Days Of Our Lives's John Black: Six Iconic Storylines

Days of Our Lives fans have only begun to process the devastating loss of longtime leading man Drake Hogestyn, who passed away on September 28 at the age of 70. The actor left an indelible mark on Salem history in countless classic storylines since his debut in 1986. Here, Digest takes a look back at six arcs that helped tell the story of his John Black — adventurer, lover, and family man.

 

Pawn Star

An amnesiac man with a bandaged face (who’d recently undergone extensive plastic surgery), known only as “The Pawn,” arrived in Salem in 1985. Hogestyn assumed the role in January 1986, when The Pawn’s bandages were removed, and the character assumed the name John Black after seeing the moniker on a war memorial. He took a job working security at Salem University Hospital, where he struck up a friendship with Roman Brady’s widow, Dr. Marlena Evans — and also had memory flashes involving her that he couldn’t make sense of. Their relationship deepened when Marlena began counseling him. Then Bo Brady, Roman’s brother, came to believe that John was actually Stefano. Marlena found evidence (the “before” shot of his plastic surgery) that John was none other than Roman himself! In the nick of time, she prevented Bo from killing John (“Bo, stop! It’s not Stefano, it’s Roman!”). Very much in love, Marlena and Roman renewed their vows. Hogestyn mused to Digest in 2018 of becoming Roman, “The thing is, the audience wanted Marlena to be with Roman so badly… They could’ve brought in really, seriously, anybody, and if Marlena would’ve accepted the character and accepted the premise and that this guy is Roman, then the audience would definitely accept him as Roman. But it all fell on [Deidre Hall’s, Marlena] plate, so she led the way with all of that.”

A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words: John Black was ecstatic to learn from Marlena Evans Brady (Deidre Hall) that he was actually her presumed-dead husband, Roman Brady.

Roman Numerous

Tragedy struck in 1987: Marlena was presumed dead in a plane crash. A devastated Roman slowly rebuilt his life, and by 1991, he was in a popular pairing with Isabella Toscano. But Marlena was alive, and she made her way back to Salem in time to see Roman slip an engagement ring on Isabella’s finger. Roman was gobsmacked when Marlena revealed her presence, but he was in for an even bigger shock when the real Roman also resurfaced, each insisting the other was an impostor! It was proven that Roman-with-the-original-face was the real McCoy, and “Roman” was really John Black, who had been brainwashed by Stefano into believing he was Roman. Hogestyn admitted that he was thrown at first by the character switch he underwent when Wayne Northrop, the original Roman, returned and reclaimed the role, telling Digest, “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 Kim, and there go the kids.’ I saw a lot of years of storytelling kind of go down the drain.’ ”

On screen, Marlena reunited with Roman, and John married a pregnant Isabella, who tragically died from cancer after giving birth to their son, Brady, in 1992. Before long, John and Marlena were drawn back together and fell into a torrid affair, with Marlena’s teenage daughter, Sami, catching them in the throes of passion. When Marlena learned she was pregnant, Sami doctored tests to make it appear as though baby Belle was Roman’s daughter, not John’s. But Stefano caught on to the truth and in 1994, he forced Marlena to reveal her infidelity to a heartbroken Roman — at Belle’s christening, no less!

For Whom The Belle Tolls: Marlena and John’s inability to resist each other even after they learned he wasn’t really Roman resulted in their beautiful daughter.

Devil May Care

The first to suspect that something was seriously wrong with his ex-wife, Marlena, it seemed only fitting that John would be the one to save her upon realizing that she was possessed by the devil. Things fell into place as John, who continued to search for clues to his past, came across information that led him to believe he was a priest. As such, he could be the one to ultimately free Marlena from Satan — although the discovery also led Kristen DiMera to call off their wedding. In 1995, John was summoned to perform an exorcism on Marlena. The risks were extremely high, since Marlena was in a weakened state due to the devil’s influence over her and could possibly lose her life during the traumatic ritual. However, John knew it was a risk that had to be taken. He successfully cast out Satan and saved Marlena’s soul. Hogestyn noted to Digest in 2004, “I’m always a sucker for the possession story. It was a real twist on a hero/heroine story. It was really different.”

The Devil Inside: John had his hands full with Kristen (Eileen Davidson) and a possessed Marlena.

