♥ Ongoing Days 1991 ♥ 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." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Fond Memories In honor of DAYS' twenty-fifth anniversary, we asked its shining stars where they were when DAYS began. Some of them weren't even born yet! And lots of them were in school (Billy Hufsey was in nursery school, can't you picture little Billy, with little curls. He must have been adorable!) Of course, Macdonald Carey, Frances Reid, and John Clarke were joining the cast of a brand new soap opera! This is what everyone else was doing: Drake Hogestyn: I was in sixth grade. I was king of the hill at Riverside Elementary School. I spent all of my spare time riding my bike and finding all the shortcuts in Fort Wayne so that three years later, when I met Victoria (my wife), I could always get to her in a heartbeat. THE BEST OF DAYS OF OUR LIVES, TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE, 2/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ DAYS Doings The Scoop From Salem Your favorite DAYS stars have been busy, busy, busy lately. They've been making personal appearances all over the United States, performing in plays, and living life to the fullest. Read on for more info on these adorable actors and actresses... We already know that Drake Hogestyn (Roman) is a loving husband, but this time he has gone far above and beyond the call of duty. His wife Victoria and the four kids had gone to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to her family reunion. (Victoria went to visit for the week; the reunion was over the weekend.) She knew Drake was working hard and wouldn't be able to make it. But on Friday night, a very tired Drake got on the red-eye from California to Dayton, Ohio. It was as close to Fort Wayne as he could get. He then rented a car and drove all the way to Indiana so he could surprise Victoria and the kids. Isn't he the best husband in the whole world? THE BEST OF DAYS OF OUR LIVES, TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE, 2/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ The Ideal Man: Drake Hogestyn Drake Hogestyn replaced Wayne Northrop in 1985 as Commander of the Salem Police Force Roman Brady. (OOPS! This is wrong. It should say "Drake Hogestyn replaced Wayne Northrop in 1986 as Detective of the Salem Police Force Roman Brady" not "Drake Hogestyn replaced Wayne Northrop in 1985 as Commander of the Salem Police Force Roman Brady.") He did this with style and ease and soon fans forgot that there ever was another Roman. Drake makes Roman seem so noble that you just know you could trust your life to him. In real life, Drake's a lot like Roman, except he's managed to sustain a happy relationship. Drake is a family man and a real romantic. He's also a health enthusiast and all around nice guy. Read on to find out what's on his mind. Victoria: (His Wife) Drake Hogestyn: I have always loved her, from the moment I saw her. She's my best friend. She understands me and she's pretty to look at. She doesn't get too high or too low; she's a very steady influence. Staci Greason: (Isabella) Drake Hogestyn: She has a lot of energy. She reminds me of me, when I first started on DAYS. Deidre Hall (Marlena) used to say that my energy was boundless. It's wonderful working with someone who is so eager to work. Roman Brady: Drake Hogestyn: What I like best about Roman is his convictions and his honesty. It's kind of unusual. I like to bring that into my own life. Roman stands for truth, justice and the American way...pretty boring, huh? Fans: Drake Hogestyn: They're really important. I have a real rapport with them. I am happy to say that I have a tremendous fan club. I always have fun theme fan club gatherings. This past year we had a beach party in Malibu. Last year it was a Western theme, on a ranch. I like to get around during the party and meet everyone there. Health And Fitness: Drake Hogestyn: My workouts are very vigorous. I do forty-five minutes of cardiovascular exercise and another hour of heavy weight lifting; every day I drink a protein drink. It's really nuclear stuff! The New York Giants tested the drink, and it passed NFL standards. It's a blend of amino acids, vitamins and herbs. I haven't been sick since I started drinking it! Castmates: Drake Hogestyn: I always enjoy working with my leading lady, because I spend so much time with her. John Aniston (Victor) is great to work with, and the actor who plays my dad, Frank Parker (Shawn) is also a joy to work with. Future Co-Stars: Drake Hogestyn: Mel (Gibson) and I would team up real good! I'd like to work with Hoffman, DeNiro, Redford, people like that. You can toss in Meg Ryan too! The Best Time Of The Day: Drake Hogestyn: For selfish reasons...my workout is the best part of the day, when I'm by myself, that's my time to concentrate on whatever I need to do. Actually, all the parts of my day are good. When I come home from work, and there's an hour of bonding with the family, that's the best part of my day. Then again, when the kids are in bed and I get my wife alone for a little while, and it's quiet, that's the best part of my day too! The Greatest Feeling In The World: Drake Hogestyn: Coming home from work and having Whitney run into my arms saying 'Daddy, Daddy, Daddy' is the greatest feeling in the world! DAYTIME DIGEST, INSIDE DAYS OF OUR LIVES, 5/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ The Gossip - East Coast, West Coast Juicy Tales From All Around The Towns Oh, the trials and tribulations of being a pet owner! Drake Hogestyn (Roman, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) reports that his pooch, Lucy, is teething. He discovered this while putting up a fence in his backyard. "I had my work gloves on and started wrestling around with the dog," says Drake. "All of a sudden I noticed some blood on one of my gloves. I thought maybe Lucy had bit me. So I checked out my hand, but it wasn't cut. Then I grabbed Lucy, looked in her mouth, and saw she had a loose tooth." Ever the doting dad, Drake knew he had to find a way to extract Lucy's tooth before she swallowed it. "I called her over and started talking to her…distracting her, just like I've always done with the kids over the years," says Drake. "Finally, I just yanked out her tooth." And just like that, Drake saved Lucy's tooth. "That way she can put it under her pillow. Who knows? Maybe the tooth fairy will come and leave her a rack of lamb," adds Drake wryly. Janet Di Lauro, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 6/11/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Deidre And Wayne Back On DAYS! What About Drake? Clash Of The Romans: What The Return Of Deidre Hall And Wayne Northrop Means For DAYS... He says yes, she says things are happening, but nothing is official. According to Wayne Northrop's manager, the return of Northrop and Deidre Hall to NBC's DAYS is imminent and definite. In fact, their first day on the set will be, again according to Northrop's manager, August. 