♥ Ongoing Days 2002 ♥ 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." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DAYS' Ground-Breaking Special Episode! Christmas Spectacular: DAYS OF OUR LIVES breaks the fourth wall on December 25 as cast members gather at the Hortons to narrate a special episode celebrating Christmas in Salem. "We purposely wrote this 'time-out-of-time' episode," explains Executive Producer Ken Corday. "We didn't know whether the show would be further pre-empted due to what's going on in the world today. We wanted to make sure that the show that aired on Christmas Day wouldn't get knocked out, because of the sequence of serial drama. So the actors, for the first time, appear as themselves. Deidre Hall remembers Marlena's greatest moments with John...it all focuses on great moments and great Christmases through the years." Among the highlights: Alice and Tom's first Noel; Bo giving Hope a music box; a Marlena and John montage; Jack dressed as Santa Claus proposing to Jennifer; and among others, clips from Doug and Julie's and Mickey and Maggie's romances. "There is also a tribute to the late Macdonald Carey (Tom) and the family behind DAYS OF OUR LIVES, which is my mom and dad," says Corday, referring to the late Betty and Ted Corday. While most of the episode's action takes place in Alice's living room and features the show's veteran cast members, teens Belle, Shawn, Philip, Chloe and Brady pop up in a scene at Dot.com. "They meet and the actors walk up to the camera and say who they are," previews Corday. "Then they go by the Horton house to decorate the tree at the end of the show." This year, in addition to the traditional ornaments featuring the names of all the Horton family members, there also will be special ornaments with American flags. "It will be a bittersweet moment when the tree is decorated," Corday promises, "because these ornaments will display the names of some of those lost on September 11, especially the heroes." The episode features Christmas carols, one sung by the cast and another performed by Nadia Bjorlin and Kyle Lowder (Chloe and Brady). "Plus, there's a magical moment at the end of the show that I don't want to give away," teases Corday, adding, "This episode is really wonderful, and it will be so gratifying for viewers. I don't know what the level of viewership is on Christmas Day, but I hope that after opening presents, some people turn on DAYS. They'll love it." Janet Di Lauro, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 1/1/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Real Life Get Up Close And Personal With The Stars All In The Family: Proud Dad Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) poses with two of his "kids" - real-life stepson Ben and television daughter Kirsten Storms (Belle), who are dating. The occasion was Storms' eighteenth birthday, a joint bash with Farah Fath (Mimi) held at Dimples, a karaoke bar in Burbank, California. Hogestyn, who knows a thing or two about supercouples, says, "They laugh a lot and have a good time together. That's what counts." SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 5/28/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bourne Again Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) couldn't wait to go see the latest Matt Damon film, THE BOURNE IDENTITY, based on the Robert Ludlum book of the same title, because the novel hits close to home. "When I auditioned for DAYS years ago, the casting director, Doris Sabbagh, started describing this character to me - a guy who had no memory, had had an accident, and was being used as a pawn in Miami," recounts Hogestyn. "I reached into my briefcase and pulled out the book I was reading at the time: THE BOURNE IDENTITY. I asked Doris 'Are you talking about Jason Bourne?' She looked at me and said, 'That's where we got the idea for this character. Jason Bourne. John Black. It's going to be a great role.'" So great, in fact, that what was slated to be a short three-month role turned into a sixteen-year gig (and counting), which Hogestyn takes seriously. "I still have that book in my dressing room," reveals the actor. "It's about eight inches thick right now, because I have gone through so many pages and passages. Every time I start to lose focus of the character of John Black, through (Headwriter) changes and different stories, I will go back into the book and read a few chapters to lock in to who he is and where his core character comes from. It's my actor's bible. It helps me give John Black an edge." Hmmm - is that where John's signature arched eyebrow comes from? SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 9/17/02 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stunt Casting Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn (Marlena and John, DAYS) had fun getting physical on-set recently - so much so that Hall ended up doing her own stunts. "We had a scene where he's showing me how to do some spy stuff," Hall recalls. "At the end of it, he physically throws me over his hip and onto the couch and then begins a romantic scene. Obviously, he's a physical being and he's in great shape." Adds Hogestyn, "John is throwing Marlena, Drake's throwing Deidre. I was going on a personal appearance in Detroit and all I could think was that I wanted to be as gentle as possible, but the moment is supposed to be quick and fast. I was thinking, 'Is she going to wake up in the morning, and her neck, hip or leg is going to hurt?'" Hall had a different take. "Because he'd done it with a stunt girl fifteen times, then had to do it with me ten times, I thought, 'He's going to wake up tomorrow and he's going to be just fine,'" she laughs. SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 12/3/02