Hijacked Honeymoon

In 1999, John and Marlena finally made it to the altar — but their Hawaiian honeymoon in paradise turned into a hellish nightmare. Hope, who was brainwashed by Stefano into believing she was Princess Gina, had henchmen capture John and bring him to a submarine, where she was waiting for him. A drugged John, who thought he was The Pawn and “Gina’s” lover, eagerly had sex with her. Hogestyn recalled to Digest in 2023 of the submarine kidnapping, “There was a lot of great action-adventure. I got to do all my stunts out in the water. They brought in the crew from Waterworld, the movie that Kevin Costner did. They wanted to know how long I could hold my breath. I said, ‘I can give you a minute and 45 seconds as I’m letting air out slowly to sink to the bottom.’ It was so cool. They had the camera on me as I was starting on my float down. Then the camera rolled around, and you saw two frogmen swimming toward me. The frogmen separated, but they had a net and scooped me up. Then they showed the submarine laying on the bottom. That was awesome. Once they threw me in the torpedo hole, we went into the studio to do the interiors. Hope opened up the torpedo basin and pulled John in.”

Back on land, Stefano, who had also slept with “Gina,” discovered what happened with John and was outraged by Gina’s betrayal. John was returned to Marlena stripped of his memories of what had happened to him, including his passionate romp with Gina. Then Hope discovered she was pregnant and was horrified, knowing John or Stefano could be her unborn baby’s father. The twisted situation caused friction between John, Marlena, Bo and Hope, particularly when John was believed to be the child’s father. However, Bo was later revealed to be Zack’s father, and John and Marlena were able to let out a huge sigh of relief.

Ocean Eyes: As Gina, Hope (Kristian Alfonso) took John for a wild submarine ride.

Identity Crisis

Ordered by Stefano to eliminate John in 2007, EJ shot him and later had him run down by a car, leaving him to die by Marlena’s side. But in 2008, John was discovered alive in Stefano’s basement with his memory wiped. Stefano brainwashed John back into being his faithful soldier. Although Marlena found him, John had no recollection of their life together, nor any interest in remembering it, and continued committing crimes for Stefano. Ordered to kill Colleen Brady, John was stunned when he came across evidence that he was her son by the late Santo DiMera, which made him Stefano’s half brother — both a DiMera and a Brady! “At first I said, ‘That’s too good to be true,’ ” Hogestyn told Digest of his reaction to the twist in 2008. “I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

John turned the tables on Stefano, going after him and the entire DiMera empire. A frustrated Marlena filed for divorce, and John sought the help of therapist Charlotte Taylor. However, the shrink became obsessed with John and purposely kept him from remembering his past. Eventually, John and Marlena discovered Charlotte’s duplicity. Charlotte tried to kill Marlena, but ended up drugging John instead. John awakened with his memory restored (yay!), but was paralyzed (boo!). He and Marlena reconciled and remarried in John’s hospital room in 2009 before heading to a clinic in Switzerland, where John would eventually be cured.

Control Freak: Stefano (Joseph Mascolo) went to extremes to keep John under his thumb.

From Here To Paternity

After years of searching and falling victim to false information, the mystery of John’s origins was finally solved in 2023 when amnesiac “Joe Doe” showed up at Salem University Hospital and revealed he was on a mission to find his long-lost son. A conversation with Julie, who mentioned that her uncle Tommy had lost his memory in the Korean War, struck something with the man. While Marlena tried to counsel “Doe” as he tried to recall his past, John and Steve became involved in his case. John knew that if “Doe” had served in the military, they could run his prints through the database. The results led John and Steve to a V.A. hospital, where they learned “John Doe” was Joseph Bell. After looking through his file, John discovered Bell served in the Korean War in the same unit as the man John believed at the time to be his biological father, Yo Ling. Later, John met with “Doe” and handed him Joseph Bell’s dog tags, which triggered his memory. “Doe” recalled Joseph stealing his dog tags and leaving him to die in a foxhole. John immediately realized that “Doe” was Timothy Robicheaux, his real father, and that Yo Ling’s real name was Joseph Bell. United after decades apart, the father and son shared a warm embrace, John finally learning his true identity. Hogestyn told Digest in 2023 that he was thrilled the show resolved the matter of John’s parentage, and with his real-life friend, Van Dyke, in the role, no less. “I thought we were pretty much done with that, with the Yo Ling thing,” he said. “Dick’s a good buddy, but for it to turn around like that? That’s something I can hang my hat on. I’m very blessed and proud and grateful.”

Pop Secret: The long-running riddle of John’s identity was finally solved when he met his biological dad, Timothy (Dick Van Dyke).