Drake Hogestyn's co-stars at 'Days of Our Lives' remember their last moments with him

Drake Hogestyn, who was most renowned for his role as 'John Black' on America's longest-running TV serial opera, 'Days of Our Lives,' died on September 28th from pancreatic cancer. The New York Post confirmed the sad news. Let's have a look at what some of the actor's former co-stars had to say in memory of the veteran actor.

According to US Weekly, the official Instagram account for ‘Days of Our Lives’ posted an eulogy for Drake Hogestyn after his death.

The same article from US Weekly states that Drake Hogestyn "...loved performing for the ‘Days’ audience and sharing the stage with the greatest cast, crew, and production team in the business".

According to Access Hollywood, Deidre Hall had this to say about Drake Hogestyn, whom she had worked with for four decades: "He was gracious and kind to everyone, from the executive staff to the night crew. Drake loved what he did and adored and respected everyone with whom he did it."

In another Access Hollywood interview, Drake Hogestyn’s on-screen sons, Eric Martsolf and Christopher Sean mentioned that "[Drake Hogestyn] did not want to leave the program. He would compose himself off camera and get right in there", showing professionalism and persistence in his focus on 'Days of Our Lives' up till his last scene.

Soap Opera News reports that co-star Stephen Nicols, whom Drake Hogestyn had worked with since 1986, added that "as dire as the situation became, [Drake Hogestyn] was always positive, and he would say things like, 'I still believe in Santa Claus.' He came to work while he was doing chemo."

Stephen Nicols also shared a personal tribute to Drake Hogestyn on his Instagram, saying that "just being in Drake’s presence was enough [for him] to get a jolt of positivity."

During his time on set, it was clear that Drake Hogestyn had touched the lives of many long-time and short-term co-stars, such as Andrea Barber, who played the role of the original Carrie Brady from 1982 to 1986.

Andrea Barber had too posted a tribute to him on Instagram, showing a picture of the two together when she was a child.

One other memorable tribute on Instagram was that from Melissa ‘Missy’ Reeves, who shared details from her last text message exchange with Drake Hogestyn. In them, he told her "to love and cherish our time with our grandchildren" and "[to put] family first".

Follow Showbizz Daily to see the best photo galleries every day