♥ Ongoing Days 2000 ♥ Note on soap magazine publication dates and content of articles/interviews regarding multiple soap stars: Many of the monthly or every other month (and sometimes quarterly) magazines back in the 1980's would be on the newsstands a long time before the date on the actual magazine. We've noticed, for instance, that DAYTIME TV magazine did an interview with Drake in late 1986 about his upcoming wedding, which was scheduled for December 1986, yet the interview didn't appear until the July 1987 issue several months later. Therefore, it might be a bit confusing to read about his "upcoming" wedding in an interview dated July 1987 when you happen to know he was married in December 1986. We've tried to date the articles to match the date on the magazine, regardless of when the events talked about took place. Hopefully it will make sense as you go along! We've also edited some of the articles/interviews to just include John's storyline, since this is a Drake/John website. We've left out comments and sections about other actors or storylines unless they're involved with John's storyline. This too should be very apparent and clear when we've done that so it makes sense and you don't have to skim through a long article to find the "John parts." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What Makes This Man Smile? Drake Hogestyn's DAYS character John Black is facing the possibility that he may be the father of Hope's unborn child. The seriousness of such a situation has not escaped Hogestyn, because in real life, this is a man who is truly passionate about his role as a parent. "With every year, my family grows more important to me," says Hogestyn who, with his wife Victoria, has three daughters and a son, ranging in ages from eleven to a college senior. "I have such beautiful children. They're very positive and very bright. They love and respect themselves in a very healthy way." Family Man: While there's no formula to good parenting, Hogestyn is clear that, "you just have to invest the time." He and his wife have always made sure to have lots of contact with their family. "So many parents put their own social lives or careers ahead of the needs of their children and then can't understand when there's a problem later," he says. "Where have the parents been? If you're not a best friend to your child, you better find out who is." The actor credits Victoria, a stay-at-home mom, with much of their brood's development. "It's all because of Victoria being there all the time for them. She's instilled them with wonderful self-esteem," he says. With one daughter, Rachael, in college, and son Ben about to start school at a local university, Hogestyn admits that he's sad his kids are growing up so quickly. "I always liked to have babies in the house." Luckily, he has a few more years left with Whitney, fourteen "and very much a teenager" and Alexandra, eleven. He enjoys driving his girls to the mall and talking to them about what's important in their lives. He says that they've helped keep him current on movies, music and trends. "I know who the Spice Girls are and the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears," he reveals with a smile. "In our home, I'm basically the conservative and Victoria is more of the liberal and apt to give the children a chance. I'm the one who more immediately says no." John's DAYS Future: While his home life is as stable as you can get, Hogestyn's screen life is drama-packed as John discovers new, DiMera-engineered personalities. Hogestyn says that he's enjoyed the "male action-adventure aspect" of some of John's alter egos, but knows DAYS' writers won't be veering off too far from what's really important: John's relationship with Marlena. "Real soap opera story is about love's trials and tribulations," he says. And now that John may be the father of Hope's baby, "that will be heightened. If her child is John's, it could affect his relationship with Bo...and Hope...and others too." On the other hand, he remains certain that "Marlena will always accept John and help him through whatever problems that he has." But aside from that, don't ask Hogestyn to give away any plot specifics! "I don't write the show and I have no idea if John is the father to Hope's baby. John and I both will have to wait to find out." So it's a good thing that Hogestyn is as excited as any DAYS fan to see what will come next. "After almost fifteen years, I still look forward to getting up in the morning and coming to work," he says. "When scripts are pushed under my door, I'm curious to see what's happening." In fact, he's more content than ever with his life. "I work and take great pride in what I do. It's very professionally and emotionally fulfilling. Then I get to go home to something even greater. I'm very lucky." Lorraine Zenka, SOAP OPERA UPDATE, 5/9/00 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ RoundUp For Dads: SOAP OPERA DIGEST: How did your wife tell you she was pregnant? Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS) Drake Hogestyn: With Whitney, I was in California getting ready to test with (the late Casting Director) Betty Rea for a job on GUIDING LIGHT. I got a phone call from Victoria, who was in Indiana, as I was putting my tie on and she said, 'Guess what? We're going to have a baby.' I was looking in the mirror and slowly untied my tie. She is the only woman I've ever wanted to have a child with and to have that come true was incredible. I cancelled my audition and took a long walk on the beach instead. With Alexandra, I woke up at about six in the morning and Victoria wasn't in bed. I rolled over to see a pregnancy test and laughed because it was April Fool's Day. It was real, but she had me going all day thinking it was a joke. SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 6/20/00 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ The Gossip - East Coast, West Coast Juicy Tales From All Around The