9. Northrop will be playing the role he created in 1981 - Roman Brady. Hall's people are not confirming anything, though they admit there have been meetings - lots of them. Memorial Day weekend, Hall herself held a press conference for fans during a slew of DAYS fan gatherings and admitted she was returning but that there had been a snag. DAYS Supervising Executive Producer Al Rabin did not want her to return as Marlena. And Hall would only return as Marlena. Should Hall work out her differences with Rabin - chances are very good she will - how will DAYS take care of the fact that there will be two Romans, one returned-from-the-dead Marlena, and a very serious girlfriend (Isabella, played by Staci Greason)? Sources close to the show say that a storyline has been roughed out. It seems that Isabella and the current Roman (Drake Hogestyn) are working hard at romance and beginning to talk marriage. This infuriates Isabella's father, Victor (John Aniston), who has always hated Roman. (You can't really expect the town villain to get along with the police commander, now can you?) Victor decides to play his trump card. It turns out he has known that Marlena is alive, locates her and brings her back to town. And if that's not startling enough, Victor tells his prospective son-in-law that he's not who he thinks he is and brings back the real Roman. If this does happen, the question will be, who is this man who thinks he's Roman? When he arrived in Salem in 1986, he had undergone extensive plastic surgery, had amnesia and went by the name John Black. Marlena, a psychiatrist, helped John remember his identity. Then clues started to suggest that he was Stefano DiMera, AKA The Phoenix, the man responsible for Roman's death. When they finally found out he wasn't Stefano, Roman and Marlena lived happily ever after until her "death" the following spring. So who is the man brainwashed into thinking he was Roman, who even had a tattoo put on his back? He can't be Stefano, because he returned to the show in 1988. Since it's unlikely he's a Brady, he can be romantically involved with his "sisters," Kimberly (Patsy Pease) and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans). That would certainly jazz up life at the fish market. And what about his "kids," Sami and Eric? He's the only dad the 7-year-olds have ever known. Who would get custody? And when Marlena returns, which husband will she choose? After all, she married both. Some very interesting storylines could result from this. If only the writers will follow up on it. SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 6/25/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Missing In Action Back-Burner Actors Who Deserve Better Storylines Some of daytime's brightest talents are getting the shaft! Many are pivotal stars who once had front-burner storylines, yet these days they're so far back on the range they're barely simmering. Others are long overdue for their moment of glory. Here are several actors we think most deserve to be catapulted into the thick of things... Roman Around: Drake Hogestyn (Roman Brady, DAYS OF OUR LIVES): What's the deal with Drake Hogestyn? And what have the DAYS scripters got against this guy? A few love scenes once or twice a week with leading lady Staci Greason (Isabella) do not a storyline make. After five years - during which Hogestyn's inspired a large and loyal following - hasn't the actor proven himself to be a hot commodity in Salem? He even works out every day to keep his physique in tip-top shape. Surely, that alone should guarantee Hogestyn plenty of airtime. But the only good storyline he has ever had was when he originally came on the show as the brainwashed amnesiac John Black, working opposite Deidre Hall's Marlena. Now that it's certain Hall is returning to DAYS (possibly with Wayne Northrop as the real Roman), Hogestyn is almost positively guaranteed a storyline. Or will the show find a way to work him out of this one, too? They seem to do a good job at pushing him to the background... Janet Di Lauro, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 7/23/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Lean Machines Those Great Shapes Come Naturally To Soapsters, Right? Just Guess Again... If there's one single thing that most soap stars have in common, it's that they have to keep in shape...great shape! Each actor has his or her own method for staying fit and trim, so we thought we'd share with you the fitness secrets of some of your daytime favorites. Like regular folks everywhere, soap actors would prefer not to forgo delicious food, so it's not too surprising that exercise is the number one way to good looks. Just read on... Drake Hogestyn (Roman, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) Drake Hogestyn: My newest sport is surfing. I've been surfing my brains out! I'd been on the beach for ten years and had never surfed, then I found out the contractor on my house was an old surf nut. It's a good one-on-one sport. I always like to keep myself in shape. Surfing does not take the place of the workouts and the weights. My workouts are very vigorous with forty-five minutes to an hour aerobic, and another hour of heavy weights - that's everyday. DAYTIME TV PRESENTS SUPER SPECIAL, August 1991 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Who Will They Choose? Find Out In This Special Issue An Exclusive Fall Preview Drake Speaks Out Isabella Or Marlena? Black Like Roman: Roman Brady is back in Salem...and you thought that he never left! Well actually he did leave...for awhile...but then he came back. But it wasn't Roman Brady that came back, it was John Black, who it turns out was Roman Brady all along. At least we all thought so for the past five years...until now. Now it turns out that the Roman that we all thought was Roman is in fact the John Black that he was when he first came back to Salem. The real Roman Brady is... Wait, wait, wait...before you get all confused. As Maria Von Trapp says in THE SOUND OF MUSIC, "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start." For those reading this right now who have never heard of a place called Salem, you'll find it on the daytime drama, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, where characters and storylines have been really heating up of late. But our story begins around six years ago with a spectacular plane crash