanne Marie Ford spoke to TV Guide’s Stephanie Sloane, teasing their plans for the soap. One of the first stories the new regime will tackle is writing out the character of John Black. Hogestyn had to step away from the role he had inhabited since 1986 for an impressive 4,425 episodes, as he courageously fought pancreatic cancer. Hogestyn sadly passed away on September 28, 2024. Speaking of this story, the writers said: “While we wanted John to have a heroic and meaningful exit, we wrote the story with the fervent hope that Drake would be able to return someday. John had already been off for over nine months, and there were only so many missions the man could be on. Realizing he might never come back, while praying he would, we needed to craft an exit that honored John, Drake, and the fans.”
Days of Our Lives streams weekdays on Peacock.
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