Towns The Salem Shuffle: (Please Note: This is a website for our man, Drake, and so when the following article was typed out, we decided to omit any parts of this article not pertaining to Drake's Fan Club party.) DAYS OF OUR LIVES' Fan Club Weekend 2000 kicked off with a triple threat: simultaneous events hosted by three leading men... A mile down Ventura Boulevard, at Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn, Drake Hogestyn (John) and his fans danced the night away to the music of Ronnie and the Classics. The top raffle: a portrait of John painted by the late Princess Gina with a story behind it. "I've got an eyebrow thing going on. It just happens," Drake said, referring to his ability to flex one eyebrow, but not the other. "There's a difference between this (painting) and me. This was a photograph. They flipped it, blew it up and painted over it." Hence, when the painting was to come to life in a fantasy, there was a problem. "I sat in front of a green screen. They put the camera on me, the monitor on the painting, and I was supposed to match it. I can't make the other eyebrow go up. We spent twenty minutes trying to match the position they wanted with the other side of my face. I don't know how they ended up shooting it." As the clock approached midnight, Drake's wife, Victoria, noted that their daughter Whitney, fifteen, had an eight AM driving lesson. "I told Drake 'You're taking her. Set your alarm,'" Victoria said with a laugh. That was fine with Drake, who takes readying his children for the Los Angeles freeways very seriously. "All my kids know how to drive by the time they're thirteen. I taught Ben and Rachael and all their friends," Drake said. "I take them up to Malibu and teach them under adverse conditions - using a four-wheel drive, backing up...they need to know that before they're turned loose on the Pacific Coast Highway..." Janet Di Lauro, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 6/27/00 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is John The Father Of Hope's Baby? Drake Hogestyn discusses the consequences of John's betrayal. Did you ever disagree with the actions of one of your favorite soap opera characters or think that you would do exactly the same thing if you were in their shoes? Imagine how the actors feel about the trials and tribulations of their daytime alter egos! In every issue, SOAP OPERA UPDATE interviews daytime's top stars for an exclusive glimpse of their thoughts and opinions regarding the lives, lies and loves of the roles they play. Take a closer look and see what these stars have to say about their characters. Drake Hogestyn: John could be the baby's father; so could Stefano. Right now, Hope believes that Bo is the dad. Caroline had an affair with Victor Kiriakis and had Bo. He was raised by Caroline and Shawn, who didn't know Bo wasn't his son until many, many years later. Shawn accepted Bo as his own anyway. The two had a bond. When I think about the baby that Hope has, I try to look at it in a similar way, like Bo and Kiriakis' situation. It will be something to see how Bo will accept the child, remembering how he was raised and loved by Shawn and Caroline. Will he try to emulate them or would he have an adverse reaction? After all, he knows now it's not his son. Likewise, John's emotional feelings for the baby remain to be seen. I'm not writing the show. Thank God the writers have that responsibility for creating story...and I don't. I don't think whether it's his baby Hope had or not, it would ever impact John and Marlena's relationship. Marlena will love and accept John always. She'll call the situation whatever it is and help him through whatever problems he has. It could certainly impact other people. There are plenty of twists and turns. It seems as if they're setting the groundwork for something down the line. All the mercenary, macho stuff has been fun. As a male who likes being physical, I loved doing those things and expanding as an actor. John can be very controlling. He's very sure of himself, no matter what he's doing in his life. There's not any sentimentality in Soldier John; not any compassion. When he's put to the task, he will see it through. There's one way to survive and that's his way. If we wanted to make it through a situation, we trusted him, no questions asked. He was a hero anyway in people's eyes. But I've been around the block enough to know this alone isn't what sells soap opera. I do understand that the real soap opera story is in the love - the boy and the girl, the trials and tribulations. The baby's arrival and the problems around will probably heighten that area. I never go upstairs and ask about the story. I'm glad to know that scripts come my way. The show is giving me a lot of those things to do. I don't know of any other job that I could take that would stimulate me as much after almost fifteen years." SOAP OPERA UPDATE, 7/18/00 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Take Five Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS OF OUR LIVES)... SOAP OPERA DIGEST: If you could play any character on television, who would it be? Drake Hogestyn: Dr. Richard Kimble (from THE FUGITIVE). SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What three things could you not live without? Drake Hogestyn: My wife, children and baseball. SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What is the biggest misconception about you? Drake Hogestyn: I am more serious than I appear. SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What would your best friend say are your best and worst qualities? Drake Hogestyn: Worst is anal perfectionist, and best is team player. SOAP OPERA DIGEST: What has been the biggest perk about playing John Black? Drake Hogestyn: Of all the near-death situations that John Black has gotten himself into, he hasn't died yet, which is good because I'm still employed. SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 11/14/00