that left most of the principal characters stranded hundreds of miles away from their loved ones. It was on the "deserted" island that they crashed where Roman Brady had his fiercest and most tragic battle with arch-enemy Stefano DiMera. At the end of their mountain-high siege above the beach, Roman fell to his death, cradled in his brother Bo's arms at the end. After a touching farewell to his big brother, Bo ran for help, but when he returned, the body of Roman Brady had...washed away? Disappeared? It was never found. This plot device was incorporated because the original actor portraying Roman, Wayne Northrop, had decided to leave his coveted role to pursue greener pastures. Despite his absence, the writers decided that Salem still needed an upstanding man of the law like Roman Brady and recast the role with Drake Hogestyn. Drake joined the cast as John Black, a mystery man who was first but a voice with a face wrapped in bandages. (Please Note: Drake was originally cast to play a character named "The Pawn" not John Black like this article states. In our opinion the author should've phrased the above sentence like this: "The Pawn was a mystery man with a voice and a face wrapped in bandages, but Drake didn't play any of these scenes." An actor named Robert Poynton was cast to play the original Pawn. Drake didn't take over the role from Robert until January 1986. The rest is history!) When the bandages were removed, all we really knew about this good-looking guy was that he was a whiz when it came to surveillance/alarm systems and that the grieving Dr. Marlena Evans Brady was curiously drawn to him, working with him as the brilliant psychiatrist we know her to be to help him uncover the complexities of his past and how it was that he arrived in Salem. Through information obtained by Bo, it was revealed that John Black had undergone plastic surgery, thus finding a file on his past life was key to the futures of our protagonists, particularly Marlena. You see, Stefano had tortured and constantly eluded the citizens of Salem, and because it was Bo's belief that John Black was Stefano and because Marlena was developing a fondness for John (can we call it love?), it was imperative that his true identity be revealed. John got wind of the fact that he might have once been the evil Stefano, his major clue being the tattoo on his back. Unfortunately, despite her feelings for him, Marlena felt that this could be the case, and thus tore herself away from him, unable to accept this man that killed her husband. John kidnapped Marlena to prove to her that despite what she feels about Stefano, he was not this person who was cruel and vicious and hurt others. And he was determined to prove it to her...particularly because he was falling in love with her and didn't want to lose her because of a past that he had no control of. Bo, however, was hot on their trails. Believing that John was Stefano, Bo cornered him and began fighting him to the death. Just as John was to lose his life, Marlena came upon the hidden file that revealed John Black to be her beloved Roman Brady. She found Bo just as he was about to throw John off a cliff as revenge for what "he" did to his brother. She screamed: "No Bo. He's your brother!" It was quite a period of adjustment for John/Roman to overcome a past that he couldn't remember and to move on with family and friends who were nothing more than faces and a load of one-sided memories. But he did! And until the announcement that Wayne Northrop would be returning to his original role of Roman (thus leading us to believe that Drake was John Black all along), he became the definitive Roman to almost every DAYS fan. As a matter of fact, in a recent SOAP OPERA UPDATE poll, whose results are posted in this issue, fans would rather see Drake playing Roman as opposed to having Wayne Northrop resume the role. SOAP OPERA UPDATE once again had the opportunity to speak to Drake Hogestyn, this time about his current storyline. Here's what he told us: SOAP OPERA UPDATE: In our last interview with you, you mentioned that you felt that the ideal storyline would have Roman realizing that he was John Black all along. Drake Hogestyn: Did I? SOAP OPERA UPDATE: Yes. Did you know something then? Drake Hogestyn: I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' no babies, Miz Scarlett! SOAP OPERA UPDATE: Okay, so do you feel that your "brilliant" storyline idea influenced the producers to pursue it? Drake Hogestyn: I think I'll attribute the storyline to the producers' own brilliance. And their business considerations, of course. SOAP OPERA UPDATE: What has been the fan reaction to the fact that you're not Roman Brady after all? Have any fans inferred that they would no longer watch the show because you won't be the character that they've grown to love? Drake Hogestyn: You know, the fans have been with me since before I was Roman Brady. I really think they'll stay with me even after I'm not Roman anymore. For the reasons, you'll have to ask them. SOAP OPERA UPDATE: It's understood that the contracts of both Deidre and Wayne are short-term. When they leave, would you (if you could) like the story to be written in a way that you are Roman again, or is being John Black for the duration of your four-year contract fine with you? Drake Hogestyn: I think I'd like to stay John Black because I've already been Roman and I wasn't him. SOAP OPERA UPDATE: If you were not married, would a woman more like Marlena or Isabella interest you? Drake Hogestyn: If I weren't already married, I'd spend every spare minute in Fort Wayne, Indiana looking for Victoria. (Drake's wife) SOAP OPERA UPDATE: Other than your wife, whom do you confide in the most when career decisions need to be made? Drake Hogestyn: To be honest, Victoria and I are such a complete team that I don't really need anyone else. SOAP OPERA UPDATE: You've been involved in a great many storylines during your tenure with DAYS. Which is your favorite? Drake Hogestyn: My favorite up until now was definitely John Black the first time around. SOAP OPERA UPDATE: Does the prospect of a romance with either Kim or Kayla sound intriguing now that you're not related to either of them anymore? Drake Hogestyn: Do you know what that would do to my relationship with Bo? From stranger and mortal enemy to brother and pain-in-the-neck to half-brother and thorn-in-my-side to brother-in-law and constant irritation. Next I'd have to marry the guy! SOAP OPERA UPDATE: By what motto(s) do you live? Drake Hogestyn: Give a man a fish and he eats for tonight. Teach him to fish and he's fed for life. SOAP OPERA UPDATE: Who's had the greatest influence on you throughout your life? Drake Hogestyn: Either anyone who ever played third base for the Yankees, or my dad. Bill Lieberman, SOAP OPERA UPDATE, 9/9/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Editor's Note Roman Around: Dear Readers: When we decided to do a "double dose of Roman" cover, we weren't sure the actors involved would agree - having two major stars playing the same role is a touchy situation, to say the least. But the photo shoot was smooth sailing. Wayne Northrop and Drake Hogestyn are good sports, as well as enormously popular performers. Turn to page six (Please Note: SEE BELOW for page six) to see just what DAYS has up its sleeve with its wonderful "embarrassment of Romans..." Lynn Leahey, SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 10/1/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ What's DAYS Going To Do With Two Romans? Roman Invasion: Are two Romans better than one? DAYS OF OUR LIVES makes room for Wayne Northrop, and makes sure Drake Hogestyn doesn't get lost in the shuffle! More money, better storylines, bigger dressing rooms. That's what usually lures renegade stars back to daytime after they've sworn never to return. But Wayne Northrop may be the only star to reclaim the role he left behind because his co-star threatened to murder him. "It's true," laughs Northrop. "Deidre Hall put a gun to my head and said if I didn't come back, she'd shoot me." Heck, and we thought he missed the stale doughnuts in the rehearsal hall. "I'll tell you a secret," Northrop adds mischievously. "Deidre called me and said, 'Wayne, I'm going back to DAYS, and I can't make it without you.' And of course, we know that's true," he laughs. "It was really sad. She was on her knees begging me, offering me all sorts of inducements to come back and save her. So I now own her house, I have title to her car, and I get half the money she makes." The joke has a ring of truth to it: Hall and Northrop do like working together. It's no coincidence that she resurfaced as Marlena just three weeks before he showed up on screen again. DAYS could have never arranged this double surprise unless both stars were willing and eager to re-team. Northrop won't discuss the details of his negotiations with DAYS, but insiders believe Hall's return was a major selling point in getting him to sign on the dotted line. "We're truly friends," he admits. "I've always said, in films and primetime television, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but in daytime, if you don't like the person you're working with, five days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, it shows. Deidre and I hit it off ten years ago, and we've been pals ever since. We're comfortable with each other." The first time around, Hall and Northrop were a hot super couple. During their three year reign, they spent nearly as much time posing for magazine covers as they did facing the television cameras. When Northrop left in 1984, DAYS killed off Roman, but the writers kept a back door open as insurance: Roman's corpse was never found. Two years later, Drake Hogestyn (the new Roman) came bounding through that door. At first, he used an alias, John Black, and hints were dropped that he might be Roman. That was another insurance ploy on the writers' part. If viewers didn't cotton to Hogestyn, he could turn out to be a fraud and board the next bus out of Salem. Of course, that's not what happened. Hogestyn was a big hit; and so it was soon firmly established that his John Black persona was the real Roman, after all. Viewers learned that during his long absence from Salem, Roman had been held prisoner by the evil Stefano, and undergone some startling plastic surgery and brainwashing. That explained why the new Roman (Hogestyn) returned to Salem looking nothing like the old Roman (Northrop). Hogestyn's chemistry with Deidre Hall quickly rivaled that which she'd had with Northrop. Hogestyn and Hall teamed for a year, until Hall left to star on the primetime series OUR HOUSE. After that, DAYS matched him, first with Genie Francis (Ex-Diana) and then with Staci Greason (Isabella). Fans have given the Roman/Isabella pairing a big thumbs-up, so Marlena's return - coupled with the resurrection of the original Roman - should complicate matters enormously. Of course, turning up the angst level to a high frenzy is exactly Supervising Executive Producer Al Rabin's game plan. "This is a story that we've wanted to tell for a long time," says Rabin. "We thought it would be great if Drake Hogestyn turned out not to be the Roman we thought he was." Does that mean that Hogestyn has really been playing John Black, an impostor, since his arrival? "I didn't say that,'' Rabin replies mysteriously. "But viewers should consider this: Who is John Black, really? And who is Drake Hogestyn's character if he's not Roman?" Even if Hogestyn ends up getting edged out of the Brady bunch, the storyline shift won't threaten his future on the show. The actor has an ironclad, four-year contract, and Rabin insists that Hogestyn's de-Romanization will not jeopardize his job security or push him to the back burner. "This is a major story for Drake," comments Rabin. "We're well aware of the sensitivity of his fans, and we want to be sensitive to that." Rabin concedes he wouldn't have pursued this storyline if Deidre Hall were unavailable. "I'd never consider casting another actress as Marlena," he says, "well...maybe if I had a death wish." Nevertheless, he was slightly nervous about Hall and Northrop returning, despite their once formidable popularity. "I told them what I tell every actor who's been away and comes back to us," he says. "I always give the same speech: 'I'm scared to death to have you back.' I'm scared because a long-absent character who comes back has to be handled very carefully in the storyline, or viewers will be disappointed. There's the fantasy of how viewers remember that star - and you have to keep that in mind - even though that may not be the reality (anymore)." According to Rabin, continuity between past and present is crucial. A show can take a resurrected character in a new direction, he emphasizes, but only if it doesn't jar the audience. "It's all right for characters to lie to each other, but characters should never lie to the audience," he insists. Trying to figure out the right direction for the Roman/Marlena/Roman/Isabella story isn't easy. For the time being, to ease confusion on the set, scripts are referring to Northrop's character as Roman I and Hogestyn's as Roman II. "We made the choice chronologically," Rabin explains. "Wayne played Roman first." And, script wise, nothing may be poured in concrete for quite a while. "On paper, it's a very, very complicated story to work out," Rabin continues, admitting that even the show's producers and writers haven't reached a unanimous decision yet on which guy is which and who'll wind up with whose girl. "There's been an enormous debate in the writers' office over this," he concedes. The storyline should run for at least six months, and a major part of the drama will center on the upheavals ahead for Roman's young twins, Eric and Samantha. The children's natural parents are Marlena and Roman I, but they've been raised by Roman II, whom they consider their father, and they're devoted to his fiancée, Isabella. Although Rabin won't reveal which set of parents will ultimately get to keep the kids, he says the struggle will be intense. Should we look for a custody battle down the line? "We're not ruling out any possibility," he states. The only situation that the writers won't consider is a fantasy ending to wrap things up quickly and neatly. That would cheat viewers, DAYS believes. "This won't be like Bobby stepping out of the shower on DALLAS," Rabin says. "Nobody simply imagined a second Roman. It's not a dream." He pauses, then adds with a laugh, "unless, of course, the storyline really goes bad." Friends, Romans, Charlatans... Lend us your ears. Although DAYS is keeping the outcome of the Roman versus Roman storyline a secret, rumors abound. Everyone - from the guard at the NBC security desk to the man who does Supervising Executive Producer Al Rabin's dry cleaning - has a theory on how DAYS can solve this convoluted puzzle. Here are some of the inside hunches we've heard: Odds-On Favorite: Roman II (Drake Hogestyn) turns out to be John Black. He marries Isabella, while Roman I (Wayne Northrop) reunites with Marlena. Separated At Birth: Roman's mother, Caroline, actually gave birth to twins, but one of them was kidnapped in the delivery room. The Bradys raised Roman I, but Roman II, who falsely believes he's an imposter, is actually the child who was taken from them at birth. This explains why Roman II could impersonate Roman I so easily - twin brothers have a psychic link into each other's souls. Phoenix Rises: Under all that plastic surgery, Roman II isn't John Black. Surprise! He's Stefano DiMera, the evil mad man who abducted the real Roman. Victor And Loser: According to this bizarre solution, Roman I (the guy who didn't sleep with Isabella) loses his Brady claim, and turns out to be another long-lost Kiriakis child. (Aren't they all?) The beauty here is that Roman I gets to stay Bo's bro, just like Roman II. Ex-Terminator: Perhaps one of these Romans is just a weird hologram visiting us from a parallel universe. Like the evil terminator in TERMINATOR II, he can take any life form he pleases. Today, he's impersonating Roman, tomorrow he could be Patch, Howie Hoffstedder or Francois von Leuschner. Clothes Make The Man: Remember Marlena's late twin sister, Samantha? Well, she really didn't die. She's been living in Salem disguising herself as Roman. A Pawn: Roman II is shocked to learn he's not Commander Brady. He's not John Black either - that was only a name he chose while wandering around as an amnesiac. An investigation reveals he became friends with the real Roman while they were imprisoned by Stefano - before the brainwashing began. Now Roman II must uncover his true identity. Longest Shot Of All: Faux Roman's face is actually a plastic mask, and when it peels off, the image is shocking. Roman II suddenly becomes this bearded, redheaded guy...no, that's a mask. Peel off that layer, and there's a mop of frizzy blond hair...it's GENERAL HOSPITAL'S Luke Spencer. Jason Bonderoff, SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 10/1/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You Are There! Behind The Scenes With DAYS In Mexico... South Of The Border: Pour yourself a margarita, get out the chips and salsa, and get ready for a Mexican adventure like none you've ever seen before. Beginning Wednesday, November 21 - and continuing through Thursday, December 12 - DAYS is taking viewers on a journey south of the border for a storyline full of startling revelations, frolicking on the beach, a hero vs. hero brawl and an incredible, romantic surprise. The actors involved in the remote - Crystal Chappell (Carly), Staci Greason (Isabella), Deidre Hall (Marlena), Drake Hogestyn (John), Wayne Northrop (Roman) and Peter Reckell (Bo) - headed to Chichén Itzá and Puerto Aventuras, Mexico, in early October to tape the pivotal scenes. "Big things are coming up with this location - there will be some great things (happening)," assures Hall. Hogestyn says the big payoff for fans will come in the form of a long-awaited end to a mystery. "Questions will be answered, definitely," he notes. "Maybe not in the way some would like to see, but it will be the time (for storylines and characters) to expand and move on." Although DAYS is sticking to its hush-hush policy of late, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY has uncovered a few highlights of those answers. There will be plenty of steamy, romantic interludes between Bo and Carly, whose relationship takes a new turn on this trip. One particular scene has the hopelessly-in-love duo rolling in the sand at the water's edge. "It's sort of a take-off of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY," Chappell admits. "What I like about Bo and Carly's relationship is that the producers and writers allow it to be fun as well as romantic," she says. "It's not all one or the other. We get to play around and flirt with each other, too." Don't expect such frolicking between the formerly passionate Isabella and John. "Drake and I have really serious scenes," notes Greason. "I go around chasing him the whole time." But when she finds him, does she finally confess she's carrying his child? "Well, I don't know," she says coyly. "You'll have to wait and see." Greason will admit that some "interesting stuff happens between Isabella and Marlena," as the pair come to terms with one another. Meanwhile, John is slated to unleash lots of anguish, frustration and rage, especially toward Roman, whose return from the dead has had a devastating effect on his life (John believed he was Roman). "It's gotten to the point where the house of cards is falling in on this character...Roman II, John Black...whoever I am," says Hogestyn. As John struggles with himself, Marlena and Roman try to handle his emotional explosions. Fortunately things were much lighter for the actors off-camera. Hall recounts one scene in particular that had the entire cast in hysterics. "We were all standing at the base of this pyramid, while Al (Rabin, DAYS Supervising Executive Producer) was circling above us with a camera in a helicopter," she notes. (Rabin shot all air-to-ground material, while senior producer Becky Greenlaw handled the ground-to-air shots.) "We must have looked like small ants on the ground. Anyway, Al was giving directions to Becky (via walkie-talkie), who was relaying them to us by bullhorn. All we could hear was this yelling," laughs Hall, raising her voice in an attempt to recreate the scenario. "(Becky was screaming) 'They're coming around. Get ready! Get ready! And stay in character!' Now, at least twice a week Wayne does a re-enactment of that on-location incident on the set." Hogestyn recalls another memorable moment. It was a scene in which John went off on a tirade atop the Temple of the Warriors after nearly duking it out with Roman. "I'm up on this temple and Marlena comes walking across," he explains. "I say, 'If you want me to apologize, forget it,' and she says, 'I know it's been rough on you, but it's all going to work out.' Then I tell her, 'You said that yesterday, and the day before. You don't understand how much anger I have inside of me, how much frustration I have in me. I'm not like you people. I'm like them.' She asks who, and I scream, 'THEM. THIS TEMPLE WAS BUILT FOR WARRIORS. THAT'S WHAT I AM - A FIGHTER.' In between all this a busload of tourists came walking up the base of the temple, looking at this screaming maniac," he continues. "All they could see was this crazy American standing on the edge of this temple screaming at this woman. They couldn't see the cameras behind us. They're all pointing up at us and talking," waiting with bated breath for Hogestyn to toss Hall off the temple. "Yeah," laughs Hogestyn, "like the sacrifices they used to have off the temples. They're all figuring, 'It's going to happen - right here, right now, in front of us.'" Needless to say, all the commotion demanded the whole scene be shot again. Controlling the crowds and communicating with tourists provided its share of problems for the DAYS brass. "We had a lot of (Mexicans) walking through scenes, which was fine," says Greenlaw. "We just asked them not to stop, stare or look into the cameras. Since we had hired bilingual Mexicans to work on the crew, our stage managers would just go up to the people and explain what was going on before we started shooting. But we did run into communication problems with other tourists. There were some French groups, some Scandinavian groups. With them, sign language became very important," she laughs. There was one phrase the entire DAYS team knew by the end of the trip. "Whenever we were ready to roll tape we'd say 'Quiet on the set, or silencio por favor,'" notes Greenlaw. Those words proved embarrassing to Rabin one evening while dining out with his wife, Laura, Greenlaw and Chappell. "Al called the waiter over to ask for the check, but when he got to the table Al said, 'Silencio por favor,'" recalls Greenlaw. "We all burst out laughing, and Al asked, 'What did I say?' I told him that basically he had told the waiter to shut up." The remote wasn't all work and no play - the cast and crew were lucky enough to have a good deal of free time. Chappell even tried to join the local mariachi band. "I asked if I could shake the maracas and they let me," she laughs. Hall spent her first weekend in Chichén Itzá with her beau, Steve Sohmer. "He'd been in Boston for a couple of weeks on a business trip and was coming back to Los Angeles on Saturday - the day I left for Mexico. So we were going to miss each other's flights. I didn't think I'd see him until the Thursday I got back home, but when we arrived in Mexico and cleared customs, he was standing there. He had come down for the weekend to surprise me." Chappell, Greason and Hogestyn explored some Mayan ruins. "I had fun walking up the pyramids and taking pictures," notes Chappell. "I sort of joined in on the tour groups and got to learn a lot about the history there." Greason, Hogestyn and Northrop spent one afternoon on a dive boat. "Wayne went diving, and Drake and I went snorkeling," says Greason. "I snorkeled at forty-five feet," boasts Hogestyn, who now proudly displays photos of the adventure in his dressing room. "The water was so clear you could tell if a dime was heads or tails," he says. The actors also explored the water sports, including swimming with dolphins. "That was extraordinary," raves Hall. "Drake and Staci did it, too. We lay back in the water with our feet stretched out as two dolphins came up to each of us and put their snouts on the balls of our feet. Then they jointly started to push us through the water, which was frightening, exciting and exhilarating. Near the end of the ride they accelerated. Another thing I did was lie in the water with my arms outstretched beside me," she continues. "The dolphins swam around to either side of me and moved their bodies under my hands until (my hands) rested on their fins. Once I grabbed on they took off and pulled me through the water. It was so much fun." Shopping was another popular pastime. Chappell, Greason and Reckell hunted for sterling silver. "I bought some bracelets," notes Chappell. Although she admits she rarely wears jewelry, she says, "everything was so inexpensive and beautiful I had to get some." With Reckell's help, Greason found some silver wolf earrings. "I had a pair, but they broke when I got to Mexico. So we went shopping, and Peter found them for me. I got them for only $13." Hogestyn chose to purchase more cultural items. He couldn't resist a replica of the legendary jade jaguar. "The jaguar is what protects the temple of Kublai Khan," he explains. The bus rides between location sites provided a prime opportunity for the cast and crew to take pictures of their scenic surroundings. Hogestyn took full advantage of them to test his new, deluxe camera. "It does everything. It even makes coffee," he jokes. "However, I couldn't get it to do anything. So I just put it on the idiot button and snapped away. I let it do automatic focusing. Then I tried to experiment. I had the manual in one hand and was taking pictures with the other...and it looks like it. I didn't bring any of my pictures into the studio," he laughs. "Everyone asked, 'How did that great camera work out?'" The cast also sampled traditional Mexican food. "Wayne kept ordering us all nachos," says Greason. "He kept telling us, 'It's all in your head. You can eat anything. You won't get sick.'" The shoot was an excursion not soon to be forgotten, because it truly included everything. "The moon even came out," reveals one anonymous performer, who wasn't talking about the bright white one up in the sky. Instead, he/she was referring to the DAYS cast members (who must remain nameless to protect their privacy) who mooned the entire cast after one ultra-poignant scene. Janet Di Lauro, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 11/26/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DAYS Digs Up Passion And Danger Among The Ruins In Mexico A thousand years before Christopher Columbus was born - and long before the inhabitants of this hemisphere learned to write their names, let alone watch a soap or pop in a VCR tape - a magnificent civilization flourished in ancient Mexico. The Mayan Indians, who dominated the low, flat plains of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, studied astronomy, devised calendars and built steep, skyscraper-like pyramids - monuments to the barbaric nature gods that they worshipped. Clues Among Pyramids: Now those ancient Mayan ruins will become the setting for new bloodletting and passion. On Thursday, November 21, DAYS finally begins unraveling the threads of the Roman Brady/John Black identity switch - a mystery that's haunted the storyline for seven years. Between Thanksgiving and mid-December, viewers will learn three things: what forces kept Roman and his wife Marlena captive in a Caribbean island fortress for so many years; who their jailer really was; and how a likable imposter named John Black managed to make such a successful "quantum leap" into Roman's life. New Danger For Marlena: As the final chapter unfolds, both Romans, Marlena and Isabella will find themselves in jeopardy. There are dangerous twists ahead for all four characters - and Marlena stands to face her toughest challenge yet since her miraculous return to Salem last summer. Much of the action takes place in Chichén Itzá, Mexico, an historic Mayan city. DAYS recently spent four hectic days there on location, shooting footage of pyramids, totem poles, waterfalls and dolphins, while trying to outrace the early sunsets (Chichén Itzá is just a few degrees from the equator) and outsmart a nearby hurricane. According to Supervising Executive Producer Al Rabin, the footage - forty scenes in all that will be spliced into fifteen late-November to mid-December shows - is spectacular. Thumbs Up From NBC: This wasn't a case of a producer looking for a quick suntan and dreaming up a lush location to match. "The writers came up with the idea first," Rabin explains. "The Mayan ruins were intrinsic to the story they presented us with. Then, we went to the network (for financial support). To me, Chichén Itzá is a fascinating place. It's mysterious, and there's an underlying sense of romance there. People don't know what really happened to the Mayans. They were a very advanced race - they knew astronomy and physics - yet they disappeared." Rabin notes that NBC's approval of the location shoot was a real morale booster, considering that "cutback" has become the operative word in all three network boardrooms. Moreover, traveling to the Yucatan represents a departure for daytime. "We've been to Greece and England, and other shows have shot in Italy and Austria, but nobody has ever been to any place like this," says Rabin. "Some of the sights we videotaped are almost two-thousand-years-old." "Arm-Chewing Time" In mid-October, six DAYS stars buckled up for the flight down to Mexico: Deidre Hall (Marlena), Wayne Northrop (Roman I), Drake Hogestyn (Roman II), Staci Greason (Isabella), Peter Reckell (Bo) and Crystal Chappell (Carly). After landing in Cancun, Mexico, the group took a smaller transport directly to Chichén Itzá. There was only one mishap along the way - the camera equipment got snarled in customs and cargo red tape, somewhere between Los Angeles and Cancun. After a tense, two-day wait, the equipment was finally rescued, and DAYS hired a Lear jet to rush it special delivery to Chichén Itzá. "It arrived only six hours before we were supposed to start shooting our first scene." Rabin recalls. It must have been massive nail-biting time for the cast and crew. "No, it went far beyond that," Rabin laughs. "At that point it was more like arm-chewing time." Once shooting began, the cast worked from 6:00 AM until the light began to fade at 4:30 PM each day. Except for a brief downpour one afternoon, good weather marked their entire stay. "We were very lucky," Rabin reports. "Hurricane Fabian was right off the coast that entire week, but the most we saw was a rain squall at sea." SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 11/26/91 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ The Truth Behind The DAYS Gossip... Nick Of Time: They went down with the Cruise of Deception, but Drake Hogestyn and Staci Greason are back on course - thanks to another super couple. People were talking. To be more accurate, they were gossiping and speculating and whispering and insinuating. The return of Deidre Hall and Wayne Northrop as the not-so-dead duo of Roman and Marlena Brady on DAYS OF OUR LIVES created a stir. While coming back from the Great Beyond is no longer a soap novelty, it is unusual when an actor reclaims a role while it's still being played by his replacement. Drake Hogestyn took over as Roman five years ago, fought an uphill battle for acceptance, and emerged as one of the show's most popular leading men. Then, he wasn't Roman anymore. While Hall and Northrop cheerily chatted with the press, Hogestyn, an articulate man with a wry sense of humor, granted no interviews. "He's unhappy. He's jealous. He's being pushed aside." The rumor mill worked overtime assessing Hogestyn's frame of mind. Now, after months of "no comment," he has decided to go on the record. "If I could remain silent, I probably would," Hogestyn offers. "I don't have anything real interesting to say. That's basically it. What do you want to know?" Well, how did he feel when he heard about the intended plot that was in the works? "I guess when the idea was first proposed, the jury was out on how I felt about the whole thing," he recalls. "I've invested a lot of time in Roman, and that is after the fact that there was a previous Roman playing it for three years. Let's just say I laid in bed many mornings talking it over with (his wife) Victoria about what would behoove me to change characters in the middle of this run. But you know, (ultimately) it wasn't my choice. I guess I had an emotional attachment to the character of Roman and it was becoming very difficult to let it go when it got down to it." It would be only natural to feel unsettled, but Hogestyn points out with a chuckle, "Doing a soap opera, nothing throws you too much." When Hogestyn heard Northrop signed for a short-term stint, his reaction was, "That's the end of Roman Brady. It wasn't so much about what would happen to Drake Hogestyn, it was...I started realizing I have a lot of emotional investment in this character and I thought, 'There goes the relationship with Mom and Pop, Bo and Kimberly, and there go the kids.' I saw a lot of years of storytelling kind of go down the drain and how were they going to explain all of that?" At no time did Hogestyn ever think he might be out of a job. "Actually, I'd wondered about that (very thing) a couple of months earlier," the actor admits. For most of the first half of 1991, Hogestyn and his onscreen partner, Staci Greason (Isabella Toscano), were on the back-burner. He points to the Cruise of Deception as the last time they had a major storyline. "We stayed on that ship; we went down with it," he declares ruefully. "We were doing two days a week. You know, DAYS has got a great network. I don't know what they have, but boy, they've got flies on the walls somewhere to find out information. Word was they had run out of story for Roman and things might be changing. I inquired and they said no. Fortunately, this story came along. I'm thanking my lucky stars the producers could get together with Wayne and Deidre to spin me off into a different area." He and Greason never discussed possible repercussions. "At the point (Northrop and Hall) were coming back, we thought, 'This can only help us.'" Staci Greason agrees with her co-star's assessment: "I was excited. Our characters were pretty lame. Drake and I were hoping for some kind of life for our storyline. We were finally going back to work. I felt like I was an over-paid extra at a party scene. This feels good." She thinks Hogestyn's character has been freed from being locked into the cop/father mold and has more options. The tale of two Romans provided DAYS with a powerful plot. "It's made a tremendous story," Hogestyn believes. "From the first moment that Marlena came back and Roman II ran into her on the pier, I felt things taking a really nice flow. And establishing Wayne (as Roman) in the prison and the audience knowing he was alive - I think there were five shows in a row that really felt like we were putting the foundation down for something very, very strong." So much for the professional angle. How do Hogestyn and Northrop get on? "When people wanted to do interviews and I said, 'I'd rather not right now,' the first thing that was on the tip of everybody's tongue was, 'What's going on? Do they hate each other? Is there some kind of friction?' "No," states Hogestyn. "In fact, I grew up in rural Indiana and I think Wayne grew up in rural Washington. He's as much country as I am. Our attitudes just coincide. What he doesn't say on the set as an ad-lib, I will, and vice versa. We laugh all morning - even in the intense scenes. It's added a lot of levity and it's made the day go faster...When I played baseball, what I lacked in talent, I made up for in tricks and intensity. I knew how to do the little things to give me the extra bases. They called me Kellogg 'cause they thought I was a flake. I saw a lot of that go by the way side - until I get someone like Wayne on the set, who is as much like me as I am myself. So we share the same kind of humor. It's been a real kick having him back. We laugh all morning, but son of a gun, we pull it together when it comes to tape time." Hogestyn's sense of humor extends to the future of his character, who's now known as John Black. If DAYS writes off Roman and Marlena, he speculates that the couple, "would cash in the chips on the house that I paid the mortgage on for five years. I probably won't see a cent of that, and I don't have a job now, either." Though it's popular to get engaged during the holidays, Hogestyn's not sure it's in the cards for John and Isabella this season. After all, is it proper etiquette to propose when you don't know your real name? The odyssey of John Black is an actor's delight. "It's given me some wonderful things to play. They're giving me the intensity level and the emotional level," Hogestyn notes. Staci Greason is happy with her character's pregnancy: "It's great. What I love is Isabella's getting a backbone and a life of her own. She can't be an appendage to John forever." Hogestyn feels DAYS is behind the couple: "I believe there is a much stronger commitment. I will know that for a fact if Wayne and Dee leave and they continue to work us." Al Rabin Speaks Out On The Fab Four Al Rabin, DAYS' Supervising Executive Producer, has pulled off a tough assignment: He successfully brought back two characters from the dead. The return of Roman and Marlena could have bombed miserably. But the story of four people caught in an ambiguous quadrangle has kept viewers glued to their sets. "I was scared to death, and I shared that with Dee and Wayne," Rabin admits. "The reality of what Roman and Marlena were is not necessarily the audience's fantasy of what they were. We have to work twice as hard to live up to that fantasy. It's like remembering an old boyfriend. When you meet later, you go, 'What did I see in him?' We didn't want that to happen." So, Rabin and company hatched the tale that brought Roman and Marlena home. "It had to be a good story," Rabin points out, "because this is a little bit of science fiction. Where were these people for seven years? We had to stretch reality. But the audience so cared about these characters that they were prepared, I hope, to go along with that aspect of what we were doing." "We wanted to give the audience everything Marlena and Roman had, plus something new - the dilemma of a woman who realizes, 'My God, I've got two men here, and I was in love with both of them. What do I do?' Marlena coming back, and Roman leaving Isabella is a boring story to me. There's much more that can be played." Rabin acknowledges a segment of the audience wanted Roman II/John Black to stay with Isabella, regardless of Marlena's presence. "We ran the risk, and we did alienate some fans, but I perceive that as an investment. Our long-term commitment is to Drake and Staci," Rabin remarks. "We had to respect the audience's allegiance to them. We didn't want to manipulate that, and I don't think we have. John/Roman certainly had his concern for Marlena, but he always felt very passionately about Isabella." Drake Hogestyn could have been nervous about Northrop coming back, but Rabin calls him "the ultimate team player. He was smart enough to perceive this as a great opportunity." Rabin reports the four actors get along beautifully: "Never a problem." Hall and Northrop have short-term contracts, but Rabin says, "I'm sure if they want to stay, we can figure out a dressing room assignment." Stella Bednarz, SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 12/10/91